“Cuevas is to Mexico what Aretha Franklin is to the United States: a powerful voice that encapsulates the essence of her nation’s spirit.”—Kansas City Star
At the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month, Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m., legendary Mexican singer Aída Cuevas will make her UGA Presents debut at Hodgson Concert Hall. Celebrating nearly 50 years as an international icon, she is an impassioned performer with a striking voice that evokes life’s deepest sorrows, greatest joys, and most profound longings. She’ll appear with Mariachi Aztlán in a program honoring her late mentor, Juan Gabriel.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
AÍDA CUEVAS
Aída Cuevas, known as “The Queen of Mariachi Music,” celebrates 47 years singing traditional Mexican and Latin American music. Cuevas is the first and only female singer in the traditional mariachi genre to win a Grammy and a Latin Grammy Award and now celebrates a long-lasting career that includes 11 Grammy nominations in the Best Mariachi/Ranchero Album category. Much like Ella Fitzgerald’s classic releases for Verve, Cuevas’s “songbook” albums have played a central role in defining Mexican popular music. Over her career, she’s recorded albums that have sold internationally in excess of 11 million copies.
An artist also known widely as “La Voz de México” (the Voice of Mexico) in her native country, Cuevas celebrates her 47th year as performer with this special tour, “Yo Creo Que Es Tiempo” (I Think It’s Time), named for her 1983 hit written by pop icon Juan Gabriel.
Her two latest albums, Antología de la Musica Ranchera Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, (2020 & 2021) feature her interpretations of the timeless songs made famous by the iconic 1930s ranchera singer Lucha Reyes and both albums made Grammy nominations again in the “Best Mariachi/ Ranchero Album” category.
MARIACHI AZTLÁN
Under the direction of Dr. Dahlia Guerra and Mr. Francisco Loera, Mariachi Aztlán has been captivating audiences throughout Mexico, Canada, and the United States since its establishment in 1989. They travel as musical ambassadors representing the beauty of Hispanic music and its cultural traditions. Recognitions for performance excellence initiated an invitation from the White House to perform for President Barack Obama in 2010, at the signing ceremony of an executive order renewing and enhancing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.
In collaboration with the Houston Grand Opera, Mariachi Aztlán premiered the stage production of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, the world’s first “Mariachi/Opera” in December 2010. A second performance of the same production took place in 2013 with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Mariachi Aztlán also premiered the mariachi opera El Pasado Nunca Se Termina with the Chicago Lyric Opera in 2015. Other national performances include appearing as guest artists at the Tuscan International Mariachi Conference, the San Diego International Mariachi Festival, and at the Chicago Mariachi Festivals. The mariachi has served as guest clinicians at the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza and the Mariachi Spectacular. Most recent concerts include performances since 2019 with “La Reina Del Mariachi,” Aída Cuevas, who has invited this mariachi for her U.S. tour.
SUPPORTED BY
Muriel and Harold Pritchett
BUYING TICKETS IS EASY
Securing tickets for UGA Presents performances and other events couldn’t be easier. There are three ways to choose from:
- Purchase tickets online 24/7 here.
- Call the Performing Arts Center Box Office at (706) 542-4400, Mon.-Fri., 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
- Visit the UGA Performing Arts Center Box Office, Mon.-Fri., 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 230 River Road (5 minute parking is available in the drop off circle at the Performing Arts Center for purchasing or picking up tickets.)