MERRY-ACHI CHRISTMAS

When Mariachi Sol de Mexico comes to town, the 13-piece ensemble brings one of Mexico’s most joyful and impressive cultural heritage with them. Founded in 1981 by Maestro Jose Hernandez, Mariachi Sol’s strings, horns, guitars, emotional vocals and colorful traditional outfits known as charro suits offer a rich live experience. With 19 albums to their name, they are steeped in a tradition that Hernandez keeps up-to-date with passion and professionalism.

The group’s recent album Leyendas de Mi Pueblo (Legends of My Land) offers a Grammy-nominated deep dive into the music of Mexican composers Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante and Miguel Aceves Mejia. It also pays homage to legendary performers Alfredo Jimenez, Javier Solis and Vicente Fernandez.

A Mariachi Sol de Mexico concert is a trip through Mexico punctuated by those cathartic, joyous yells known as gritos. And you don’t need to speak Spanish to soak up the experience. After all, as Jose Hernandez once put it, “you are coming to another kind of celebration. Instead of a party, you are coming to a fiesta.”