Having performed at Coachella and aNPR Tiny Desk Concert, this Latin GRAMMY-winning, New York-based ensemble is one of the finest all-female mariachi groups on the planet. The group began as a trio named for the delirium-inducing Mexican flower used as a love potion for generations. As it has grown in notoriety, the band has expanded to as many as ten members depending on the setting, forming a truly global ensemble with musicians hailing from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Australia, Colombia, Germany, Italy, and the UnitedStates. Their highly anticipated new album "Indestructible", produced by 11-time Grammy-winner Rafa Sardina (Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Rodrigo y Gabriela, among others), premiered via NPR First Listen, where NPR's Marisa Arbona-Ruiz said: "Flor de Toloache's new bilingual album Indestructible pushes the boundaries of mariachi music and its instruments through reimagined pop covers, originals and original collaborations.”INDESTRUCTIBLE follows Flor de Toloache's critically acclaimed and Latin Grammy Award winning sophomore release, 2017's Las Caras Lindas and features a number of notable collaborations, including the all-female new flamenco quartet Las Migas, critically acclaimed and multi-platinum singer-songwriter John Legend, Latin Grammy/Juno winner singer-songwriter Alex Cuba, true R&B star Miguel and accordion virtuoso Josh Baca from Los Texmaniacs.Announced as one of the official selection of WOMEX 2019, the world's biggest showcase for world music, Flor de Toloache performed over 100 shows in 2019, touring Japan for the first time!The New York ensemble and beloved press-darlings were also invited in 2019 to perform as special guests for the Grammy Museum's inaugural Latin Music Gallery Exhibition ribbon-cutting ceremony also paying a special homage to Linda Ronstadt with a magical mariachi presentation at the 42nd Annual KENNEDY CENTER HONORS. https://mariachinyc.com/ Maria The Mexican For MARIA THE MEXICAN principal Maria Elena Cuevas it’s not about her…then again, it is. The band is actually named for Maria and sister Teresa (Tess) Cuevas’ grandmother, Maria Teresa Alonzo Cuevas, a pioneer in Mariachi who in the 70s founded Mariachi Estrella, one of the first all-female Mariachi bands in the US. The band eventually performed for more than 30 years but tragedy struck Mariachi Estrella in 1981 when seven members were killed in the Hyatt Skywalk collapse in Kansas City.
Following the accident and grandmother Maria’s recovery the band resumed performing and in the late 90s granddaughters Maria and Tess, who learned Mariachi and other traditional Mexican music from their grandmother, performed with her in Mariachi Estrella as youngsters – Maria singing and playing guitar and vihuela, Tess singing and playing violin. Perhaps the most important musical legacy of Mariachi Estrella’s final years after the Hyatt tragedy was the indelible imprint placed on the Cuevas sisters by the experience of performing traditional Mexican music with their grandmother.
“My grandmother taught a lot of people about this music – other family members, university students, certainly my sister and myself, but there is a whole universe of people who were so generously and positively influenced by her.” -MARIA CUEVAS Now for the “then again, it is” part. Today Maria Cuevas is lead vocalist and guitarist playing acoustic, electric and traditional Mexican stringed instruments for MARIA THE MEXICAN - a Mexicana/Americana/indie blues rock/funk/soul fusion - a true hybrid of Mexican folklore and rock ’n roll delivered in both English and Spanish. Founded by Maria, sister Tess (vocals and violin) and guitarist / songwriter D. Garrett Nordstrom (a veteran of the KC/Midwest club scene with 3 releases by the alt-R&B group The Garrett Nordstrom Situation) MTM is at work on a new release to follow up “Moon Colored Jade” (2013) and “South of the Border Moonlight” (2016) with plans to tour after the new album’s release (TBD DUE TO COVID).
On stage there is an amalgam of traditional Mexican and American rock instrumentation – drums, bass, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, traditional Mexican stringed instruments, pedal steel guitar, congas and percussion, trumpet, keyboards. And a passionate delivery of American roots music forms dosed with traditional Mexican harmonic and rhythmic influences alongside traditional Mexican music – Mariachi, Cumbia and more. The repertoire comes to life with original music – from incendiary love songs to social and political commentary – written and arranged in collaborations between Maria and Garrett Nordstrom and penned in both English and Spanish. https://www.mariathemexican.com/ The Burney Sisters, comprised of sisters Olivia -17, Emma-14, and recently joined 12-year-old sister Bella, create music with a maturity and emotional intelligence that belies their age. Olivia and Emma write keen and knowing songs while arranging for multiple instruments and structuring unique and resonant harmonies. The result-personal and penetrating music that both connects with and captivates their listener. Their soul nurturing sibling harmonies and tunes are reminiscent of The Avett Brothers, First Aid Kit, Indigo Girls, The Staves, and Joseph. https://theburneysisters.com/