Orfeon Records
One of the best recordings of sones jalisciences ever made. In my opinion, it rivals the two Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan sones jaliscienses recordings made in the 1950s and 1960s ("Sones de Jalisco" and "Mejor del Mundo"). I know Pepe Villa played vihuela and later, Ausuncion Casillas' ("La Becerrra") also played vihuela in Mariachi Mexico, so I don't know exactly who is played on this recording.
Nevertheless, the vihuela can be heard very strongly in this recording. The guitarron player, Leon Espinoza is fantastic. He and the vihuela player make a great pair. You can hear Espinoza distinctively on "Los Arrieros." Miguel "El Trompetas" Martinez plays the trumpet solo on many of the recordings but also plays with the second trumpet on some. I think the second trumpet is "El Churpias" Jesus Cordoba. This shows how Mariachi Mexico established the two trumpet playing style. Check out Martinez on "Camino Real de Colima." Even today, its hard to find turmpet players who can play that lick.
Pepe Gutierrez sings most of the songs. The choruses in these recordings are a little different from the two-part harmonies we usually hear in this genre, but Gutierrez sings these songs so well that you'll wish for a return of solo singing in this genre. I know Los Camperos de Nati Cano have recorded most of their recent sones jaliscienses have used the single voice.
Back to Mariachi Mexico de Pepe Villa, the harmonies of the chorus are excellent. Take note some of the three-part harmonies in "Las Olas" and the harmonies of "Camino Real de Colima." Very different from what one usually hears. The strings are some of the strongest I've ever heard, much stronger than the Mariachi Vargas sones recording of the 1950s. You can hear Mariachi Mexico emphasis on the accents. Every mariachi violinist should listen to this recording to get a feel on what a third-part violin should sound like. Also, listen to "Los Arrieros" where Memo Quintero sings a bridge. Arrangements of this version using the bridge have recently been recorded by Mariachi Cobre.
The sones on this album are:
La Negra (R. Fuentes/S. Vargas)
El Palmero (D.P.)
El Carretero (D.P.)
El Cuatro (Silvestre Vargas)
La Madrugada (Rafael J. Lell/P. Gutierrez)
Camino Real de Colima (S. Vargas/R. Fuentes)
El Pasajero (S. Vargas/R. Fuentes)
El Gusto (R. Fuentes/S. Vargas)
El Zihualteco (D.P.)
Los Arrieros (D.P.)
Las Olas (R. Fuentes/S. Vargas)
Las Copetonas (D.P.)
If you listened to "La Negra," the first verse is a little different from what you may be use to hearing. I think it says "Negrita de mis cantares..." This has a solo trumpet. Strings as I said, are very strong.
"El palmero" also has solo trumpet playing and no violin adornos during the verse. The first verse is sung solo, then the second is sung in two-part harmony. Notice how the mariachi does not rush the son. Most mariachis have a tendency to play sones jaliscieses very fast. Pepe Gutierrez sings the last verse.
"El Carretero" has the two trumpets playing. Gutierrez sings the verse and the repeat is done by the chorus. Listen to the trumpets play their run right after the first verse. Excellent execution. Gutierrez has excellent rhythm in his singing. The final bridge is sung by the chorus ending the song with Gutierrez joining in. The mariachi ends with their caballito ending and "Ay, ay, ay..."
Listen as the trumpet plays solo with the violins on "El Cuatro." Listen to his short licks of the notes. I also love his run after the intro right before the verse. Gutierrez sing the first verse and the second verse is sung in a two-part harmony. Gutierrez returns for the third verse. At the final run, the trumpet plays on the mark with the violins who play very strongly. Few mariachis play this last run very well.
"La Madrugada," here, is listed as being a Rafael J. Lell and Pepe Gutierrez arrangement as opposed to the Fuentes/Vargas team we usually see. It has both trumpets playing. The violins actually play adornos during the verse. Gutierrez sing the verse and it is repeated by the chorus. Both trumpets give a triumphant run right after the verse. They are followed by the violins.
"Camino Real de Colima" has the solo trumpet playing execellent runs as I have already mentioned. But don't miss the strings playing right along with the trumpet player. Notice how they the trumpet player neither drowns the violins our or the violins let themselves be drowned out by the trumpet player. The second verse is the one I spoke that has a different two-part harmony chorus than what we usually hear. I've heard some Vargas versions only play two verses. Here three are played.
