Pepe Aguilar
July 2005
Mexico City

At 35 years of age, Pepe Aguilar is young enough to desire the temptations of pop culture, the sort of ideal images that drive modern society and lead kids everywhere to want to grow up to be Britney Spears or Ricky Martin. Aguilar is a talented musician; shouldn’t he want to rock, become an MTV idol, share a Superbowl stage with Madonna, or act in a romantic comedy with Paris Hilton?

Instead, Aguilar has attained success through perpetuating the kind of music you might imagine the hallowed teenage market might turn its collective nose up at: mariachi. He has become a superstar in both his native Mexico and around the world, and one would be surprised at the fact that his fan base is just as youthful, hip and exuberant as that of any boy band. His music is soulful, hearkening back to generations’ worth of cultural tradition; in fact, his parents Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre were both adored performers in their own right.

Aguilar’s career began in 1973 when he took the stage at Madison Square Garden with his parents; he was five years old and never looked back. In 1998 his album Por Mujeres Como Tu sold two million copies around the world and held court on the Billboard charts for 52 consecutive weeks. Two years later, Aguilar’s album Por Una Mujer Bonita earned him a Latin Grammy (he’s been nominated nine times so far) and that same year he became the first Mexican regional musician to perform at the legendary Hollywood Bowl. In 2003 when Aguilar was presented with symbolic keys to the city of Los Angeles in recognition of his artistic contributions, more than 20,000 people attended the ceremony. Who says nobody cares about mariachi music anymore?

Aguilar is bridging the gap between new and old, young and seasoned, time-tested tradition and experimental future. Despite the fact that he looks like something out of a history book all dolled up in his mariachi outfit, he’s daring to pursue a style with more substance than the majority of his peers. Such an effort is definitely worth talking about. Taking time from his busy production and touring schedule, Aguilar – who splits time between Mexico City and his hometown in the Mexican state of Zacatecas – discussed some of the secrets to his success.

How does it feel to be so young and have accomplished so much already?

Well, I started very young; I’ve been going this since I can remember. My mom and dad used to have a show that went around for about 35 years and they toured all over America, literally, from South America to some places in Canada. I was born on tour and I started show business very young.

So it was like the family business for you – there was not even a second thought.

Well, no, it’s not because it’s the family business, it’s because being an artist is a very personal thing – either you have it or not, regardless of what your last name is. But it made things quite simple because I’m pretty sure that I would’ve been an artist regardless of who my mom and dad were. (Laughs) But since my mom and dad were very important people in show business, I got to learn a lot of stuff from the beginning.

And I imagine that there were some pretty significant lessons that their experience imparted on you. Were there certain things that they told you, very basic commandments?

They taught with their example. I mean, they never sat me down and told me, “You know what, son? You have to do this and that.” It was in the everyday stuff on a daily basis: they respected, they were coherent with their way of thinking and their way of acting. So that was more of a lesson than anything else.

Were there any things that you took from their example that you tried to do differently, maybe about the business side of things?

Oh, almost 150% of the things! (Laughs) I’m a totally different act than my dad. They used to do a show on horses, they used to have animals like a rodeo; I’m a Mexican rock and roll act without being rock ‘n’ roll. (Laughs) It’s a totally different concept.

So what you do is stripped down to just the music and the soulfulness of it, not this rounder form of entertainment, I guess.

Well, yeah, I guess that’s what musicians do, and that’s what I am. My father was more of a showman and he had a different kind of show. I am a singer, I am a musician songwriter, and that’s what I do.

Your bio on allmusic.com says when you were a teenager you were into more Pink Floyd kind of rock, like a lot of teenagers. Did you ever sincerely think about pursuing that kind of music versus what you do now?

Yeah, of course – I mean, of course the thought crossed my mind many, many, many times – I am a rock addict as equally as am I a traditional Mexican music addict. Those are the two kinds of musical environments that I grew up with. My brother is eight years older than me; when he was 16 I was eight and he was listening to Pink Floyd though I was not supposed to. But I did without it being normal for a kid my age to be listening to progressive rock. Roger Waters and Richard Wright and David Gilmour or Jon Anderson from Yes or Neil Peart from Rush or Jethro Tull or many, many bands that I grew up listening to – they are who I loved but kids my aged mocked me.

But that’s what I’ve been doing for 14 albums – a fusion of what I am. In the sound and the concept of my productions you can hear electric guitars, you can hear synthesizers, you can hear drums, bass guitars…but also you can hear violins and vihuelas, guitarrons and guitarras and trumpets and the regular normal mariachi instruments.

