Support for the Alaska Live series of live music and conversation on KUAC is made possible by a grant from Design Alaska.

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Welcome to KUAC's Alaska Live.

I'm your host, Lori Neufeld, joining me here at the KUAC Archives Studios: Mariachi Nomeolvides.

Thank you so much for being here.

Yes, it is our pleasure.

And Erika Sobarzo-Bernal, you are the founding member.

And so you're in charge of introducing your mariachi band.

So first we have the Kalani Hoodecheck on the vihuela, and then we have Drake on the trumpet.

Leah on the violin and Sofia on the violin as well.

And I am the singer.

And I play guitar as well.

Erika, what song are you kicking off Alaska Live with?

First we will be performing Los Laureles by Linda Rondstat.

That is a song about heartbreak and desire and rebellion.

I'd say Mariachi Nomeolvides, take it away.

From [lively music] ♪ Ay, qué laureles tan verdes!

♪ ♪ ¡Qué rosas tan encendidas!

♪ ♪ Si piensas abandonarme, mejor ♪ quítame la vida.

♪ ♪ Alza los ojos a verme ♪ si no estás comprometido.

♪ ♪ Eres mata de algodón ♪ que vives en el capullo.

♪ ♪Ay, qué tristeza me da cuando ♪ te llenas de orgullo ♪ ♪ de ver a mi corazón ♪ enredado con el tuyo.

♪ [music playing] ♪ Eres rosa de Castilla ♪ que sólo en mayo se ve.

♪ ♪ Quisiera hacerte un invite ♪ pero la verdad no sé.

♪ ♪ Si tienes quien te lo evite, ♪ mejor me separaré.

♪ ♪ Por ahí va la despedida ♪ chinito por tus quereres.

♪ ♪ La perdición de los hombres ♪ son las benditas mujeres.

♪ ♪ Aquí se acaban cantando ♪ los versos de los laureles.

♪ [cheering, applause] Mariachi Nomeolvides, thank you so much for that first song was just wow.

That blew me away.

And our studio audience here absolutely wowed us.

Thank you very much.

You've won something.

You won an award or you won in a competition with that song, didn't you?

We've, won two competitions with that song.

Our first competition was for school.

It was for State Solo Ensemble.

We auditioned for regionals.

We got in and we won the world music category for state.

Wow.

Erika Sobarzo, you have brought mariachi to Fairbanks?

As far as I know, you're the first mariachi band in Fairbanks.

Yes.

How how did that happen?

So going back to my sophomore year and in regards with solo ensemble.

And you're a senior now?

Yes.

You know, I was told by my choir teacher that there was a world music category for solo and ensemble and immediately I just thought, you know, well, might as well start a mariachi band if I'm allowed.

And so my teacher, Miss Gwendolyn Brazier, she helped me put together this band.

And same with, Mrs.

son of a dear all at West Valley helped me find a wonderful group and starting off it was only four of us.

And Drake my trumpet player has is the long lasting.

Aside from my everyone else is about either a year or this year new.

Yeah.

Mariachi.

Is that something that you grew up with in your family?

Yes, I grew up with so much music, listening to mariachi on drives to Anchorage for my dad, performing for church, and my mom teaching me guitar.

It's just such a wonderful music genre that I've grown up with.

And so the ability to perform these and have such a wonderful opportunity, being able to share this with the Fairbanks community is just it's wonderful.

Some people out there in Radio land may have remembered seeing you at that sold out crowd for Dark Winter Nights earlier this year.

Yeah.

Wow.

That is an honor to be asked to play in front of, you know, 1300 people there at Lathrop, Hering Auditorium.

Amazing.

Yeah, it took us a bit of time to be able to get these opportunities.

You know, starting out, we only knew maybe, like, three songs.

Yes.

You know, when we got the whole, band together.

And so we've been learning much more and performing for many, many more people and getting, having these just wonderful opportunities to share more.

Erika, do you pick the repertoire for the most part for the band?

Yes, with the help of my parents, of course.

Usually I like scour for music, so I've tried to write my own.

It's very difficult.

But I bet it's just.

Yeah.

I know I've known some of these songs before, and some of them are completely new songs that I never heard.

Wow, that Linda Ronstadt song you said that started out, I know that she has done quite a bit of mariachi music and so but it did surprise me a little bit.

I was like, oh, that's right, Linda Ronstadt, she writes mariachi music and what that song sounded to me, mariachi.

But what makes it a mariachi song?

I'd say, typically, mariachi songs regarding and technicality is very similar to full with a mixture of like folk and technical as well when it comes, especially when you listen to the violins.

There is folk and classical aspects.

You can hear them sliding into notes.

Why vibrato, which is two, different styles put together.

With the trumpet, there's I don't really know how to explain it, but the trumpet is such a voice.

It's a different voice in mariachi, which it's amazing.

