Love is in the air at the Diablo Symphony’s “Mariachi Valentine” concert on February 15 at 2:00 p.m. at the Lesher Center for the Arts. Featuring Oscar Garibay and the UC Davis Mariachi Ensemble, the program includes Alberto Ginastera’s Estancia—with its famous “Malambo”—as well as two mariachi collaborations with the orchestra, “America” and “Huapango.” The orchestra also showcases the rhythms and melodies of Central and South America in Arturo Márquez’s energetic—and ultimately foot-stomping—“Danzón No. 2” and Gabriela Lena Frank’s Three Latin American Dances.
Garibay, an acclaimed trumpeter in both Northern and Southern California, is director of the UC Davis Mariachi Ensemble as well as of three mariachi ensembles in Orange County. As a classical instrumentalist, he has won several concerto competitions and toured internationally with various orchestras and bands. As a mariachi musician, he has performed on tour with the Grammy Award–winning Mariachi Los Camperos and has accompanied numerous critically acclaimed mariachi artists.