Best Was Saved for the Middle of Mariachi Fest

Although it ran an hour overtime, the fourth annual “Por Amor a Mi Tierra” mariachi festival Saturday at the Universal Amphitheatre still managed to undersell its biggest act.

Placing Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, arguably the world’s best ensemble of its kind, at the beginning of Part 2 created an imbalance from which the evening never quite recovered.

Framed by a stunning decor that made you feel as if you were standing on the main square of a Mexican colonial town, the 101-year-old outfit, in an exquisite yet short appearance, offered portentous versions of Jose Alfredo Jimenez’s “Gracias” and the group’s own virtuosic “Violin Huapango.”

The other acts on the bill failed to match the finesse of Vargas’ sound, although the all-female Mariachi las Alondras is on its way to becoming an excellent group. The performance by Mariachi Los Dorados de Villa was marked by its loose, spontaneous vibe, best represented during a clownish version of “El Mariachi Loco.”

The last act of the evening was Mariachi Internacional de Mexico, whose farcical sense of humor is questionable at best. At one point, the group definitely crossed the line of good taste by asking “all the little [homosexuals] in the audience to sing along,” only to be rewarded with roars of laughter from the crowd. And their shamelessly opportunistic mariachi version of Ricky Martin’s hit “La Copa de la Vida” was simply horrible.

By the time the groups joined for the grand finale a few minutes after midnight, the evening had become a clear case of mariachi overkill.