Los Angeles Times, CA -
By Agustin Gurza, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 19, 2008
Not to sound elitist, but Cinco de Mayo can be a drag. The crowds, the
heat, the cheap beer, bad sound and annoying DJs are enough to make
you dread those massive outdoor festivals staged every year to
celebrate the Mexican holiday.
To avoid the Cinco syndrome, here are a few offbeat alternatives
offering more refined aspects of Mexican culture in more intimate
settings. What better way to celebrate the defeat of the French than
with good food, fine wine and sophisticated music, all with a Mexican
twist?
Mexico is known more for its mariachis than its string quartets, but
La Catrina comes to town next week to help change some assumptions
about classical music.
"People come to us and say, 'Wow, I didn't realize there was all this
interesting quartet music written by all these Mexican composers,' "
says violinist Daniel Vega-Albela, who co-founded the ensemble in
Mexico City in 2001. "Our main mission is to say, 'Look, there is this
other repertoire for string quartet that is just as varied and just as
interesting as the traditional one we tend to associate with string
quartet music."
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-culture19apr19,0,6514701.story
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