Pedro F. Torres 3812 80th Street East Inver Grove Heights MN 55076 (651) 450-9817 Work Samples Audio: audio clip 1 audio clip 2 To hear the work samples, Windows Media Player is required. If you do not have it installed, you can download it for free here: Download Windows Media Player

Mariachi Flor Y Canto Mexican mariachi We are an authentic mariachi group with the desire to tell others about ourselves and to share the beauty and tradition of our authentic Mexican music. We wear traditional folk costumes as we sing and play instruments, as have many generations in Mexico. We perform for small or large audiences, for private parties, or public concerts. Available: After 6 p.m. weekdays and anytime weekends Space: Six to seven microphones and a public address system, when available Fee: Negotiable

Additional Information:
Mariachi Flor y Canto plays traditional Mexican mariachi music.

Mariachi music first emerged in the 19th century in the state of Jalisco along the Pacific coast of Mexico. The name was once thought to have come from the French word for "marriage", but recent research suggests that a similar word meaning "musician" was part of the language of the Coca Indians at the time of the Spanish conquest of 1529. In the 1800s, groups such as the Jarocho ensemble of Veracruz and the Cuarteto mariachi of Tecalitlan became well-known. These early versions of the modern mariachi ensemble used combinations of harps, violins, and various guitar- and mandolin-like instruments that had been introduced to the region by Spanish colonists. To Spanish instrumentation and indigenous musical sensibilities, these early musicians added African-influenced rhythms. The style that the musicians of Jalisco developed, known as son, used a syncopated rhythm that alternated between 3/4 and 6/8 time. Variations with different instrumentation and arrangements were created by musicians in other areas of the country. Mariachi ensembles also added waltzes, polkas, and other European forms to their repertoires. Around the turn of the century, many groups began to replace the rather cumbersome harp with the guitarron, which is essentially an oversized guitar with a rich bass sound. Beginning in the 1930s, trumpets began to appear in many ensembles, and this modified sound was popularized through mariachi recordings. Today, most mariachi groups, Flor y Canto included, use guitar, violins, trumpets, guitarron, and vihuela. The vihuela, a mandolin-like stringed instrument, is unique to mariachi. Contemporary groups maintain the characteristic instrumentation and basic repertoire of mariachi. At the same time, this is a living tradition, and new elements, such as the cumbia rhythm from Columbia, continue to become popular and find their place within the broader mariachi style.

Mariachi Flor y Canto formed in the early 1990s. Pedro Torres, who plays vihuela with the group, explains that he had been feeling isolated from his culture while living in the Twin Cities. He met up with several other Mexican musicians in the area, and they decided at first to play together for enjoyment. As it turned out, they performed quite well together, and this inspired them to play for public audiences. Mariachi music is infectiously happy, and the group found that even audiences who knew little or nothing about Mexican culture eagerly embraced their performances. Since forming, the group has continued to add to its repertoire, mastering tunes that group members first learned as children, as well as mariachi music from other groups, old records and films, and contemporary recordings. Today, mariachi has found an avid following in the U.S., and groups based in many parts of the country are keeping this tradition vibrant. There are even mariachi conferences, in which master performers lead workshops, and musicians from around the country share tunes with each other. Locally, Mariachi Flor y Canto plays for weddings and fiestas in the Mexican American community, as well as at parties, churches, festivals, and community gatherings for people of many cultures. They have a special love for sharing their music with groups that have taken an interest in Mexican culture. Clothed in beautiful traditional charro outfits from Mexico, they draw in all sorts of audiences with the music of celebration.