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Pioneer Press, Feature >>
Sones de Mexico overcomes stereotypes
By LILLI KUZMA
In 1982, Juan Dies found himself at a large public high school in Indianapolis, which at that time had very few fluent Spanish speakers. He had just moved with his family from San Luis Potico, a mining town in Mexico.
"It was quite a culture shock," Dies said.
But, having played guitar since age 6, Dies soon gravitated to the musicians at school.
Rock 'n' roll high school
"At North Central High School, music hall was a safe haven," Dies said. "I was very interested in American music, and began playing the blues, which I learned from kids at school, and they showed me ragtime, finger-picking and jazz. I listened to Jim Croce, Jimmy Page and Clapton, and transcribed their guitar solos and played them."
The gifted Dies explored other genres as well, like reggae, folk, rock and big band. He entered college where he majored in music and anthropology, and later earned a masters in folklore/ethnomusicology from Indiana University. While at Indiana, he formed a mariachi band, training others in one of his native sounds.
Employed as the Director of Community Programs (1993-2005) at the Old Town School in Chicago, Dies continued to explore different styles of Mexican music.
In 1994, Dies fortuitously teamed up with Victor Pichardo to co-found what has become one of the most acclaimed ensembles of its kind -- Sones de Mexico. Aiming to present the diverse music of Mexico in an entertaining and authentic way, Sones has become a unique and important group.
Sones de Mexico will perform at Unity Temple in Oak Park April 26 and for a Cinco de Mayo celebration at FitzGerald's May 2.
Nominated for Latin and American Grammys in 2007 for the album "Esta Tierra Es Tuya" (This Land Is Your Land), Sones de Mexico has performed in over 25 states. Sones also is a nonprofit educational institution, involved with the Smithsonian, Western Folk Life and Urban Gateways.
"We've put Sones on the map," said Dies, who has lived in Chicago for 15 years.
In presenting the music of the different regions of Mexico, the group's six members use 70 different instruments.
"We need them to play the style of each region on the proper instruments," noted Dies.
Defying expectations
So why did Dies, who loved American music, and learned to play Clapton lick for lick, decide to devote himself to the music of Mexico?
"There are stereotypes about Mexico and Mexican people and their music," he said. "There is a party culture about Mexico. People go to Mexico on vacation and the entertainers are playing festive music for drinking and having fun. But that is only one type of music from Mexico."
Dies continued: "There is a tendency to generalize all of Latin and Hispanic cultures -- Mexicans playing castanets like Spaniards, wearing puffy sleeves which is more Cuban, or wearing ponchos which is Peruvian. There is a mixing up of all the cultures into one general culture."
Cinco de Mayo is a busy time of year for the ensemble, but mostly in the United States.
"It's actually not a big holiday in Mexico," Dies said. "It's bigger here!" 04/23/08 >> go there
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