What's interesting is that the trumpet is the only brass instrument in a mariachi band.

The rest are all strings.

Yes.

And so having the trumpet there really makes mariachi such a wonderfully combined ensemble.

It's very different.

And because you have your orchestral instruments, you have your traditional Mexican instruments like the vihuela and the guitar and then you have, well, trumpet and guitar.

It's just a to me, it's just like a wonderful mixture that is so different.

Thank you for bringing it to Fairbanks and now to Alaska.

Live here at KUAC.

What's the next song that you're going to share with us?

The next song we will be playing is an instrumental song.

It's got more Spanish influence.

It's the more classical type because traditionally mariachi, like first starting out, was very orchestral.

And so it is called Alejandra.

And well, let me see, was it performed by again, always good to look at the notes, to see who, who composed it.

Tecalitlán.

I love it.

All right.

Ready?

[music playing] [music playing] [music playing] [music playing] [music playing] [music playing] [applause, cheering] Mariachi Nomeolvides is here for KUAC's Alaska Live.

And that last song featured the violin so well, which one of the violinists wants to join me here on mic for Sofia?

Okay, I'll just pick one.

Sofia Potter, you play amazingly well with mariachi.

Is this your first mariachi band?

Yeah, this is the first mariachi band I've ever been in.

But you've been playing violin for a little while in your life.

I've been playing for eight years, I think.

Did you start off with, more classical or.

Okay.

Yeah.

I started off with the Suzuki method, which is like a famous method that starts, that teaches musicians how to play classically.

Right?

So Suzuki method and mariachi a little different.

Yeah.

They're very different.

I think that the mariachi band kind of opened up my eyes to different kinds of music because, me and Leia Hulbert we only played classically before, we got invited to play in the mariachi band.

Where you stand mates in other, groups.

Yeah, yeah.

You know, we've learned, violin together, like, from the beginning.

Oh, that is so great.

And now you're part of Mariachi Norma Vinas.

So, with the violin, is there a different setup for mariachi violin than the classical violin?

Like, is the, is it strong differently or is the bridge different or any of the bow different?

Well, we we use all the same things, but the for the technique, we have a wider vibrato than maybe sometimes we, we play in classical music and then also we kind of slide on some of the notes here, which we're not really supposed to do for classical music, you have to use a different part of your brain when you're practicing with orchestra.

Also, a big difference is that we're allowed to improvise for this, and we're allowed to like maybe make our own parts, which we did for a living.

But, for classical music, we're supposed to stay strictly to what the composers want.

So different.

How long did it take you to let loose a little bit and figure out that you could leave the Suzuki behind with mariachi for a little while?

I think when we played the first song, 'Los Laureles,' that's kind of the period where we learned that we could play it a little bit differently.

Have you been with the band since its inception?

No.

I joined, I think a couple months after they started.

So after they did, after they won.

So ensemble, I think we watched them perform.

And then she asked me in Leia if we could join.

They didn't have any violinists before they did.

They did.

They had one.

But she graduated.

Oh, right.

Yeah.

You're all high schoolers.

And so once you graduate and move on, then got to be replaced by another high schooler, right.

Are you a senior this year?

No, I'm a junior.

Oh, great.

You got, you got a year and a half left with the mariachi band.

That's awesome.

So, will mariachi be with you for the rest of your life?

Do you feel like?

I think so, I'll definitely listen to the music more.

And you go to West Valley with, So you go to West Valley with Erika, right.

And some of the other band members too.

And, so you saw them perform at the competition or when they came back from the competition?

Yeah, I went to some ensemble with them because I was doing a different piece, but I did watch them perform.

So you were doing a classical piece at the at the competition?

Yeah.

Nice.

Did it really open your mind to.

Oh, I could be doing both.

Yeah.

Yeah it did.

Yeah.

What else do you do other than play violin for fun?

Like my hobbies?

Besides.

Yeah.

I'm in the tennis team for West Valley.

Wow.

So tennis and violin.

Are there any similarities?

Well, I, I have a lot of articulation in my left hand, I guess.

Oh.

So I hold the racket with my left hand.

You do?

Are you left handed?

Yeah.

Yeah, I that helps.

And so.

Yeah.

And, and this layer right handed.

So you're, you know.

Yeah.

Right.

Stand rates.

Well, thank you so much for being a part of today's Alaska Live.

And, do you know the next song you're going to play, or is it up to Erika to, tell us?

I'm not quite sure how to pronounce it, but I do know I think it's "Deja que salga la Luna" by Pedro Infante.

You wanna try it?

This is good.

The, Oh.

Deja... Deja que... .. salga la Luna... Nice!

This is how it all goes together.

This is how we learn.

Thank you.

All right.

Right.

