Las Guitarras de Mexico & Mariachi Azteca
Las Guitarras de Mexico Biography
For over 22 years, Las Guitarras de Mexico has entertained groups large and small across the country, appearing in a wide range of venues - from classrooms to corporate gatherings, street festivals to international events. Las Guitarras has shared the stage with musicians Ray Charles, Pancho Sanchez, and Little Joe y la Familia, and was showcased at the National Cultural Arts Festival (sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts) and the International World Food Prize Award Ceremony. In 2003, Las Guitarras was the singular entertainment for an international gathering of designers and artists to dedicate the world-renown Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa. Featured at Iowa’s first Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Celebration and first Iowa Latino Heritage Festival, the quartet is widely celebrated for its ability to bring life to cultural occasions. In 2003, Las Guitarras entertained crowds daily on the streets and sidewalks of the Iowa State Fair, honoring Iowa’s expanding ethnic diversity. In 1996, Las Guitarras de Mexico developed LA LUZ (“The Light”), a program for youth that incorporates performance, interaction, and hands-on participation to instill positive values and cultural pride in students of all ages at schools throughout the Midwest. Endorsed by the Iowa Arts Council as an authentic, Hispanic culture-based performing group, Las Guitarras de Mexico is listed in the Council’s Folklife Resource Directory, noted as the only authentic, traditional Mexican performance group in central Iowa. With a vast range of musical styles, the quartet performs the traditional rhythms and beautiful ballads originating in the streets and countrysides of their home country, including boleros, huapangos, rancheros, nortenos, and jarachos. But audience requests and visiting musicians have expanded the group’s repertoire to include familiar hits from country, jazz, blues, and rock. Inspired by the famous Los Dandys, Los Tres Aces, Los Panchos, and Teracuri, Las Guitarras is the group to suit all styles and cultures, bringing together old-world tradition with modern elegance. |