The official student newspaper of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire since 1923.

The Spectator

The official student newspaper of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire since 1923.

The Spectator

The official student newspaper of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire since 1923.

The Spectator

Los Cenzontles

Kevin Gisi

Though Los Cenzontles translates to “The Mockingbirds” in English, this group does anything but mock.

The band, which was formed nearly 20 years ago, is a distinctive blend of traditional Mexican music and more modern elements added together to create a completely individualized sound. The players traveled from their home in the San Francisco Bay Area to kick off the 2009-2010 season of UW-Eau Claire’s Artists Series.

Monday’s show in the Council Fire Room opened with a melodic a cappella duet performed by the group’s two talented female vocalists, Lucina Rodriguez and Fabiola Trujillo. Then, without even the slightest of pauses, the group erupted from the soft, haunting vocals into a lively, fast-paced piece that the entire six-member band was involved in. Each member of the group exhibited multi-faceted musical talents as they each played various instruments throughout the performance, including an accordion, a percussive instrument made from a donkey’s jawbone, and modern essentials like the drums and the bass guitar.

In addition to the group’s broad array of instruments, the players included an equally wide selection of musical styles throughout the night. Their songs varied from slower, story-telling “rancheras,” or country songs, to spirited folk, jazz and even blues music.

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“Being Mexican-American, it is very natural to play both Mexican and American music,” leader and founder of Los Cenzontles, Eugene Rodriguez explained. “Playing traditional music in a modern world also makes it logical to play traditional music and contemporary music, or traditional music with a contemporary mind-set,” he said.

The performers displayed much musical prowess as they seamlessly tackled each genre: their traditional Mexican music was robust and boisterous, their blues melodies were soft and sweet and their folk music was worthy of a quintessential coffee shop’s open mic night.

Even with so many different genres, each song was sung in traditional Spanish and told a story. Many selections were original pieces written and composed by the band themselves. Although the songs differed from tranquil vocal ballads to upbeat, instrumental pieces, the anticipated liveliness and energy native to Mexican music remained constant and apparent throughout the show. Though the group experiments and plays with many diverse styles of music, it remains true to its Mexican roots.

“It’s vital to have a culture that we all share and can talk to each other through,” Rodriguez said during the performance.

This cultural connection is fundamentally important to the band and is the foundation for all of its work.

“Music is . a way to connect with people, and through music I have been able to connect with family members, other generations [and] people from other cultures that I would not have been able to connect with in any other way,” Rodriguez said.

This culturally-centered message was not lost on the rapt audience. Throughout the performance, many attendees could be seen tapping their feet or swaying their shoulders to the rhythm, immersed in the laid-back, yet energizing feel of Mexican music. The audience consisted of an even ratio of students and community patrons, and all of the attendees seemed to enjoy the show.

“Their original music was really good,” freshman Peter Henckel said “And their traditional music was also full of talent.”

Most students shared Henckel’s sentiment.

Freshman Michael Richards said he enjoyed the variety.

“The fact that their music was influenced by so many cultures made them very interesting to listen to.”

Because of the audience’s appreciation of the varying influences used in Los Cenzontles’ music, the band’s message was effectively delivered. The players strive to include diverse cultures in all of their work, including their future projects.

“We have a new CD coming out next month that mixes Mexican (music) with African-American music,” Rodriguez said. “(It) is a collaboration with blues legend Taj Mahal and the great David Hidalgo of Los Lobos. We also will be appearing on an Irish-Mexican CD with the legendary Chieftains.”

With such a richly diverse background, an impressive artillery of musical genres and the uncanny ability to combine it all into one successful group, Los Cenzontles are sure to impress future audiences as effortlessly as they did here in Eau Claire.

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