Enrico Chapela's Braceros Cantata Debuts in Santa Rosa
Braceros, a cantata for mariachi and orchestra, receives its world premiere on June 11 with the Santa Rosa Symphony and Francesco Lecce-Chong, featuring Mariachi Champaña Nevin and four vocalists including renowned Mexican actor and singer Rafael Jorge Negrete.
Enrico Chapela’s Braceros, a cantata for mariachi and orchestra, receives its world premiere on June 11-13 as part of the Santa Rosa Symphony’s season finale program, “Visions of Hope.” Originally scheduled for May 2020, Braceros will be premiered Santa Rosa Symphony conducted by Music Director Francesco Lecce-Chong, featuring Mariachi Champaña Nevin and four vocalists: renowned Mexican actor and singer Rafael Jorge Negrete (baritone), soprano Mónica Ábrego, tenor Perry Chacón, Jr., and contralto Giselle Vallejo.
> Jun 11-13: Chapela, Braceros for mariachi and orchestra (World Premiere)
Chapela, who is based in Mexico City and whose music is performed by orchestras around the world, turned to a significant moment US-Mexico history while creating this new cantata. The story is set against the backdrop of the Bracero program, initiated in 1942 to bring millions of Mexican men to the US to work on farms while American laborers were fighting in World War II. The cantata takes place in 1964, the final year of the Braceros program, which has deteriorated due to an excess of migrant labor, the introduction of the mechanical cotton harvester, as well as the rise of the Farm Workers Association's movement, led by Cesar Chavez.
The four singers portray a family: Jorge and Dolores, their daughter Consuelo, and her fiancé Pedro. Pedro intends to enter the bracero program to earn enough money to marry Consuelo, but Jorge disapproves, having witnessed firsthand the mistreatment of Mexican workers and poor working conditions in the US. Undeterred, Pedro challenges his father-in-law-to-be (a cotton-picking champion) to a harvesting competition: If Pedro wins, Jorge will give his approval of their marriage.
Braceros is 25 minutes long and structured in 10 movements:
- Hechizo de amor (Love Spell)
- La Labor (The Work)
- El Desafío (The Challenge)
- Desconsolada (Inconsolable)
- Santa Rosa
- Deudas de juego (Gambling Debts)
- Deudas de honor (Debts of Honor)
- Despedida (Farewell)
- El Pabilo (Candlewick)
- Residentes (Residents)
Concert Information
“Visions of Hope”
Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, June 12 at 3 PM
Monday, June 13 at 7:30 PM
Green Music Center | Rohnert Park, California
Santa Rosa Symphony
Francesco Lecce-Chong
Mariachi Champaña Nevín
Rafael Jorge Negrete, baritone
Mónica Ábrego, soprano
Perry Chacón, Jr., tenor
Giselle Vallejo, contralto
Program:
ARTURO MÁRQUEZ Danzón No. 2
ENRICO CHAPELA BARBA Braceros for Mariachi and Orchestra (World Premiere)
RESPIGHI The Fountains of Rome
RESPIGHI The Pines of Rome
> Further information on Work: Braceros
Photo: Bernd Uhlig
