Mariachi Sol de Oslo

Mexico's national music has had its representatives in Oslo

One of the opportunities this year's "glocal" Oslo World offers is to dive deeper into the wanderings of the capital's music life you might not have imagined was there. For example, what about the Mexican mariachi tradition in Oslo? Since 2017, things have been pretty good. At that time, a group of professional musicians with varied backgrounds from the city's music environments formed Mariachi Sol de Oslo, a large orchestra that unites around the love of Mexican culture, dance and music.

The origin of the term mariachi is debated, but the form of music has emerged in the meeting between Mexican traditional music and instruments that were introduced in the country through the Spanish colonization. Several types of folk music were eventually formed by this meeting, and what we know today as mariachi was formed in the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, where it became a form of music that was linked to the new urban Mexico, not entirely different from The way country music's popularity in the United States went hand in hand with the increasing influx of rural people to the cities. The distinctive look, with charro costumes, was in place at this time and helped make the Mariachi style easily recognizable, and eventually a symbol of Mexican culture that was widely used in film.

In recent years, Mariachi Sol de Oslo has represented this tradition in this country through a number of concert evenings, for example in connection with the celebration of the Day of the Dead. The visual and musical components of Maricachi music are treated with deep respect and playfulness, and they mix newly composed material with traditional songs. Mariachi Sol de Oslo is one of the largest orchestras we invite to this year's Oslo World - and their concert at Cosmopolite will be memorable.

Musicians:

• Valerio Bottari - musical director, guitarron
• Torbjørn Sandvik - vihuela, guitar, Cuban Tres
• Arunas Adumavicious - trumpet
• Ombeline Chardes - violin
• Natalie Salyuk - violin
• Edgar Albitres - vocals
• María Alejandra Barreto - vocals
• Bellali Austria - dance