[music playing] ♪Deja que salga la Luna Deja ♪ que se meta el Sol Deja que ♪ ♪ caiga la noche ♪ ♪Pa' que empiece nuestro amor ♪ ♪ Deja que las estrellitas ♪ ♪Me llenen de inspiración ♪ ♪Para decirte cositas ♪ ♪ Muy bonitas corazón ♪ ♪ Yo sé que no hay en el mundo ♪ ♪ Amor como el que me das ♪ ♪ Y sé que noche con noche ♪ ♪ Va creciendo más y más ♪ ♪Y sé que noche con noche ♪ ♪ Va creciendo más y más ♪ [ music playing ] [ music slows ] ♪ Cuando estoy entre tus brazos♪ ♪ Siempre me pregunto yo ♪ ♪ Cuánto me debía el destino♪ ♪ Que contigo me pagó ♪ ♪ Por eso es que ya mi vida ♪ ♪ Toda te la entrego a ti ♪ ♪ Tú que me diste en un beso ♪ ♪ Lo que nunca te pedí ♪ ♪ Yo sé que no hay en el mundo ♪ ♪ Amor como el que me das ♪ ♪ Y sé que noche con noche ♪ ♪ Va creciendo más y más ♪ ♪ Y sé que noche con noche ♪ ♪ Va creciendo más y más ♪ ♪ Deja que salga la Luna ♪ [ cheering, applause ] Erika, where did you learn to sing like that?

Well, I've been singing since I left the womb.

According to my parents.

There's work here.

Yeah, there's videos of me When I was in my very young ages, when we lived in Arizona singing along to the Snow White songs.

Oh, And a little Snow white dress.

My favorite Disney princess always has been.

And I've always sang at church forever.

And we would go to the Spanish classes for church with a very primarily Hispanic community.

So all of our songs at church were based off Hispanic music over the, you know, like typical cathedral or like orchestral music here in Fairbanks.

Yes, here in Fairbanks, at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Wow.

I had no idea.

Thank you for sharing that with us.

And so you have been singing in Spanish with your family and a church.

And can you take Spanish at West Valley High these days?

Yes, yes, and I am still learning.

I'm much further than I was, but I'm still learning.

But because I grew up singing it, hearing it, being around it, I it's coming quicker, I bet.

Yeah, yeah, it singing in a language doesn't necessarily teach you the language, but it definitely teaches you some pronunciation and some context.

Yeah.

And as for my journey to specifically singing in mariachi, the way the technique is very different from other like, you know, classical, singing, you know, or choral music.

I'm also inquire so they're in choir, you're like, oh, hold back, you need to blend with everyone right in mariachi.

Even if, even if you're singing in a group, everybody is meant to be heard.

It's very like kind of rough around the edges, very.

You want to show your emotion and you.

It's a very, belting type of genre.

So a lot of belting, a lot of a vibrato is very common.

And in this last song, I did vocal flips instead of continuing with the full belt and not, I'm pretty sure, is, European influence got to go from your chest voice to a falsetto and have that vocal flip.

It's a more folk style.

And this song Deja que salga la it's a very emotional song about what's going to say.

That vocal flip really brings in that emotion.

Yeah, it's like it's so deep and then you're.

It's soft.

Is it something about the moon?

Yes.

So, it's about the album Luna.

That's like.

When the when the moon light comes out right.

Essentially in the song, the, singer is, telling another person about how much they love them.

It's a very essentially like, very deep type of love.

In the song, it's not necessarily sad, but it's more so like how much how well they are together, how they how much they belong.

And, what I like about is it like it doesn't sound lovey dovey necessarily, but it sounds deeply emotional.

Yeah.

It's very, very emotional song.

It's one of my dad's favorites.

And so I chose this one specifically for him.

I'm so glad your parents are here and your whole family is here.

Your siblings.

Yeah.

When we were doing soundcheck I asked you, I said, well if you need a vocal mic here it is.

We'll set it out here for you and said I probably will not need that.

Yeah.

And indeed you do not need an extra vocal mic.

Erica, that is just amazing.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Let's get, Drake up here.

Trumpet, player to speak a bit.

Good afternoon.

Drake.

Hey, hey, it, I love the outfits that you have to out in radio land.

They have to know that you are in full mariachi attire, including the hat, which is called a. It's a sombrero.

It's a sombrero.

I didn't want to get it wrong, but I thought maybe that was right.

And you've got the fancy mariachi shirts on the boots.

It's, It's the entire outfit.

It's amazing.

Have you been playing trumpet a long time?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's been 6 or 7 years.

Yeah.

And you're a what at?

I'm a junior.

You're junior?

Was mariachi something that you had dreamed of playing for a very long time?

No, actually, in my freshman year, when I was invited to play in the band.

And that was also around the time that I started being in the late jazz band.

So, yeah, starting high school, I was really opening up to a lot of different genres of music.

So classical and jazz differ because you can improv with you can do a lot of improvization.

Yeah.

