	Singing His Praises! Mariachi Aztlán contributes time and talent to honor their parents and God. En Español
By Goyo Lopez They may not be formally educated musicians. However, the Cantu brothers and sisters inherited good genes from their parents and were blessed with a good ear for music and musical talent by the Almighty. Toss in a few close friends with equally impressive skills and an inspirational priest with an eye, uh, ear for music and you have Mariachi Aztlán. Aside from serving as inspiration for the musical path that Mariachi Aztlán has taken, Jesus and Emilia Cantu also imparted to their children a solid Catholic foundation. As a direct result, the energetic mariachi group exemplifies, like many of the active laity in our diocese, good stewardship by donating their time and talent to the Catholic Church. Regardless of Saturday late night festivities like weddings, quinceañeras, tornabodas and the like, Mariachi Aztlán manages to arrive practically every Sunday to sing unto the Lord and his flock at the 11:30 Mass at the San Agustín Cathedral in Laredo heard live on KHOY 88.1 FM.
Like a refreshing tall glass of iced-cold fresh-squeezed Laredo limonada on a searing summer day, blaring trumpets, stroked violins, strummed guitarrones and vihuelas blend into a creative cultural synergy infusing the Cathedral with religious hymns with a cultural twist.
Their calling came in 1987 before Rev. Tom Davis was bestowed with the title of monsignor. Pastor of San Agustín Parish at the time, he knew the Cantu family well, as the four brothers and three sisters were actively involved in parish activities. “I remember Fr. Davis asking my oldest brother Lalo (Jesus Eduardo) to organize the annual Jamaica back in the mid-80’s,” says Raul Cantu, trumpet player for the group, “and all four brothers and our dad would show up to help.” The all-for-one and one-for-all mentality was instilled by Emilia, their mother and the original musician. “Mom would always say, ‘si uno va, todos van’ (if one goes, you all go),” adds Raul. “We’ve always been like that and still are today. We’re very close to each other.”
Lalo, who plays guitar, remembers becoming involved in the Nocturnal Adoration Society at San Agustín Parish in 1986. “We were very much involved with the Church at the parish level,” explains Lalo. “Around 1986, San Agustín hosted the Peregrina de La Virgen and were looking for a mariachi group to play for the ceremony but we couldn’t find one with (immigration) papers that could cross over here.
“So the next year, Msgr. Davis asked if we would play for the service,” Lalo continues. “We had played at our ranchito for family and for fun but never in front of others. But it was Father asking so we said yes.” Msgr. Davis, now pastor at St. Patrick’s Church in Laredo, along with Rev. Jorge Baestra, played an even more integral role in founding the troubadours. “Back then, you had to special order your instruments like the vihuela and the guitarron because you couldn’t find them here,” says Lalo. “And we didn’t have the money for the instruments either. Fr. Davis was nice enough to pay for those two instruments so we could play at Mass.” But they still lacked a name. “Fr. Baestra came up with the name because he said Aztlán was the birthplace of the Mexican,” adds Raul. “He baptized us with that name.” And so began Mariachi Aztlán with the Cantu brothers Lalo, Javier, Carlos and Raul performing at the Vigil Mass on Saturdays. “We didn’t sound that great. Actually, we were kind of bad,” says Lalo laughingly, “but we were something new and something different. No one else in Laredo had mariachis playing at church.” The risk paid dividends for Msgr. Davis as the Vigil Mass began drawing a larger congregation than the Sunday celebrations.
“My fondest memories are those of the Sunday Masses when San Agustín Church was packed beyond its capacity and we sang and played the praises of the Lord every Sunday for 10 wonderful years,” Msgr. Davis reminisces.
