El Rey de Alburquerque

Roberto Martínez and His New Mexican Mariachi: A Transnational Legacy

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The corrido was featured in the Smithsonian touring exhibition Corridos sin Fronteras / Ballads Without Borders. In 2002 Roberto Martínez was inducted into the "Corridista Hall of Fame," a section of the exhibition. In subsequent decades, whenever current events sparked the popular imagination, everyone knew that a definitive corrido would be forthcoming from Martínez and Los Reyes. These ballads give listeners a heightened sense of participation in history.

Another gift to listeners from Los Reyes and the Martínez family is a broader awareness of culture and cultural history. By embracing mariachi music and celebrating its energy, the group reconnects Nuevo Mexicanos to a deeper sense of mexicanidad, the feeling of identity and belonging to a greater bi-national Mexico, despite the barriers that crisscross it. During New Mexico's Territorial period from 1848 to 1912, part of the Americanization strategy in preparation for U.S. citizenship and statehood was a political and cultural distancing from Mexico. In support of this campaign, politicians, folklorists, and teachers emphasized the Spanish traditions and cultural survivals in New Mexico. In truth, similar archaic elements may be found anywhere in Latin America; it is all a matter of emphasis. Now that Mexican immigration has increased in recent years, a sense of cultural equilibrium is returning, along with a revitalization of the Spanish language. mariachi music transports listeners to transnational spaces, and allows the lyric power of Spanish poetry to do its transformative work.

But closer to home, Los Reyes de Alburquerque also creates a new and deeper sense of nuevomexicanidad by celebrating and exploring the original Nuevo Mexicano sound of the violin and guitar duo. For many generations, this ensemble was both a staple and emblem of the music of the valleys and mountains of the upper Río Grande. In a concerted effort to perpetuate and renovate the New Mexican violin, Roberto's oldest son Lorenzo took up the instrument at age nine, studying both classical technique and regional folk technique, which includes a fascinating range of tuning and bowing. His personal style is a resonant blend of both. He recorded three landmark CDs of violín Nuevo Mexicano, which feature a sampling of all of the old dance tunes and an anthology of wedding music, including marchas and the "Entrega de los novios," a ritual song that ceremonially joined the couple and their families. After his apprenticeship with master fiddlers in the north, Lorenzo spent a year playing with mariachis in Mexico and learning to incorporate the best of both worlds. When he plays mariachi, his full-throated tonality is what transforms it into Nuevo Mexicano mariachi.

The contributions of Roberto Martínez, his family, and Los Reyes de Alburquerque have been recognized, celebrated, and honored. In 1999 Don Roberto received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 2003 Roberto and Lorenzo Martínez jointly received the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award—the highest honor in the land for folk artists and performers—for their work in preserving and promoting their musical heritage. In December of 2009, Don Roberto gave his farewell concert with Los Reyes de Alburquerque. He is the last surviving member of the original group, and his legacy endures as a living feature of the musical landscape of Nuevo México.

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