Arizona/New Mexico Book Award 11/9/2019
When I talked my way into a mariachi band, I never expected it to be so much work!
Usually I write fiction, but here I delve into non-fiction with a musical memoir. Learning mariachi was not one bit easy! In fact, it's the hardest thing I've ever learned if you don't count Italian, back handsprings, and let's not even bother to mention cooking!
SECRETS OF A MARIACHI VIOLINIST
I would have never guessed that nostalgia for living in Mexico would lead me to join a mariachi band in Tucson, Arizona. Nor would I have guessed that learning by ear could be such a challenge! Despite rivals and flirtatious compadres, I was too stubborn to give up. Instead I used on-the-job training and late nights with a tape recorder to learn song after song. In the memoir I recount some of my favorite evenings at El Mariachi Restaurant and describe the alarming process of relearning technique. The cheerful vignettes show the ups and downs of playing in a musical group--a must-read for any music lover!
Note: The 2019 version (red and white cover) includes 10 additional chapters.
WINNER of the Arizona/New Mexico Book Awards 2019 for Biography-Arizona!
Honorable Mention for the 2017 Readers' Favorite Non-Fiction-Music/Entertainment Award
Usually I write fiction, but here I delve into non-fiction with a musical memoir. Learning mariachi was not one bit easy! In fact, it's the hardest thing I've ever learned if you don't count Italian, back handsprings, and let's not even bother to mention cooking!
SECRETS OF A MARIACHI VIOLINIST
I would have never guessed that nostalgia for living in Mexico would lead me to join a mariachi band in Tucson, Arizona. Nor would I have guessed that learning by ear could be such a challenge! Despite rivals and flirtatious compadres, I was too stubborn to give up. Instead I used on-the-job training and late nights with a tape recorder to learn song after song. In the memoir I recount some of my favorite evenings at El Mariachi Restaurant and describe the alarming process of relearning technique. The cheerful vignettes show the ups and downs of playing in a musical group--a must-read for any music lover!
Note: The 2019 version (red and white cover) includes 10 additional chapters.
WINNER of the Arizona/New Mexico Book Awards 2019 for Biography-Arizona!
Honorable Mention for the 2017 Readers' Favorite Non-Fiction-Music/Entertainment Award
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Two-Minute Book Blurb
Audio file for Chapter 5
In this chapter I talk about the difficulties of learning by ear--ouch!
In this chapter I talk about the difficulties of learning by ear--ouch!
Why write a memoir about mariachi playing? Listen to my book launch video below.