And so mariachi and jazz kind of go together, They do kind of, but they, they still differ quite a lot because, jazz isn't quite as much of folk music, I don't think.

Right.

And the way the trumpet sounds is overall a lot different.

Like, it's very more exaggerated.

Articulation and like difference between really short and really long.

And also the vibrato is done completely differently, from classical and from jazz.

How did you learn to play mariachi trumpet then?

I mean, there can't be that many instruments.

And I was listening to mariachi trumpet, you know, listening to recordings of the songs that we're learning here in this band as well as, looking up some online tutorials on how to do it.

That that was YouTube.

I got it.

Yeah, yeah, but it really did work.

Like, yeah, you know, a simple in-depth, an explanation.

Really helped me like immediately.

Yeah.

What an age we live in that you can play this ancient mariachi music and learn it in Fairbanks, Alaska through looking it up on the internet.

Yeah.

If that hadn't have happened, you would have had to have some great mariachi trumpeter come up and teach you in real life.

Well, that's the cool thing is that people can share their knowledge through the internet.

Yeah.

That's amazing.

Very convenient.

Yeah.

Very convenient.

How did you play it?

On the Hering Auditorium?

Lathrop High School, stage before Dark.

Winter Nights.

Yeah, yeah, I mean, I've been going to Lathr High School for a while, so most of my performances in symphonic band have been there.

Before sold out crowd like Dark Winter Nights was, No, that's probably my first time with a full crowd.

That's so cool.

And you said that you started playing with this band as a freshman.

What drew you to this is, majority West Valley.

So how did you get in with the, West Valley crowd being from Lathrop?

Well, originally it was our our original violinist, Lena, who also went to later.

She invited me to be in the band, and I was completely down for it, so I really cool.

Yeah, I really wanted to wear the outfits part of it, too.

The outfits were part of it.

But that's not too big of a problem.

I mean, they look cool.

They do look cool.

Wow, I, I am amazed and is it hard to go from your jazz band to the mariachi because you practice probably the same, the same days?

Sometimes.

Yeah.

A lot of times I will be playing, you know, rehearsing in 2 or 3 ensembles.

Like, I'm not just in symphonic band and jazz band.

There's also I do a lot of stuff.

You play trumpet in many okay.

And many ensembles, I take it.

Wow.

Well, you're a busy trumpet player, Jake nailing.

Thank you so much for coming here to KUAC's Alaska Live.

It's amazing to have you.

Thank you.

Yeah.

You bet.

And, I think we need to talk to, Leah next.

Will you?

Leia Hulbert is, a violinist also for a lot for the Mariachi Nomeolvides.

Ye And how did you make it into this band?

You are from West Valley, so that probably helped.

Yeah.

Correct.

So it was definitely suggestion from Erika.

She was the main, you know, motivation.

You know, me and Sophia had actually just started becoming friends with Erika towards the end of the school year.

And she brought up one day, hey, Lena's graduating.

Did you guys want to, you know, join my mariachi band?

And we're like, well, it's not really much else to do over the summer, so why not?

Wow.

So you learned a lot of songs over this past summer.

Is that one?

That was, it was this past summer and also the.

Yeah, it's summer.

Summer before that, the one after our sophomore year.

So were you part of the year?

Sorry.

My bad.

Yeah.

After your freshman year, you became part of this mariachi band, correct?

Yeah.

Wow.

And, Leah, how long have you been playing violin?

Same as Sofia.

About eight years, almost nine, I believe.

So, half your life?

Yeah.

It's pretty much.

I love it.

And how was it going from, the more classical style to mariachi?

I mean, you had your friend Sofia to do it with, but, how was that?

Well, being with Sofia definitely made it a lot easier with the transition.

It was quite strange to me because me personally, I never liked, I guess, composing my own music or, like, kind of adding my own thing.

I was very used to just following the dynamics and suggestions from composers previously, as in the Suzuki method.

That's just how we were taught for the longest time.

And then being in the mariachi band and then quite frankly, a bit frustrated at times because I was like, well, how am I supposed to know what I'm supposed to add or do?

I've never done this before, so I just had to listen to a lot of mariachi music.

A lot of the recordings that Eric actually provided us with just, you know, YouTube scouring, like Drake was saying, it's it's just so much information on the internet now that it was really helpful.

Yep.

Just type mariachi into the search bar and you're off to the rabbit hole of mariachi music.

That's, And so did you see them perform, when they were performing at the Ensemble World music, right?

Yeah, yeah, I was actually sitting with Sophia, and I remember everybody just mentioning how loud and, well projected Erika's voice was.

I remember kids from Anchorage, just like looking at each other like, Holy cow.

Whoa.

She didn't have a mic or anything.

It was just like, full on projecting out into this giant auditorium.

And I think West Anchorage High School.

Yeah, it was really great.

