If you like your lunches spicy, Mariachi Citlalli was the perfect menu choice on Tuesday.
The New York-based quartet entertained a noontime crowd on the Morristown Green with Mexican musical treats, kicking off Music Without Borders for a third season.
It’s a free series presented by the Arts Council of the Morris Area and the Mayo Performing Arts Center.
According to one of Tuesday’s performers, the “mariachi” form of music has existed for more than 200 years, and is a Mexican tradition. One hypothesis suggests the name mariachi may come from the French word for marriage, which is mariage.
The band, which started about a dozen years ago (when accordion player Nick Navarrete was 2!), gave the lunchtime audience a mini-lesson in Mexican musicology, including such beloved and well-known mariachi songs as La Bamba.
“We like to play Mexican music for people, and we especially want to play for Latino kids in the community so that they will grow up with it, learn it, and be interested in it because it is their culture,” said Jerry Navarrete, who plays a guitar called a vihuela.
His brother, Francisco Navarrete, plays trumpet and Bernardo Poncé plucks the guitarron, an oversized guitar.
When the show ended, families snapped photos of their kids wearing band members’ silver-laced black sombreros– big on young heads, but not big enough to conceal their giant smiles.
“It’s beautiful, we loved it,” Navarrete said of the show. “We’ve played outside before, and many places, but we also play for schools. Kids respond well to the music, and to be able to deliver such beautiful music to them is great.”
Morristown First Lady Mary Dougherty appeared to have a good time, as did Morris Township Mayor Peter Mancuso, who also serves on the Mayo board.
Dr. Lynn Siebert of the Arts Council was beaming.
“I’m delighted with the weather, I’m delighted with the music, and this was a great way to kick off the musical series,” she said. “We had an enthusiastic crowd today and it was great to see a wide swath of the community coming together to hear the music [of different cultures]. You know, music is the universal language.”
Next up:
JULY 10: Mauricio de Souza with Bossa Brasil® (Brazilian music)
JULY 24: Red Hawk Native American Arts Council Dance Troupe (Native American music and dance)
AUGUST 7: Barynya (Russian Music and Dance)
Kevin Coughlin contributed to this report.
