Nati Cano’s Mariachi Los Camperos Releases an Album of Concert Favorites

Washington (District of Columbia), USA – Nati Cano’s Mariachi Los Camperos has a new album on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. The title is ¡Llegaron los Camperos! – Concert Favorites.

Nati Cano’s Mariachi Los Camperos are a four-decade institution. A follow-up to 2002’s acclaimed –Viva El Mariachi! (also on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings), this album focuses on the concert repertoire of this dynamic band. ¡Llegaron Los Camperos! (translation: -The Countrymen Have Arrived,’ the opening lyrics of every Los Camperos show) offers popular medleys, a mariachi tradition. The group has headlined major mariachi festivals as well as Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and The Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

At once a traditionalist and a visionary, Nati Cano has played a major role in shaping mariachi music. Cano — a 1989 National Heritage Fellowship award winner — has achieved his lifelong goal of building understanding and respect for mariachi.

Born in 1933, he grew up in a musical family and joined a group traveling to Mexicali at the age of 15. He has lead Los Camperos since 1961, forming the famed venue La Fonda de Los Camperos, the first mariachi dinner theater in the United States, in 1969. Los Camperos’ Musical Director Jesus Guzmán, Manuel Cerda, and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Director Daniel Sheehy produced the album. Sheehy, a noted ethnomusicologist, wrote the extensive liner notes in English and Spanish and annotated each track. The package also includes exclusive photographs.

Buy Llegaron los Camperos