Through trial and error and by listening to cassettes from the mariachi group performing at the Basilica de La Virgen de San Juan, Mariachi Aztlán slowly began improving. After spending a little over a year playing on Saturdays, Fr. Davis felt confident enough to move them to Sundays. “We were so happy that we played at everything imaginable. Baptisms, ordination of priests, you name it and we were there,” says Lalo. “Donde iba el Padre Davis, ibamos nosotros (wherever Fr. Davis went, we went).” And they’ve been playing free of charge for the Catholic Church for over a decade. Mariachi Aztlán traveled with Msgr. Davis to play in Corpus Christi and even as far away as Mexico. “We went to play in the Desert Missions when Bishop Villalobos of Saltillo gave Confirmations in 1989 and 1990,” says Msgr. Davis. “We even played at the San Juan Capistran Missions in San Antonio for Archbishop Patrick Flores.” “We traveled with the Desert Apostolate into the Coahuila desert at Father’s request and that was an experience,” adds Lalo. “And former Bishop (Roberto) Gonzalez really liked us, too. We traveled with him and performed at every church in Mirando City, Oilton, Bruni and Los Aguilares.” The eldest of the Cantu brothers also recalls a very special moment after Archbishop Gonzalez had celebrated Mass in Hebbronville. “The priests asked us to keep playing afterwards,” recounts Lalo. “We played for an extra two hours and they were even singing along. Everyone had a great time.” While the group has enjoyed playing at Mass, their secular career has also evolved playing before the masses. After debuting professionally at the now defunct Borderfest in 1989, Mariachi Aztlán has thus far enjoyed a prolific career. The local group has graced the stages of familiar Tejano acts during the heyday of the genre including Emilio, Roberto Pulido, David Lee Garza y Los Musicales, Pete Astudillo, Fama, Elida Y Avante and Limite. On a broader plane, Mariachi Aztlán has even performed as an opening act for Alejandro Fernandez, Rocio Durcal and Marco Antonio Solis. The group with its signature Mariachi Loco number has even been invited to accompany Luis Miguel on tour - a source of ‘what ifs’ for the band. “We had just finished playing at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the crowd really got into it. They really liked us,” says Lalo. “As we’re leaving the stage, this man sticks his hand out and gives a card with his phone number and asks us to call him.” The man’s name is Servando Cano - only the biggest Mexican musical promoter in northern Mexico and the United States. “Cano asked us to be a part of the mariachi group that tours with Luis Miguel because he liked our style the way we interacted with the audience,” continues Lalo. “We were told that we’d be on the road for three straight months.” However, God works in mysterious ways. They misplaced his phone number and the delay in returning the phone call was interpreted by Mr. Cano as disinterest. Luis Miguel had hired another mariachi group for the tour. “We all wondered what could’ve happened,” says Raul, the youngest of the four brothers. “Maybe it was for the better because most of us have wives and families and we would’ve been apart from them for a long time. Fame and fortune doesn’t always bring happiness.” Nor would they still be playing at the Cathedral. Aside from a small period between 1997-2001, Mariachi Aztlán has played at Mass every Sunday since 1989. The accolades garnered by the group go beyond performing with and for giants in the music industry. One Mexican-American United States congressman went as far as to tell the group that they were the first mariachis to ever perform on the steps of the nation’s capitol. “We actually were the first mariachi group to play in the Capitol Courtyard located on the west side of the building back in 1999,” says Raul. “Everyone in the group had a background check done and we all needed security clearance to play there,” adds Lalo. Mariachi Aztlán has an impressive record for a group that makes music after hours and as a hobby. Although everyone has a career outside of music, their passion for this symbolic music drives them to perform as if they were full time musicians. “I will always hold a tremendous sense of gratitude and admiration for the Cantu family as the story of Mariachi Aztlán is the story of what one family can do when they come together in the name of the Lord,” concludes Msgr. Davis. “May the Lord bless and keep them and may they continue to move our hearts by the sounds and songs of Mariachi Aztlán.” Members of Mariachi Aztlán Jesus E. Cantu Guitar Javier Cantu Guitarron Carlos Cantu Vihuela Adriana Cantu Violin Raul Cantu Trumpet Dinora Cantu Violin Sylvia Torres Violin Jorge Zamarripa Violin Alex Suarez, III Violin Luis Tinajero Vihuela Frank Perez Trumpet