La Luna Nueva Festival — Miracle Theatre Group’s festival of Hispanic arts and culture from around the world in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month — will be held September 16 through October 1, 2011. In this series of articles, we visit with our guest artists, offering an inside look at their life and their work. Here, guest blogger Mark Saltveit chats with singer/songwriter/guiatarist Edna Vazquez, who will be performing with Los Palmeros mariachi band on Thursday, Sept. 22.
“I sing and song-write my pain and joy out, my frustrations as a human being for the world. The power of my voice is the lament alive or the lullaby at night, and without anything to lose… I face my fears.”
Edna Vazquez is a force of nature, a singer and songwriter in many genres (rock, pop, jazz and trova) with a powerful stage presence. In this year’s Luna Nueva festival, she is singing mariachi music — her “very best passion” — for her Oregon and Washington fans. Her show will feature the songs of Juan Gabriel, Consuelo Velazquez, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, and Agustin Lara, among others.
I asked her how singing mariachi is different.
“When I sing the mariachi style, I become ‘the queen of the band,’ witchcrafting my musicians with the charm of the character involved in the lyrics of the songs. All of a sudden, I am the sad lover who feels the absence of his lover gone, or that dove that flew away leaving his loving dove in despair! The mariachi was truly my very first genre to sing, from when I was 14 years old through, nowadays, every weekend.”
I was curious if it was a challenge to be a woman in a mariachi band.
“A woman in mariachi? It is rare! especially here in the Northwest. In the business and art of mariachi, it has always been about men! In the beginning it was a real nightmare that cost me a lot of tears, stress and anxiety. It took courage, motivation and determination to try to understand it and be part of it, because this is my biggest passion!
“In 1998 I became the only woman in a mariachi band in Oregon. I became a sensation in the community and started singing in three different mariachi bands. Some of the musicians made my life almost impossible, with their ‘macho’ side. They would put me down, saying that people would hire us just because I wear skirts; also for playing the guitar and singing at the same time.
“I had to stand up for myself and confront them verbally! There were days that I felt so uncomfortable for been the only woman in the band, always scared to say too much or too little. But then the act of making music would blend all those insecurities to make me stronger than ever, to keep me fighting for my dreams. A voice deep inside me would tell me, ‘I am supposed to be here.’
“Little by little, with patience and perseverance, I’ve proved to myself what I am capable of, to overcome and learn from the boys in mariachi. I’ve learned that, over all, they are nothing but sweet mama’s boys! The result is been that I have their respect as a singer/songwriter, composer and musician.
“Through the years I stood with my favorite band. Los Palmeros was the band that paid us all equally. Los Palmeros was the band who accepted me as a lesbian. Los Palmeros taught me the art and richness of this cultural tradition. I wouldn’t change any instant of my 12 years with them because we’ve learned each second together, like a family.”
Read more about Edna on our media page where you can also watch videos and listen to samples of her music, or visit her own website.
La Luna Nueva is sponsored by PGE Foundation and The Oregonian. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Festival events occur September 16 through October 1, 2011 at El Centro Milagro, 525 SE Stark Street, Portland, Oregon 97214; a complete schedule is available here. Admission varies; many events are FREE. Purchase tickets online at 503-236-7253 or www.milagro.org