Filming with Fernando | The Mariachi Series
It gives me great pleasure to release this video lesson series, Mariachi Rhythms & Techniques for Vihuela & Guitar, filmed exclusively in Guadalajara, Mexico with Fernando Briseño.
Performing with a Mariachi Band
I’m all set with a makeshift outfit for my mariachi guitar debut and head off for Guadalajara’s School of Mariachi. When I arrive, the school…
School of Mariachi | Guadalajara
I first met Fernando Briseño, Director of Guadalajara’s Escuela del Mariachi, at the Fiesta de la Música. He was there watching one of his teaching staff, Laura…
Mariachi Music in Mexico
The term mariachi encompasses an entire culture of music, dance and costume and is one of the most recognisable aspects of Mexican culture internationally. Whether you’ve experienced…
Farewell Night at the Casa del Queso
It has finally crept up on me: my last day in Santiago de Cuba. But it’s going to be a great day. I’ll be having a final…
The Beatles…in Cuba
The Beatles never quite made it to Cuba as a group, but what if they had? How may it have affected their music? That’s exactly what I…
Habanera & the Cuban Woman Who Defied the Odds
It’s been a weekend of thrills and spills after meeting Eliades Ochoa and sitting in on a recording session at Egrem. I’ve now moved from Hostal Girasol…
Inside EGREM Siboney | Santiago de Cuba’s Recording Studio
Still buzzing from the Eliades Ochoa gig, today I’ve got a guided tour of Egrem Siboney recording studio on the menu. It’s all part of Xiomara…
Eliades Ochoa | Live @ Casa de la Trova
I’ve been invited to the Casa de la Trova to see Buena Vista Social Club guitarist & singer Eliades Ochoa, play live in his home city…
World Circuit Records & Buena Vista Social Club
Before leaving for Cuba, I met Nick Gold – a pioneer in world music production and distribution through World Circuit Records. He was the architect of the…
Fate, Blunder, Spawn & Wonder
Over the next couple of days, I didn’t know whether I was coming or going, as fate took me on a roller-coaster ride. But sometimes,…
Cha-cha-cha Guitar with Rudy Daquín
Fresh from being shown how to use filin to ease a bolero out of the boogie-sphere and into the realms of sentimental contemplation, Rudy is now going to show me…