SONES de MÉXICO
Chicago, Illinois
Mexican Son
Sones de México specializes in son, a rich and lively Mexican music tradition and its many regional styles, including huapango, gustos, chilenas, son jarocho and the roots of mariachi music. Over twenty-five folk string, percussion, and wind instruments are featured along with four-part vocal arrangements and acrobatic dance demonstrations.
The group was founded in 1994 by Víctor Pichardo and Juan Díes, both of whom have long been learning and performing Mexican folk music. Víctor, born in Mexico City, gained his musical knowledge orally, firsthand, from master artists in Mexico's various musical regions. He alone plays over 50 different folk instruments needed for the music of different regions of Mexico. Víctor teaches son jarocho at the Old Town School of Folk Music, directs a youth mariachi ensemble at Benito Juarez High School in Chicago, and has twice been the recipient of the Illinois Arts Council Fellowship award and thrice the Master Apprentice teaching award. Juan Díes was raised in San Luis Potosi, Mexico where he first learned to play the guitar at the age of 6. At 18, he migrated to the U.S. and began to explore new musical styles including jazz, folk, reggae, and rock. He majored in music and anthropology at Earlham College and received an MA in folklore/ethnomusicology from Indiana University. He has taught and studied music in Mexico, Spain, and Kenya.
These two founders are joined by a talented group of musicians. Zacbé Pichardo was introduced to music by his father Víctor and the community of musicians who frequented their household. A versatile percussionist who also plays string and wind instruments, he has also given solo and ensemble percussion recitals including La Misa Criolla (a Mass). Lorena Iñiguez was born in Chicago and, at age six, began dancing in a dance troupe led by her father. She later joined the Mexican Folkloric Dance Company of Chicago and attended Northeastern Illinois University under a dance scholarship with resident flamenco troupe Ensemble Español. When Lorena joined Sones de México Ensemble as a dancer, she apprenticed with musicians and quickly developed working skills in the vihuela, jarana, flute, and small percussion.
Javier Saume-Mazzei was born in Caracas, Venezuela. At the age of 8, he began playing percussion and, as a teenager, he studied classical percussion and drum set with his uncle, Edgar Saume. Javier has performed with various ensembles and orchestras in Venezuela, and has played and recorded popular music with Rigel Michelena, Petroleo Loco, and others. In 2001, Javier moved to Chicago. Juan Rivera, born in Aguililla, Michoacán, México, studied at Casa de la Música Mexicana in Mexico City, where Juan later became an instructor. He also studied the huasteco style of violin with Rolando "Quecho" Hernández, recorded with the group Son del Pueblo, and toured with the dance troupe Compañia Nacional de Danza Folclórica de México. In 2001, Juan moved to Chicago where he played for several years with mariachi and son jarocho groups. He then went to California to study violin for a year with Salvador "Don Chavita" Torres. He returned to Chicago in 2005 to join Sones de México Ensemble and to continue his formal musical training at Wright College.
Links
http://www.sonesdemexico.com/index2.html
http://www.musicamador.com/artist/sones.htm
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