Ana Csergö, the UK-based producer and arranger who founded Las Adelitas following an earlier stint playing the violin in another British mariachi outfit, encapsulates the modern Adelita, expertly combining the multiple roles required of a musician-manager alongside bringing up her own four young children. The band is named after Las Adelitas, the famous women soldiers of the Mexican Revolution who, in true multitasking fashion, juggled an armed uprising with a myriad of other tasks including catering and childcare. Whislt juggling being a motherf herself Ana's brought together a group of talented women - Dunia Correa (vocals, guitarron, guitar) Jari Castillo (vocals, guitar), Reyna Avila (vocals, vihuela, guitar), Zahylis Basanta (violin) Laetitia Leyland (trumpet) and Rebecca Waite (trumpet) hailing from Cuba, Colombia, Mexico and the UK - and reinvented the classical Marichi repertoire ( a mix of slow ballads and jaunty horns) for the modern age. Unusually for a band, there are three lead singers, all with different strengths which Csergo takes into account when arranging and allocating vocal parts.
How did an Eastern European get into Mariachi?
"I was already intrigued by mariachi firstly due to the prominent violin sections and then by all of the rhythmic elements slotting together, and the power in the vocals and the trumpets! So, when I saw an advertisement in a local paper, I replied straight away . . . the rest is history!" As with any other musical style there's an art of mastering the timings and flourishes of Marichi which originated in the state of Guadalajara more than a century ago. Today there are groups all over the world, but Las Adelitas is one of the few which has been invited on several occasions to the prestigious annual Mariachi Festival in Guadalajara. In spite of the accolade however, the pandemic saw work dry up for the band and the cost of taking the group and their instruments to Mexico means that for the time being they will only be able to join in spirit.
Before COVID hit, Las Adelitas had - in addition to a busy diary of birthdays, weddings and surprise serenades - notched up several high profile gigs before the first lockdown in 2020.
"We we doing pretty well and carving a niche out for ourselves, says Csergo, "when everything stopped and overnight we lost all our bookings." "People don't realise that many freelancers were not able to furlough - some of us could but some were really struggling, especially those of us who had recently had children - maternity isn't taken into account when calculating furlough payments so women were hit especially hard."
Overnight, along with the rest of the country, the music died. The band which had opened for Arcade Fire and played for Mexican actress Salma Hayak's birthday party (Las Adelitas even rustled up a special arrangement of Hayak's favourite song, Amy Winehouse's Back to Black) found themselves unable even to meet and rehearse. The fact they had to stay home meant they turned to technology and, while everyone else was adoping puppies, baking bread and learning a language (or at least clamiing to) Las Adelitas cut their first single and filmed their own promo video, all while working from home.
"It was a real learning experience," recalls Csergo. "I had to learn some new software very quickly." She also ended up incorporating a troupe of young dancers as keeping her children out of the way during lockdown filming was "harder than getting them involved." "They really wanted to be in it so in the end I said that they could be in it if they danced. It was easier to have them in it than dashing in and out chaos around the fringes," she explains. The new track, 'Toro Relajo' (with lead vocals by 18 year old Adelita Jari) has been well received. Now their huapango version of Back to Black is currently in competition for best video at the virtual Encuentro del Mariachi y la Charreria.
The band is hoping the video - which can be viewed on the organisation's facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/EncuentroMariachi) will garner enough likes to win them a trip to the live event to be held in Mexico next March. "To play live in Mexico is our greatest dream," says Csergö.
"We had some great responses and one of the most satisfying things is reaching new audiences, especially those who thought they knew all about Mariachi because they'd heard a bad version on a TV ad." We've had lovely messages from people, some of whom come up and say how they enjoyed the music and particularly how it empowers them." This will be music to the ears of the UK's Arts Council which worked through Suffolk-based Arts La'Olam, to provide some funding and support for the lockdown recording project. Thanks to them - and the Womens' hard work, Las Adelitas lived to play - and empower future audiences - another day.
Photo by Betty Laura Zapata