"El Pasajero" here is listed as a Vargas/Fuentes arrangement. This recording has not aged. The trumpets play excellent together where most trumpet teams waiver. The same can be said for the violins. The vihuela player is heard prominently through the various changing rhythms. My memory is not serving me right, but I think Gutierrez sings a verse not commonly performed. The final runs which are very difficult for most mariachis, are taken care of with ease here by Mariachi Mexico's violins. Espinoza can be heard prominently here on his guitarron.
"El Gusto" is always a favorite of mine. Mariachi Mexico's violins rock here. If my ear does not fool me, I think only one trumpet is playing. The violins play no adornos during the verse. In the intermedio, listen how the trumpet plays exactly in line with the violins. Gutierrez sing the full second verse as opposed to combining them like Mariachi Vargas does on some recordings. Mariachi Mexico plays all three verses. They don't do the little trumpet solo and slide as in the Mariachi Vargas versions.
Here "Sihualteco" is spelled with a 'z'. The violins add adornos here while Gutierrez is singing. Listen how violins stay in line with the singers. Of course there is the final run after the last verse to hear. Study it well.
"Los Arrieros" has Espinosa playing prominently. You can hear his guitarron very loudly. Memo Quintero sings this son. The trumpets play in pair here. "Los Arrieros" is a hard son to play and usually butchered by many mariachis. This is the version that has that bridge, "Ay no mas...". Only here, unlike the Mariachi Cobre version, Mexico ends the son after the bridge. The recording lists the version as "domino publico" as opposed to the Vargas/Fuentes arrangement we usually hear.
"Las Olas" has Gutierrez back singing. The chorus sings the second verse, Gutierrez the third, the chorus the forth. Both trumpets play on this recording. Espinoza and the vihuela player can be heard very well here. Listen to them play during the verses. The introduction changes rhythm a few times in a 40 sec introduction. "Las Olas" is a funny son because it does not have intermedios between the verses. After the forth verse, is flows into the ending run changing rhythms a few times. It is played nice and slow with the trumpets playing elegantly.
I'm not sure who exactly is playing on this recording, but stemming from mariachi historian Jonathan D. Clark's interview with Leon Espinoza, we can make an educated guess that they are probably: Pepe Villa (vihuela?), Ernesto Villa, Eliseo Camarena (guitar), Rafael Quintero (violin), Miguel Martinez (trumpet), Asuncion Casillas (vihuela), Jesus Cordoba (trumpet), Leon Espinoza (Guitarron), Emilio Galvez (violin), Juan Cordoba (guitar), Rafael Cardenas (violin), Bonifacio Collazo (violin), and Jose Ramos (violin). Bonifacio Collazo was first violin, arranger, and the musical director. Of course many of these guys played with Mariachi Vargas. If you look at the photo in Mariachi Vargas: Their First Recordings, 1937-47, you see Miguel Martinez and Asuncion Casillas. Pepe Villa also played with Mariachi Vargas. You can hear him along with Rafael Quintero in songs 1-7 of the recording of Vargas' Their First Recordings. Futhermore, Pepe Gutierrez also sings some songs on that recording, songs 7-24. You can also see Ernesto Villa on the cover of that recording. Clark says in the liner notes to that recording that Rafael Quintero, along with his brother Jeronimo, played in "regional string bands known as orquestas de cuerda and "introduced new repertoire to Mariachi Vargas..."
The trouble with Mariachi Mexico is that there are few recording available today of their recordings they made in the 1950s. This recording was done on Orfeon and their polkas and pasodobles album on Musart. They also have another sones jalisienses album with Antonio Maciel on Musart. In Clark's interview, Espinoza says the mariachi made many recordings on Columbia. Unfortunately, today many of Columbia's recordings, in general, have not been re-released.
We are going to have to make educated guesses on the musician's identities in many of the recording we review on this blog. Identifying the musicians was pretty rare back then. Like many of the jazz musicians to today, we are just left with "he said" he recorded on that album, but no real proof from the recordings themselves. This continues to this day. For example, look at the most recent recording of Mariachi Los Camperos.
"El Autentico Son Jalisciense" is one of those great albums in mariachi recording history. One may not be tempted to buy it with all the "show" mariachi recording available, but I've always said the son jalisciense is the true test of a mariachi, and Mariachi Mexico de Pepe Villa passed that test with flying colors.
