By Reynaldo Mena
Osvaldo Mendoza was born, raised, and lived in a house where mariachi music held a central place. He is third generation in his family to be involved in the entertainment industry, and from a young age, he knew that was his life and destiny.
“I grew up seeing my father come and go from the house, as they say in Mexico. ‘Ya llegué, vieja, Ya me voy, vieja.’ He was hardly ever there; he was always on tour. I knew he was the trumpeter of a mariachi, and that was his job,” says Mendoza, a renowned musician and artistic director of the Marichi Cielito Lindo in Los Angeles.
“That’s when I decided to follow in his footsteps. I tried to be a soccer player, but it didn’t work out. Music was my calling,” says the native of Guadalajara, Mexico, the land of mariachi.
Osvaldo Mendoza remembers that as children, his mother would set out snacks and sodas in the living room on Sundays while his father occasionally performed on the famous program “Siempre en Domingo” with Raúl Velasco.
“I wanted to appear on TV. I told my parents, and they supported me, although my father warned me that it wasn’t an easy task and that it would require many sacrifices. ‘You won’t have fun while others are enjoying themselves; you’ll be working,” he added.
At first, he tried to imitate his father and played the trumpet, but he didn’t like it, so he decided to play the violin. The sound of the instrument seemed magical to him, like it was from another planet.
“There’s nothing like hearing ‘Son de la Negra’ with the mariachi. It’s something that can’t be described,” says an excited Osvaldo Mendoza. “The instrument is like your partner; you have to feel it.”
His father agreed. The violinists from his mariachi agreed to give him his first music lessons. He was fascinated by its sound, and by the age of ten, he was already catching the attention of his classmates in elementary school.
“I wasn’t your typical elementary school kid; everyone would say, ‘Look, here comes the mariachi.’ I liked that,” he says.
However, he still had to overcome stage fright. He was scared to go on stage and have people look at him.
“My father advised me. He told me that if I couldn’t control that, it wouldn’t be possible for me to pursue a career in music.”
He took private violin lessons, and the more he advanced, the more he fell in love with music and… the violin.
From then on, his career skyrocketed.
“At age 14, Osvaldo began playing violin with the youth Mariachi Los Gallos, but it wasn’t until age 19 that he joined his first professional group, Mariachi Palenque. Stints with Los Toritos and Internacional Guadalajara followed, and in 2003 he spent a year in Spain with Mariachi Jalisco. In 2004, he traveled to Los Angeles, California, where he worked with Mariachi Dorados de Villa, Estrellas de Jalisco, and Sol de México.
Returning to Guadalajara in 2009, Osvaldo worked with Mariachi San Francisco and Alas de México. In 2010, Carlos MartÃnez, then director of Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán, invited him to participate in the recording of Vicente Fernández’s album ‘El Hombre Que Más Te Amó,’ and it was Carlos, now director of Mariachi Vargas, who invited Osvaldo to audition for the group in 2015,” as described in his biography on the internet.
For him, the most important aspect of a mariachi is the quality of the performance.
“There are artists who play very well or sing wonderfully, but they fail in the interpretation. The lyrics of the songs convey our experiences. For example, José Alfredo Jiménez’s songs narrate his life, things he lived,” says Mendoza.
The artist denies the myths spread about mariachis. That they drink a lot, are womanizers, and love to party.
“It’s like anything else; we’re part of the entertainment scene. Some people in the music industry engage in those behaviors, not necessarily just mariachis. For example, in my group, I forbid them from drinking. They have to present themselves well and take care of their appearance,” he adds.
Two years ago, he decided to move to Los Angeles and form Mariachi Cielito Lindo.
“My idea is to create one of the best mariachis in the world, not only with good interpretative quality,” he adds.
Osvaldo Mendoza has noticed that the major difference between mariachi music in Mexico and Los Angeles is the way it is felt.
“Many people play it or listen to it, but it’s as if they don’t feel it, as if it’s not part of their lives,” he adds.
The legacy that Osvaldo Mendoza brings to Los Angeles is not only interpretative quality. He wants to open a music conservatory where young people can study a bachelor’s degree in mariachi music.
“That’s something that is lacking. We need to open that channel for young people, show them their culture, teach them music, instruments, and performance. We want them to be well-prepared and use it to make a living. The National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico has already shown interest in the project, as well as the LAUSD, and I’m adding more people. I know it’s a very ambitious project,” says Osvaldo.
His passion is evident through his words. During the phone conversation, he occasionally interrupts the interview to sing a verse of a song.
“Did you win over your wife with a song?” I ask him.
“Women love to be serenaded. During a show, I saw the woman who is now my wife. During a performance, I approached her and started singing, Amanecà otra vez/Entre tus brazos/Y desperté llorando/De alegrÃa/Me cobijé la cara/Con tus manos/Para seguirte amando todavÃa…’ And I still sing it to her,” he says with a laugh.
Three songs to make someone fall in love:
1.”Motivos” – Vicente Fernández
2.”Bonita” – Javier SolÃs
3.”Si nos dejan” – José Alfredo Jiménez
Austin Beutner leads the charge for arts and music for all students in California
