`NOCHE DE ESTRELLAS' (`NIGHT OF THE STARS')
Youth Mariachi performance coming to Ukiah
This Saturday, SPACE (School of Performing Arts and Cultural Education) is presenting Santa Rosa's Mariachi de Cantares de mi Tierra youth ensemble. They will be playing with seven local singers who are part of SPACE's “Noche de Estrellas” (“Night of the Stars”) performance.
“This year, our `Noche de Estrellas' event will be 100% live mariachi music with local community members getting a chance to perform with the mariachi for the very first time,” says Ignacio Ayala, SPACE deputy director.
The Mariachi Ensemble is a year-round program at Santa Rosa's Luther Burbank Center for the Performing Arts. Led by LBC's music specialist, Matthew Isais Bowker, more than 120 students, who range in age from 1020, learn critical social and emotional skills including perseverance, leadership, cooperation, and collaboration in addition to technique, musicianship, and stage presence — all through the lens of mariachi.
To qualify for the program, they must maintain a “B” average, participate in an annual three-week Mariachi Camp, attend weekly classes and complete assignments. The program is free for students and provides all supplies, including the use of instruments. Once accepted, they are assigned as a beginning, intermediate or advanced student.
For this show, between 30- 40 ensemble members will be performing with local musicians David Gonzalez, Bernardo Amador, Isabel Mendoza, Irma Lopez, Adilene Ceja, Julian Macias and Maria Rodriguez.
The performance is being directed by Olivia Zamora, who is one of the co-founders of the `Noche de Estrellas' annual productions. Originally from Mexico, Zamora worked extensively in many aspects of the arts before moving to the U.S. She worked with the Secretariat of Culture in Mexico City as a promotor and instructor, at a time when the importance of the preservation of Mexican culture was declining.
“We created a space for what are called ` toybraries' in the U.S., but in Mexico, the concept is much richer,” says Zamora, starting with one location and building out from there. “At that time, these community centers were geared toward adults, and now children are included.”
As a younger person, Zamora fought for opportunities to promote the arts. “We acted on streets or on stages. This gave me opportunities to work with so many teachers from so many multicultural disciplines. If we didn't have a director, I'd fill in,” she smiles. Zamora worked with indigenous people, disabled people, children and adults, incorporating both modern and historic methods of instruction, including workshops creating beautiful cartoneria papier-mâché art.
“Then I came here and connected with SPACE,” Zamora says. “In the whole country, in this little town, I found a really special place.” Along with directing ` Noche de Estrellas,' for the past year, Zamora has been directing a cultural immersion workshop at the Alex Rorabaugh Center, funded by the California Arts Council. It provides a space for intergenerational Latino families to share the arts, theater and Mexican history.
“Latino people know we have a place to come, to belong and to feel good,” she continues. The program helps families prioritize the importance of community participation. “I'm so proud we have a 70-year-old woman in the program who never had the opportunity to belong to her
community in this way.”
“No one can say they haven't heard Mariachi music,” Zamora continues. “It's one of Mexico's `brands' and definitely a part of our cultural heritage. There was a time when we'd all sing Mariachi music together, but today young people are already losing this type of music. This is why we are so honored to bring the Ensemble to Ukiah,” she notes.
Zamora conceived of the idea of melding the Ensemble with the best performers from “Noche de Estrellas.”
“I saw this group in 2019 at the Luther Burbank. I thought immediately that we needed Mariachi at SPACE,” says Ayala. SPACE Executive Director Laurel Near saw them perform last year at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens and had the same idea.
“I made a cold call to the Luther Burbank Center,” says Ayala. “I explained our mission and the history of ` Noche de Estrellas.' The director had been looking for opportunities for his students to sing with other voices. It came together. He shared songs with us that the Ensemble was prepared to perform, and we selected our performers.” The `Noche de Estrellas' performers are all adults, with the exception of one singer who is 16 years old.
“We attended rehearsals in Santa Rosa. It was incredible to observe them. Our singers were like kids at a candy store. They are so full of joy — knowing they're performing with youth who read music and are really, really good musicians. This is what I live for — informing our community of our cultural education components. I've reached out to both the Ukiah Symphony and the Ukiah Community Concert Association to let them know about this event. We will be blessed to host a diverse audience,” Ayala continues.
The program is being underwritten in part by the Arlene and Michael Rosen Foundation, NCO Vision Family Resource Center, Blue Zones Project Mendocino County and Taco Loco.
“It's such a privilege and a big job directing this performance,” says Zamora. “Latino Americans need cultural spaces to sing and dance. To have such a beautiful place to perform is an incredible opportunity for the performers and the public. Back in 2005 when we created ` Noche de Estrellas,' the idea was to showcase people who never believed they could be `stars' on stage. We've been able to help accomplish that dream for our performers. ` Noche de Estrellas' was always from the community and to the community.”
Zamora notes that the performance will end with a song known by everyone — “Cielito Lindo.” The song is both a love song and a song of sadness:
Ay, ay, ay, ay,
Canta y no llores, Porque cantando se alegran,
Cielito lindo, los corazones.
Roughly translated, the chorus says,
Woe, woe, woe, woe, Sing and don't cry, Because singing, darling, Lifts our hearts.
The song has profound meaning for the Mexican people.
“We're recognized everywhere as happy people. `Cielito Lindo' is sung almost everywhere — in stadiums and group events,” says Zamora. She recounts one of the most poignant times she heard the song.
“During Mexico's last earthquake, people went out into the streets. They used any tool they could find to remove debris to help save people's lives. The streets were full of people trying to help. When they heard a sound, everyone became silent. There were moments of silence and prayer, and moments of joy when someone was found alive. That song was sung. It joins us together — in times of goodness and times of pain.”
“For many of us, when we came to the U.S., we left behind our artistic ambitions. This performance is a dream come true — a way for us to realize ourselves in this culture,” Zamora notes.
“I remember I was in high school in 2007, working backstage with Olivia on Noche de Estrellas. Now she is both my mentor and my peer,” smiles Ayala.
“When I left my last job in Mexico, everyone said, ` We don't want you to leave. But since you are, please go and make other children happy,'” Zamora concludes. Her mission is accomplished.
The show starts at 3 and 7 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for youth under 18. Tickets are available at Mendocino Book Company (cash or check), the SPACE box office and at www.spaceperformingarts. org. For more information, phone (707) 462-9370.