And I think that was the first time where I was like, I've never really listened to this sort of music before.

And it kind of, you know, ignited somewhat of an interest in the music.

I bet that was really impressive.

And they won that year.

Yeah.

Yeah.

They impress the judges along with, did a mariachi band start in Anchorage, I wonder because of that, too?

Not quite.

That's like weird, I guess the seed was planted.

Yeah, but then once we got back to Fairbanks and we're, you know, going back to our normal orchestra, music and school, and that's where, Erika was finally like, hey, you guys want to just pop on in?

We we're missing violins now, so there's seats open.

And I've always done a lot of things in my life with Sophia, just because we've been raised together from a very young age.

So you're like sister violinist, basically.

Yeah.

She's like a no go.

And you're even dressed the same.

Same now?

Yeah, yeah.

Wait.

Okay.

You do have a band outfit for, folks in radio land?

They've got the best outfits on and you even have the flowers in your hair like a mariachi band, right?

Erika put in a lot of work with, the appearance aspect as well as our playing and she was very adamant that we came off very professional and well put together.

And that was just she had so much motivation, and it was very encouraging for the rest of us because we were like, well, let's live up to that expectation now.

Totally.

You have matching ties with your shirts to the men and the women in the mariachi band, but all wear the ties.

Yeah.

And the women get the flowers in their hair and the men get the sombreros.

Are you a little jealous of the sombrero.

No.

It would get in the way of your bowing.

Exactly.

Yeah.

I mean I'm sure that both Nahoua and Drake enjoyed their little, you know, sun visor, but yes, it makes it a lot easier.

You know, when you're bowing with the violin, sometimes the bow might just, like, come up and poke the hat off.

That should be a little bit, rough during a performance.

Maybe.

Dramatic.

Quite so.

Yeah.

There are certain rhythms that the violin has to pull off in mariachi, and you've learned those, right?

And but they're way different than, like, folk music of Americana.

Folk music that I know.

It's mariachi folk and it's way different.

And you have learned those in, a great way.

And so I really am in awe of that.

Yeah.

I mean, growing up, Suzuki, we usually just listen to the song first and then we get to play it.

So you already know what kind of rhythms you're playing.

But since I had no previous experience with these or this is on road music, I was, say the least, a little lost for the first while.

And Erika definitely helped us with, like, some of the counting and it definitely it's helped me with a lot of my rhythm, and it's even helped with my classical playing back in like school orchestras and solo pieces as well.

Wow.

So you are coming along in your solo classical music because you're part of Mariachi Nomeolvides?

Yep.

That's cool.

Yeah.

Okay.

So we are ready for, the next song, and I don't know who wants to introduce that.

Well, we'll probably get Erika.

to do it.

Okay.

Okay.

Yeah.

The next song is another instrumental, very, very much classical esque piece.

It's called Viva Midas Gracia, and it is arranged by Mariachi de Pepe via.

Can you tell us real quick those rhythms to listen to?

Because that just struck me as, oh, these mariachi rhythms are cool and they're different.

I'd say, you can listen to the contrast of the trumpet and the violins in the song.

The violins, they're very, like, very smooth legato.

They're very, you know, typical what you would hear when you think about violin, but the trumpet is very like, triumphant.

I'd say.

And which is, very like, I wouldn't say, like, clashing, but it's just like, it's it's different in a great way.

It's it's just a really good two different styles to put together when you listen to the song.

All right.

Name the song one more time.

Viva Midas Gracia, arranged by Mariachi de Pepe de Villa [ music playing ] [ applause ] Mariachi Nomeolvides are my guests today on KUAC's Alaska Live.

I'm your host, Lori Neufeld.

And, Erika, you were right about the role the trumpet plays in that song.

He even got to use his mute on that, too, which is, decently unusual in mariachi songs.

Sometimes it will be used like in more like, like, modern songs or more jazz inspired.

Kind of like what La Bikina is, fitting under like, a different like variation of mariachi.

But, we are going to hear La Bikina.

I know you have on your set list.

It's, it's the closer.

Yes.

I'd say the like importance of the mute in this case.

Just really gave the trumpet a lot of color.

A lot of, I don't really know how to explain it.

I don't know, I have the word, but I just.

I don't know the word, but, it really just.

I felt like it really fit the ending.

It said.

It said use a meat in the music.

And I was skeptical at first, but when I heard it, I was like, this is a really good contrast at the beginning.

It's like, you know, it's ending now because the trumpets quieter, right?

Yeah.

The voice is getting more distant.

Yeah.

Erika, you choose all the music for the for the band and you teach everybody the their parts.

Yeah.

And have you, I mean yeah you probably you right, I, I can't play the trumpet I get it.

But but you know what it's supposed to sound.

Yes, that's the important part.

And I know that you went to, Fairbanks Has Talent and then won that and got to go down to the Palmer, the Alaska State Fair and perform for Alaska's Got Talent.

