Mexico y sus Sones, Concert Held at Los Mangos Library
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On Saturday, June 19, after a change of venue due to the weather, the concert Mexico y sus Sones (Mexico and its Rhythms) by the Chamber Ensemble of the Guadalajara Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Convivium Youth Choir took place.
The concert was held in the Carlos Munguia Fregoso Hall of Los Mangos Library, and was organized by Via Cultural, an initiative headed by Villa Premiere Hotel and Spa, which brings together other companies like Art and Tourism and Testa Marketing, with the support of institutions such as the Art and Culture Department and Los Mangos Library to undertake educational and cultural diffusion activities, which include so far concerts by the Youth Symphony as well as workshops and conferences.
On behalf of Via Cultural, Sergio Zepeda delivered a welcome message to the audience that crowded the Hall and thanked the entities that make it possible to hold these cultural events.
He then called Villa Premiere Director Abel Villa Jr. to the floor, who in turn briefly addressed the audience.
The concert was directed by the youngest director in Mexico, Juan Manuel Lozano Franco, 20, who in spite of his youth has led a successful violinist and director career since the age of 6.
The concert’s program, interestingly enough, did not include any “son”, but traditional popular pieces, some of which have survived thanks to oral tradition, since no score was written for them. Arrangements were made by Miguel Almaguer, who also acted as commentator, providing interesting notes about each piece played. His explanation about the exclusion of sones from the program was that in actuality, all joyful, lively music is a son, and the name comes from the Spanish expression “Maestro, play something happy for me”. Musical pieces known as son originate from the huapango.
In reality, the pieces included in the program show how Mexican music has assimilated influences from cultures such as the German, French and American, and how sometimes history shows contradictory evidence as to the origins of a particular musical piece. Such is the case of the song “Open Book” which is recognized as a northern Mexican song as well as a Southwestern American song and versions of it have been found in both English and Spanish.
Convivium Youth Choir deserves separate mention. It is an ensemble of privileged young voices, which undoubtedly touched the audience’s sensitive fibers. Soloists were Mezzosoprano Giselda Rea Signoret and Tenor Hugo Daniel Cortez.