Mucho Corazón: The Mariachi-Opera Crossover
Juanita Ulloa's New Album: Mujeres y Mariachi

It was a Saturday night in a tiny Spanish restauran that was lively and filled with aromas of garlic, saffron, quail and gambas. Costumers were laughing and women were carrying baskets filled with colorful gardenias, gladiolas and the ever-present red roses for those in the romantic corners of life.

Esperpento Spanish Restaurant is the site of an endless parade of mariachi and norteño bands carrying guitars, violins, accordions and other worn-out instruments would step in. The competition for space between customers and musicians trying to make a buck was fierce, but good for business.

Here in the heart of the Mission District, Juanita Ulloa, a woman mariachi singer from New Jersey, joined me for a dinner of tapas and Rioja wine from Spain. Ulloa is here to introduce me into her new CD: Mujeres y Mariachi.

"Mujeres y Mariachi is a mariachi-opera crossover. Our sound is unique, both instrumentally and vocally. It is definitely the sound of Mexican music while also paying more attention to women musicians and composers than is common in Mexico," says the Yale-educated singer about her new album.

Meanwhile, the mariachi band that walked in had only five members wearing black Levi's that had been converted into traditional mariachi pants by sewing studs along the sides. The band played two of the most popular songs. "OK," says Juanita, "this song is for you," while getting up to sing with the band. After a few glances at each other, the band members started playing "La malagueña."

Singing in front of a mariachi band is not an easy task, although most people give it a shot when the spirits are high. In this place, even the image on the wall of Pedro Almodóvar wearing a matador dress seemed to come to life.

La malagueña is a very popular song among singers with high voices, and uses a technique in mariachi music called "falsete.” And Juanita Ulloa does it with her own technique called coloratura. "Mariachi coloratura is a 'fach,' a German word for a vocal register more comfortable. It is also called 'tessitura,' like lyric coloratura, or Heldon, tenor. The 'ranchera' feminine voice is sung with grave tone for mariachi but my own voice also offers higher pitches that can move in a lightly higher register — something rarely seen in the ranchero style singing, This is a style that I have been developing in order for women use all their voice and register, not only the low voice that imitates the male register," Juanita later explained to me.

At the end of the gig the band members went around the restaurant asking for costumers to put money in small paper bags.

It all started long time ago. Juanita's first exposure to mariachi music was when she was only seven or eight years old. One morning she woke up to the sounds of mariachi music coming from a band that had been hired to play on her father's birthday. At the time, she was living in Mexico City, where she grew up in one of the more wealthy neighborhoods. Juanita was in a bathrobe with curlers in her hair. "I was surrounded by mariachi musicians playing with me," says Juanita. At the time, she was playing piano and was interested in North Indian music. She played the sitar.

Accompanied by The Picante Ensemble, Juanita sings songs by women like Ema Elena Valdemar who composed the famous song "Mucho corazón," which appeared in the Luis Miguel album Romances. Juanita's album Mujeres included songs by María Greaver and Consuelito Velásquez, the author of the famed song "Bésame mucho."

Working in a field with very few women composers, Juanita Ulloa says, "I live longing for a land that does not exist just yet.”

To learn more about Juanita's music, please visit her website http://www.juanitamusic.com
—Jorge Chino