So cool.

Last year, when we won, that's, that was the second performance we won doing, Los Angeles.

Yes.

This is when we first got put together, like, with, the violins and our, guitarist, who, unfortunately, is not here today, but, we're missing Eric, but, yeah, next time, like I said, we'll save something for next time.

Yes.

Yeah, but, it was just, the five of us.

One.

And we won.

Fairbank's Got Talent.

Unfortunately, we lost Palmer's Got Talent, but it was all right.

We.

That's when we learned, that's when I chose La Bikina.

I was looking through, like, what mariachi songs do I think we can win?

Yeah.

Using.

And I thought, La Bikina and, I'd say was a very impressive performance, but, you know, the judges had their bias.

You're such a new band then.

I think going to these, competitions and doing all these performances is getting you ready to win a bunch of these things.

Yeah.

I'm really hoping that in college, you know, depending on what happens, I know that, some of us are planning on going out of state after graduating.

Is that you're a senior?

So that's your plan?

Maybe, if I get the opportunity to leave, or if for, like, a scholarship, a really good one opens up.

Or if I get to join a really famous mariachi band they requested.

That's like my dream, right?

But also, I wouldn't mind staying here another year with these guys, since most some of them are juniors still.

I mean, you won't be able to take that name with you as much because didn't you name it after the forget me not or Alaska State flower?

Yeah.

I hope though if I ever reach a professional level of, music.

And that's my profession, I do want to keep the name of this.

Nice!

Yeah, I want to take it with you.

Let every.

It's really interesting.

You know, you never see a famous mariachi from Alaska.

That's right.

So might as well just keep it with me.

I love it.

Well, we have to speak with, Nahoa Kalani Hoodecheck your.

Vihuela player.

Hello.

Hello.

Or hola.

Oh, I I'm going to say aloha.

I don't have anyone.

Your name does seem like you might be Hawaiian.

I am Hawaiian, I'm Kanaka maoli.

I grew up with a lot of, influence.

When it came to Pacific Islander music.

Reggae, mariachi?

Si.

It's a genre very foreign to me before this, but, okay, maybe not completely foreign because with, Polynesian music I grew up on is, which is very heavy in like ukulele, which fun fact means jumping flea.

Ukulele means jumping flea.

Yeah.

Uku meaning like tiny bug and, like learning, like jumping, but as well, I mean, do we know of the instrument, the name of that stringed instrument you get to play?

Yeah.

But with, growing up on that, transitioning to here hasn't been so difficult.

Especially because when I was seven, I started on the ukulele.

And when did you move to Fairbanks?

Oh, I was born and raised here.

Oh, okay.

Gotcha.

My mom, she moved up here, and I never went back after she saw that there was snow here.

And so the ukulele and the view, well, it's just like I leveled up a string.

Yeah.

Okay.

That's basically the transition was there's five strings.

There's only five I love.

And there's six on the on the guitar.

On the guitar.

No, on the ukulele.

This voice that's like.

Oh, there's one.

I'm leveling up.

Next year I'll start on guitar, you know, ramp it up.

Maybe I'll get, like, start on this.

I don't know, I really like the string instruments.

And with it being rhythm, I'm primarily a percussionist, and so I'm, I'm keeping the time.

And I love it so much.

So in mariachi, your part on the vihuela is rhythm guitar.

Rhythm guitar?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And and some good rhythms and the and it's the quietest instrument, I think, in the band.

And so when we were doing soundcheck, I was like, what's the quietest?

That's me on vihuela.

Where do you stand next to the trumpet?

I was like, oh, okay, I love a challenge.

And so, we mic'ed up the string, the guitar in the vihuela a little bit, but, what drew you to playing mariachi?

Erika invited me, and I knew her before I was at her.

Quinceanera is one of the dances, and so I knew her previously.

And.

Cool.

You were one of the dancers at her quinceanera?

Yeah.

It was.

And what are the dancers?

What kind of dances?

That, That they just.

We got, like, choreography and.

Erika, this might be you may ask about it.

We did a waltz and a surprise dance.

So a traditional waltz, like, a lot of, like, traditional waltzes that you will hear for Quinceaneras is like the song we just played.

Viva Midas Garcias.

They'll dance the songs like that and then surprise dances like whatever You Want.

It's like free.

And now you were one of the dancers?

Yeah, it was an amazing experience.

That's how I became dusty with Erica.

And then, I guess she was scouting me apparently for the past three years.

I just joined March.

My first performance was the dark winter nights with them.

So I've only been playing like this instrument for, like, what, six, seven months?

Wow.

But you had been playing ukulele for quite some time.

For a while.

And then I started percussion sixth grade and Covid happened and picked it back up.

Eighth grade.

I was in a percussion ensemble and that's very experimental.

