La Frontera’s Tucson International Mariachi Conference has been celebrating the culture of mariachi music since 1982. This year the festival returns to its downtown roots.
In honor of this momentous occasion, Home Stretch Host Hannah Levin will feature a track from Mariachi Cobre’s eponymous album Mariachi Cobre, released in 1992, each day at 4 pm for The Classic Pick of the Week.
To help celebrate, we invited Tucson Mayor Regina Romero to join KXCI Executive Director Elva De La Torre to discuss her plans to rename the TCC Music Hall in honor of Linda Ronstadt. The venue will be formally named during the Espectacular Concert and will honor the multi-Grammy-winning Tucson Native on Saturday, May 7th during the 40th International Mariachi Conference.
You can listen to the interview on our KXCI Conversation page or tune in to The Home Stretch on Tuesday just after The Classic Pick of the Week at 4 pm.
Neto Portillo, Jr. interviewed Steve Carrillo of Mariachi Cobre. They spoke about Mariachi Cobre’s 50 years, its role in creating the Tucson International Mariachi Conference 40 years ago, and their collaborations with Linda Ronstadt who will be honored this weekend before the grand finale of the Mariachi Conference. The interview will air shortly after 5 pm and at 7 pm on Wednesday, May 4th, and at 9:20 am Thursday, May 5th during Your Morning Brew. You can also listen to the interview on the KXCI Conversation page. Here’s an article that Neto wrote about Mariachi Cobre for the Arizona Daily Star in 2018.
Mariachi Cobre is one of the best-known mariachi bands in the United States, performing for millions of visitors at Epcot Center, Disney World in Orland, Florida since 1982. Originally based in Tucson, Arizona, the group was formed by guitarron and guitar player Randy Carrillo, a veteran of the first mariachi group in the U.S., Mariachi Juvenil Los Chanquitos Feos De Tucson. In addition to Carrillo, the original band included his brother, Steve Carillo, on trumpet, guitarron, vihuela, and guitar, Mack Ruiz on violin, and Frank Grijalva as the arranger.
