NEW YORK (AP) – Mariachi USA returns to the Hollywood Bowl this Sunday for its 32nd edition, and founder Rodri Rodríguez hopes to bring joy to her audience while keeping everyone safe and healthy.
“We know that at least half of the Hollywood Bowl is vaccinated based on how the situation is” when tickets began selling in May, he said, before the 17,500-capacity venue announced last month that it was opening capacity. to 100%.
And although COVID vaccination tests will not be required now and it is an outdoor event, “everyone has to have their mask on unless they are drinking and eating,” Rodríguez said this week in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Likewise, he indicated that “all the artists, the entire team – from the lighting technician to the set designer – have to have their vaccinations and also masks in all the dressing rooms and on stage, unless they are singing.”
The Mexican music festival, which last year was held virtually due to the pandemic, has five hours of live music scheduled with performances by the Grammy-winning group Mariachi Divas and the participation of Lupita Infante as a special guest.
They will also perform Mariachi Nuevo Mujer 2000, Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán, Mariachi Los Reyes and Mariachi Los Toros, as well as the Folkloric Ballet of Mi Tierra. And Rodríguez promises a more elaborate pyrotechnic show than ever.
And it has been a very hard year for the mariachi community, which largely depends on their hiring for baptisms, birthdays, engagements, quinceañeras and even funerals, Rodríguez said.
“More than anything else, it is a genre of music that reaches the home, the hearts of the people,” he explained. “The mariachis between serenades and all the other things are busy five days a week, and without that work it has been very, very difficult for them.”
Usually held on a Saturday, Rodríguez explained that this year, when the Hollywood Bowl reopened, the only date he had available was Sunday, August 22, and he decided to take it, supported by his sponsor Verizon.
They had no idea how many people would turn up, but at the time of the interview, more than 12,000 tickets had already been sold and he anticipated the sale of at least another 2,500 through Sunday.
“Either way, I know it’s going to be the richest scandal that has ever been heard, because when people start singing ‘El rey’ and ‘Volver, Volver’ with the fireworks, I think they will hear it there. in New York, ”said the producer enthusiastically.
Tickets are available at www.mariachiusa.com. They can also be purchased at www.Ticketmaster.com.