JAVIER MARTÍNEZ

MEXICO

COMPOSER

About the artist:

Composer and mariachi musician Javier Martínez made his HGO debut with the 2019 world premiere of El Milagro del Recuerdo/The Miracle of Remembering. He began his career at the age of 17 as a violinist and singer. Martínez hails from a long line of mariachi musicians—both of his grandfathers, Felipe Pérez and Blas Martínez, were members of the famous Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán—and his father, José “Pepe” Martínez, was the musical director of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán for many years in addition to being the composer of the world’s first two mariachi operas, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna/To Cross the Face of the Moon and El Pasado Nunca Se Termina/The Past Is Never Finished. Martínez has directed and made recordings with mariachi groups including Mariachi Agaveros, Mariachi Juvenil Camperos, Mariachi Gallos de Mexico, Mariachi Azteca, and Mariachi Los Charros de Ameca. He has also performed musical backing for several internationally famous artists including Luis Miguel, Jeni Rivera, Pablo Montero, Leo Dan, Aida Cuevas, Rocío Dúrcal, and Grupo Exterminador. In 2018, he served as the music director for a revival of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna/To Cross the Face of the Moon at the Diana Theater in Guadalajara, Mexico.