Like unlike in traditional band pieces where it's percussion is kind of like the texture in the background a little, hey, there's a marine there that's neat.

It's more of like the vocal point and oh, there's so many cool things with percussion ensemble.

But this isn't about mariachi.

Well, if you want to be a Nanook, you can totally do that and be in a percussion ensemble.

Sean Dowgray he's great.

Doctor Dowgray is amazing.

Are you taking lessons already?

I don't have money for lessons, but he runs the youth percussion ensemble at West Valley, which is open to everyone.

And I'm in that.

Been there for four years now, ever since I was a freshman.

It is so cool that you are the percussionist on the vihuela Here in the Mariachi Nomeolvides Yeah, well, other than play percussion and play in a mariachi band and have to do some school work every once in a while too.

What else do you love to do?

I'm really into ecology from, like when I was three, I had a hyper fixation.

Like full on would just consume documentary material.

It was so intense that my dad signed up for the National Geographic magazine, and I just have this giant box of them from like 2012 to 2020.

And David Attenborough, do you do you have a good David Attenborough voice?

Not really.

I need to work on my narration just a tiny bit.

I'm also really into, like, I don't know, just anything.

Stem mainly biology, focus, path, biology, ecology.

Want to get into theoretical physics.

There's philosophy.

And then there's obviously hobby music away from like what I'm doing here before professionally is I lyric write lyrics.

So maybe someday we'll hear some of your lyrics and, Mariachi Nomeolvides.

Maybe, yeah.

Well, biology degree does, it makes you can do this job that I do because I have biology degree, but I'm not using that.

I'm really.

I'm at a crossroads, man.

Like, do I want to go and become, like, a forensics investigator in a lab, or do I want to, like, take up a camera and go out in the middle of, like, the Arctic Circle and record polar bears?

It's too much in life.

I think you can do both.

I want to.

Well, I think we're ready for the next song.

And I don't know who gets to introduce that, but, you'll be a part of it.

Is it something I can say?

Oh, it is, I did it was my favorite, Amor Eterno Amor Eterno ?

Yes.

And then I. I don't want to butcher someone's name.

But say, say the name of the song, though.

You've got to do that.

Amor Eterno And it's it's my favorite.

I love it so much.

Yes.

So cute.

Beautiful.

On this one.

I let you go.

Oh, it was so amazing.

Yes.

You'reimproving.

Amor Eterno by Rocio Durcal.

I'm switching up the feeling a little bit more.

A little more smoother.

I'd say a love song.

Yes.

[ music playing ] ♪ Tú eres la tristeza, ay, ♪ de mis ojos ♪ ♪ Que lloran en silencio por tu ♪ amor.

♪ ♪ Me miro en el espejo y veo en ♪ mi rostro ♪ ♪ El tiempo que he sufrido por ♪ tu adiós.

♪ ♪ Obligo a que te olvide el ♪ pensamiento ♪ ♪ Pues siempre estoy pensando ♪ en el ayer.

♪ ♪ Prefiero estar dormida ♪ que despierta ♪ ♪ De tanto que me duele que ♪ no estés.

♪ ♪ Cómo quisiera, ay, ♪ ♪ Que tú vivieras, ♪ ♪ Que tus ojitos jamás ♪ se hubieran ♪ ♪ Cerrado nunca y estar ♪ mirándolos.

♪ ♪ Amor eterno ♪ ♪ e inolvidable,♪ ♪ Tarde o temprano estaré ♪ contigo ♪ ♪ Para seguir amándonos.

♪ [ music playing ] ♪ Yo he sufrido tanto por tu ♪ ausencia, ♪ ♪ Desde ese día hasta hoy no soy ♪ feliz.

♪ ♪ Y aunque tengo tranquila ♪ mi conciencia, ♪ ♪ Sé que pude haber yo hecho ♪ más por ti.

♪ ♪ Oscura soledad estoy ♪ viviendo, ♪ ♪ La misma soledad de ♪ tu sepulcro.

♪ ♪ Tú eres el amor del cual ♪ yo tengo ♪ ♪ El más triste recuerdo ♪ de Acapulco.

♪ ♪ Cómo quisiera, ay, ♪ ♪ Que tú vivieras, ♪ ♪ Que tus ojitos jamás ♪ se hubieran ♪ ♪ Cerrado nunca y estar ♪ mirándolos.

♪ ♪ Amor eterno ♪ ♪ e inolvidable, ♪ ♪ Tarde o temprano estaré ♪ contigo ♪ ♪ Para seguir amándonos.

♪ [ music playing ] [ applause, cheering ] Mariachi Nomeolvides on KUAC's Alaska Live.

That was just gorgeous, Erika.

Thank you so much.

I can see why you picked that one for the band.

It.

Your violin section is amazing.

And then you that highlighted them so well.

Yeah.

And it's so cool that they came as a pair to you.

