Hurtado says he doesn't know much about opera but Luciano Pavarotti is his favorite singer. During a break, I ask him about the connection between Mexican rancheras and Italian opera. Singer Alvaro Hurtado is doing the rounds with a mariachi. The walls are covered by murals with famous singers of rancheras: Pedro Infante, José Alfredo Jiménez, Chavela Vargas and Juan Gabriel. Recently, during one of my trips to Mexico City, I went to Plaza Garibaldi's bar "El Tenampa," a sort of cathedral of Mexican popular music. Mexican composers wrote songs for educated singers during the first half of the 20th century. "And I can imagine Mexicans, the composers saying 'Okay, so let's sing our music like that.'"Ĭamarena says the connection between the two seemingly different singing styles makes sense. "I can imagine Italians coming to Mexico and saying, yeah, listen to me singing O Sole Mío, says Mexican tenor Javier Camarena. The influence of Italian opera helped to create Mexico's ranchera genre. Italian companies traveled there to perform operas by Donizetti and Bellini as well as the latest works by other composers. It's a full house at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles where Mexican tenor Javier Camarena is performing a mix of Italian and French arias, Spanish and Mexican songs in a recital for the LA Opera.ĭuring the 19 th century, Italian opera was very popular in Mexico.
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