‘Day of the Dead’ concert is like mariachi on steroids

Though Dia de los Muertos is the “Day of the Dead,” the San Diego Symphony will host a lively celebration on November 1.

For the second year, special guests Mariachi Champaña Nevin, as well as Mexican vocalists and folkloric dancers, will celebrate the lives of Mexico’s greatest musicians.

Conductor Jeff Nevin encourages all people, even those who have never observed the holiday before, to come and enjoy the concert.

“If you were ever inclined to say ‘I kind of like mariachi music,’ this is the best example of mariachi that you’ll find,” he says.

On Dia de los Muertos, people in Mexico remember friends and family members who have died by setting a table with their favorite foods. Nevin explains that his family would prepare Swedish meatballs and gather specific chocolate candies in remembrance of his grandfather.

According to Nevin, the best way to honor musicians is to play their music.

“Dia de los Muertos is really an excuse for me to play the greatest hits of all the most famous people,” he explains.

Nevin put together Mariachi Champaña Nevin 11 years ago. While the group is based in San Diego and is a frequent San Diego Symphony guest, it has a history of performing larger concerts elsewhere. The mariachi group performs in Mexico often and even performed in Russia last summer.

Still, Nevin was thrilled when Mariachi Champaña Nevin performed at the Dia de los Muertos concert last year, and hopes that the event will become a San Diego tradition.

“We’ve done a lot of things, but we’re trying to establish it as a tradition here, in San Diego,” Nevin says.

Although the group varies in size depending on the type of concert, it is usually larger than a typical mariachi. The group will be at its biggest at this concert - 25 people or more than twice the size of an average mariachi. Nevin says the size of the group will allow them to play a variety of pieces, some using just a few members and others using the whole group.

“So we can play a lot more complicated, a lot more complex arrangements and it sounds more like a big orchestra than most mariachis,” Nevin explains. “This is like a mariachi on steroids or a mariachi dressed up really, really nice.”

Opera singers Jorge Lopez-Yanez and Monica Abrego will be performing, too. Both are classical opera singers, but they grew up in Mexico singing traditional Mexican music. Nevin believes they fit in perfectly with Mariachi Champaña Nevin.

“What we kind of specialize in is combining classical music with mariachi,” he says.

“It’s really fun. Some people might think ‘Oh my god, dead people!’ and think the whole concert is just a bunch of dancing skeletons,” adds Nevin, who admits there has to be dancing skeletons. “Take a chance. If it seems a little weird, go ahead and take a chance. I guarantee it’s going to be a good show.”

Kristina Blake is an SDNN intern.

Event info

What: San Diego Symphony’s “Dia de los Muertos: A Winter Pops Special Event”   

When: Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., downtown.

How much: $20 to $85

Contact: (619) 235-0804 (box office); www.sandiegosymphony.com

Multimedia: Watch the finale of last year’s “Day of the Dead” concert at Symphony Hall.

Tags: Ballet Folklorico, concert, Copley Symphony Hall, Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos, event, Jeff Nevin, Jorge Lopez-Yanez, Kristina Blake, mariachi, Mariachi Champana Nevin, Monica Abrego, music, San Diego Symphony, SDNN, Uncategorized, Winter Pops

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