I was going to ask what do you feel is relevant about the traditional form of music that you do, but you bought up a good point about it being a synthesis, so you’re melding the tradition with stuff that’s newer and absolutely relevant today. You’re also bridging two traditions: mariachi and prog rock.

I guess, I guess. Folklore in Mexico is very, very extensive; it has many varieties and mariachi is just one of them. But human beings in general are evolving, regardless of whether they live in Mexico or Argentina or the United States. They talk differently, they think differently, they live differently, and definitely music has to evolve. Of course, ranchera music is gonna stay Mexico’s folklore and that’s never gonna change, like tango in Argentina or like samba in Brasil or like many different kinds of ethnic music. But now the name of the game is fusion and I totally believe in that. More and more the intellectual borders and the cultural borders are falling, and more and more it’s not only acceptable but it’s demanded for musicians to start doing fusion with otherwise traditional music. That is definitely a blessing, to be alive in this time of history, because it’s very exciting what you can do with fusion in music, especially with something so traditional as mariachi music.

That’s a very good point. Are there any musicians, either from the traditional mariachi side or from more of the rock side, that you would like to work with in this kind of fusion style?

Rock musicians, no – I’ve never thought about it. I’m really comfortable the way I am right now. I’ve got a lot of things to do still, I have a lot of things to learn and to experiment, and I really don’t have time to be thinking of joining with somebody else.

You cited all those great names as the ones that you grew up with on the rock side, but aside from your parents, what other mariachis or traditional musicians really made an impact on you?

Oh, definitely Javier Solis – Javier Solis is for me the best singer that ever lived who ever came out of Mexico in ranchera traditional music, in romantic music. Of course, he’s been dead for 35 years but his music is still very, very popular and very adapted to the time right now, so that guy is like my idol. And there are many other artists, of course – like you said my dad, and Pedro Infante, Vicente Fernandez…there’s a lot of people that have been very good to Mexican music that I admire, that I respect, and that I look up to.

I understand that you’ve done some acting, is that right?

Yeah, but I don’t wanna remember – of course, I can talk about it, but I’m not very thrilled and I’m not very proud of what I did. (Chuckles) I’m not an actor. That is the only thing that I’ve done in my life that I’m not convinced of, and I did it because we have a couple of production companies, film companies, and my mom and dad are actors. I did it because my dad asked me to do it. And I told him, “You know what? I’m doing it completely against my will, I’m doing it for you, and this is the last thing I’m gonna do for you regarding my career.” (Laughs) We agreed upon that and I did like four movies when I was like 18, 17, 12 or something like that, and I’ve never done it again and I swear to God I’ll never do it again. (Laughs)

Well, that’s really great that you gave it a shot and realized that it’s not for you. I think a lot of artists are determined to make that crossover and they just push it much to their detriment. So good for you.

Definitely! Believe me, I compromised with 25 years of hard, hard work in my career; I’ve been pursuing my dream – I’m not gonna be distracted just to be more famous or something like that. I’m not in this business to sign autographs; I’m in this business to grow as a musician.

You sound extremely grounded for somebody who’s been in the business for so long.

(Laughs) Well, it’s been my life. I adore what I do, I really do; I’m a workaholic. I’m not the type of artist that wants to be treated like a diva or wants to have like special treatment everywhere. No – I’m a professional in my business and I prepare myself to be better every time, all the time. I keep on studying; I’ve been taking vocal lessons for eleven years and I keep on doing it. This is definitely a never-ending story; if you’re really a pro and if you’re really serious about your career, man, there are so many things to learn out there that really you have to be serious about what you do and not waste time feeling more than somebody else, which you’re not. (Laughs)

Right, otherwise you’ll cease to be relevant. Like you said, you have to evolve.

Right!

Do you tend to run in to the same die-hard fans in different cities when you’re touring?

Oh, yeah, definitely – I have a lot of fan clubs all around America and Mexico and some pretty good die-hard fans around there that travel with me whenever I tour. (Laughs) And that’s cool – I like that, I like fans.

As long as they don’t cross certain lines, I suppose.

Yeah, but there are many different kinds of people everywhere and it’s not in your hands to control them so you have to just act under the circumstances and the situation. But 90% of the time people are very kind.

Music, tour dates, and more about Pepe Aguilar can be found at www.pepeaguilar.com.