For the ¡Fiesta Latina! 2022 welcome performance, the university’s student ensemble will open for the world’s only Grammy award-winning mariachi. Western New Mexico University Cultural Affairs worked with Mariachi Plata de WNMU Director Bryant Chaffino to bring Mariachi Los Camperos to campus during ¡Fiesta Latina!, which kicks off Thursday, June 16, with a free nighttime musical performance by both groups. Mariachi Los Camperos was founded in 1961 by Jose Natividad “Nati” Cano Ruiz, who played a fundamental role in the development of mariachi music in the U.S. by training and mentoring new generations of mariachi musicians. A visionary leader who wanted to take mariachi performances beyond customary locations such as cantinas and into concert halls. Nati Cano fulfilled his dream by presenting Los Camperos, which in 1964 became was the first mariachi to perform in Carnegie Hall. The group has performed for over 60 years on stage and television, including in motion...
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