You met them at West Valley, I take it.

Yeah, I saw them and I guess when I first started the band and after, you know, Lena graduated when I was looking for the short period of time we had at school before it let out, I was like, I wonder who would be the best fit for this?

And I would always see Leia and Sophia together.

They were stand partners.

They always played very well and I knew they also had made it to all state.

I just knew they were great.

Yeah, and they were great together.

And, I just had this feeling like I knew that they would be good for the violinist.

For the band?

Yeah.

And, that your whole band would look great in the mariachi outfits.

Also, I understand that the sleeve that meets that doesn't meet up, that's that's super fancy.

That's what my friend told me that gave me this shirt.

Yeah.

So these shirts aren't actually, like, traditional mariachi outfits.

These are more, kind of what we put together because those mariachi outfits are very expensive.

Usually their entire suits with that are kind of like embroidered, embroidered on the side with, like metal.

And they have the girls will wear skirts like, kind of like, like Maxi Flor straight skirts.

And the guys will wear pants.

And it's all like, if you were to look up a picture of a mariachi band, they're all wearing.

Not this.

You look great.

You look matching.

You look great.

You've done it.

I'm very pleased.

With what we've decided something not so, you know, traditional.

You know, I'd say these are really close to, like, banda outfits with, mariachi twist.

Because you usually see, people in, like banda bands.

That's the genre.

Music different from mariachi, but still a Mexican genre of music.

It's a lot more, like, imagine a band because it's all brass.

Yeah, it's sort of right.

There's like no strings except for a bass.

So it's like the opposite, the opposite of mariachi.

And usually they're wearing like cowboy hats and they're wearing a shirt like this and jeans with the boots.

But.

Right.

You've done so well.

Well, I decided to do it.

This was what my mom made all the ties, and she made all the flowers, the ties and the flowers and the boots.

Those are all mariachi aspects, but the jeans and this shirt is a more modern take for it.

I think you mentioned, Gwendolyn.

Ross here, she's the, she's one of the music teachers, and she would have been here today, except that they all have be in school.

All the students are out in North Star Borough, the school district.

Because that's why we chose this date.

Because you're out of school.

But all the teachers had to be asked.

Yeah, I would have definitely had her as a guest here, along with Miss Deere, Mr.

Cluton and Mr.

Hovis and Doctor Dowgray.

You know, those are all teachers that we, have been taught by.

We aspire to be like are quite a few of them have been on Alaska Live.

She brought you to the Alaska Live with Choir Choir Choir.

That was amazing.

Yeah.

So we've got time for one last song.

What will it be?

Our last song.

And I'd say our most impressive is requested.

Yeah, most.

I'd say most requested, most impressive.

And I'd say the one that really brings out the talent of every single person in the band is La Bikina.

It's, a lot different.

It's.

I'd say it's like, kind of like a bit jazz inspired.

There's solos, in it.

It's definitely more modern than anything you've heard today, so.

All right, take it away Mariachi Nomeolvides!

Wow, I got it ready.

Yes.

And.

I my.

♪ Solitaria camina La Bikina, ♪ ♪ La gente se pone a murmurar.

♪ ♪ Dicen que tiene una pena, ♪ ♪ Dicen que tiene una pena ♪ que la hace llorar.

♪ ♪ Altanera, preciosa y orgullosa ♪ ♪ No permite la quieran ♪ consolar.

♪ ♪ Pasa luciendo su real ♪ majestad, ♪ ♪ Pasa, camina, los mira sin ♪ verlos jamás.

♪ ♪ (La Bikina) ♪ ♪ Tiene pena y dolor, ♪ ♪ (La Bikina) ♪ ♪ No conoce el amor.

♪ ♪ Altanera, preciosa y ♪ orgullosa, ♪ ♪ No permite la quieran ♪ consolar.

♪ ♪ Dicen que alguien ya vino ♪ y se fue, ♪ ♪ Dicen que pasa las noches ♪ llorando por él.

♪ [ music playing ] ♪ (La Bikina) ♪ ♪ Tiene pena y dolor, ♪ ♪ (La Bikina) ♪ ♪ No conoce el amor.

♪ ♪ Altanera, preciosa y ♪ orgullosa, ♪ ♪ No permite la quieran ♪ consolar.

♪ ♪ Dicen que alguien ya vino ♪ y se fue, ♪ ♪ Dicen que pasa las noches ♪ llorando por él.

♪ ♪ Dicen que pasa las noches ♪ llorando por él.

♪ ♪ Dicen que pasa las noches ♪ llorando por él.

♪ [ cheering, applause ] You can find links to more episodes of Alaska Live TV and download audio podcast of the Alaska Live Radio show online at KUAC.org Support for the Alaska Live series of live music and conversation on KUAC is made possible by a grant from Design Alaska, Design Alaska Strengthening Communities through support of the arts.