With Ronstadt’s Help, Cano Presides Over a Buoyant Fiesta

In his eighth annual “Fiesta Navidad” show Tuesday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Nati Cano had more to celebrate than in other Christmas seasons. This year marked the 40th anniversary of his accomplished Mariachi Los Camperos. And at 69, the violinist has a new baby daughter, his second child in a family started late in life.

The joy of these milestones was reflected in his buoyant stage presence. Hospitable as the don of his hacienda, Cano served as gracious, bilingual emcee for an evening of traditional carols and rancheras.

A Mexican courtyard on a starry night provided the backdrop for Las Posadas, the choral re-creation of the Christmas story, punctuated by a pinata party, the astounding rope tricks of Tony Munoz, and the dancing of Virginia Diediker’s Ballet Folklorico Ollin.

Cano mined the timeless appeal of Mexico’s foremost folk music, unveiling new medleys from Michoacan and Veracruz arranged as stirring mini-suites by Los Camperos musical director Jesus “Chuy” Guzman.

This year’s highlight, though, was the appearance of Linda Ronstadt, who worked with Los Camperos on her return-to-roots recordings of Mexican classics in the 1980s. She thrilled the capacity crowd with her rich, occasionally rapturous vocals, still tinged with a touch of country.

Nobody seemed to mind that her falsettos were snipped short here and there. The rusty singer even joked about catching her own mistakes in this exceptionally demanding genre. Technical perfection was not the point of Ronstadt’s rare concert visit. It was her hommage to Cano, who helped her refine her feel for this lively and lovely music.