MUSIC AND DANCE REVIEW : Mariachi Group Provides a Lively Opening for Philharmonic Season

Opening its 40th season of offering a variety of performing-arts attractions to a loyal but only slowly expanding public, the Orange County Philharmonic Society turned to genuine populist fare Saturday.

By sponsoring the Segerstrom Hall debut of Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, the society brought in an appropriately festive way to celebrate the presenting organization’s survival.

Also classy. The Los Angeles-based, 14-member mariachi troupe headed by Natividad Cano traditionally gives a well-paced, artistically satisfying and smooth entertainment, long on tradition and polished to a shine. On this occasion, it did so, and vigorously.

The appearance of the band and two assisting dance troupe’s at the 2,994-seat hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center was rapturously greeted by a what seemed to be capacity crowd. This should have given some impresarios ideas.

This mariachis’ virtues are not common, or easily come by. The sense of pacing, musical motion and quick transitions found in the tight, two-hour show are the result of heavy consideration. The beauty of the costuming, juxtapositions of programming and contrasts in lighting, sound-textures and visual placement must be hard-won artistic decisions, their implementation fiercely maintained.

On the stage, of course, everything looks, and sounds--except for overloud amplification in an acoustical receptacle that needs very little--easy. Showmanship and virtuosity--in which all of these performers excel--consists in making the difficult appear effortless.

In a consistently pleasing evening of enthusiastic performances by all these musicians--the gifted solo singers come from within the group and indulge in no divaisms, even when holding high notes for what seem like minutes at a time--the high points arrived regularly, and had nothing to do with noisemaking, but rather with focus: Quiet songs were given the same intensity as showpieces.

Very little information, save the names of 13 of the 14 band members (every one of whom memorized their entire evening’s work) came in the official but skimpy printed program. Some backstage snooping at intermission, however, netted the names of the two dance troupes and their members.

They were Folklorico “La Fonda,” directed by Miguel Angel Diaz, and Ballet Folklorico Ollin, from the San Fernando Valley, directed by Virginia Diediker and Francisco J. Verdin. Whatever their actual professional status, they all danced on this occasion with the special inspiration that comes from the strongest kind of musical collaboration.