Come see Susie Garcia and get ready to “Laugh, Dance, Love” as she performs songs from her solo album “Esa Guerita” – Susie who attended the very first Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference in 1994 as a mariachi violin student, returns to the Land of Enchantment as a solo artist to electrify the stage with her modern mariachi sound.  For more information visit http://www.lascrucesmariachi.org/parque_festival.php

Latino Professional Network “A Night at the Ritz” Red Carpet Networking Event, End-of-the-Summer Celebration, and Business Expo at the Ritz Carlton at LA LIVE! Featuring Complimentary Mojitos, Mariachi Colibri, Complimentary Asahi Beer Tasting, Complimentary Tequila Tasting, Complimentary Rum Tasting, Complimentary Appetizers, Live Rock en Espanol by “Vida Tinta”, DJ HEM (One of LA’s Top Five DJs), Live Salsa by “ANGEL LEBRON Y SU SABOR LATINO” and More! Thurs, August 26, 2010, 6:30pm-1:30am!

RSVP REQUIRED!

AROUND TOWN / MUSIC

Garcia feeds on audience energy

Her Chicano fusion band releases album

By Michelle J. Mills Staff Writer

Susie Garcia is not unlike the hummingbird that she uses for her logo. You can feel her electric energy when she

enters the room, flashing her bright smile. The conversation flits about from topic to topic as she passionately

discusses the influences and goals of her music.

Garcia has worked hard to get where she is today. She has sung and played violin in various mariachi bands,

including a 10-year stint in the Mariachi Divas. She recently left the group after its Grammy win in 2009 for “Best

Regional Mexican Album.” Garcia wasn’t sure whether she would continue to perform mariachi, but she knew it was

time to pursue a career on her own.

“I always felt people recognized me as this entertainer on stage,” Garcia said. “Maybe I wasn’t the best singer,

maybe I wasn’t the best violinist, but I was able to draw energy from the crowd.”

Garcia has immersed herself into two projects, Las Colibri, an all-female mariachi quartet, and Chicoa, a Chicano

fusion band which she fronts. Las Colibri has a standing gig Friday nights at Casa Moreno in Covina, while Chicoa

will be celebrating the release of Garcia’s album, “Esa Guerita” (Esa Guerita Music), with a performance at Crazy

Horse in West Covina on Thursday.

“Esa Guerita” features a selections of cover tunes and originals spanning the genres of mariachi, oldies and pop

classics, such as “Natural High,” “The Look of Love,” “Oye Como Va” and Freddy Fender’s “Hey Baby, Que Te

Pasa?”.

Garcia typically writes her material while she’s on vacation. She loves to travel and has been to Europe, French

Polynesia, Spain, Greece and other spots, including her favorite Hawaiian Island, Maui.

On these travels, “I’m finally alone, I’m finally relaxed, and I’m finally able to think without all these distractions,”

Garcia said.

She takes inspiration from conversations or experiences, composing lyrics or music in her head and then recording

it on her iPod.

“It’s a very genuine sound that comes from me,” she said. The melodies are easy. “I’m not into this convoluted

arranging. I think that simplicity is where people’s ears lie, that’s what’s always stuck with me.”

After creating a solid melody, Garcia takes her idea to the rest of Chicoa so the players can add their parts and

arrange and hone the tune. For covers, Garcia seeks material that has touched her in some way and that she can

reinterpret into her own style.

“Every song that I choose, I’m conscious of the fact that if a woman sings it, does it sound strange?” she said. “How

do I choose songs that are covers and put my own stamp on it? That’s what’s important to me, to let everybody hear

how I’ve been influenced, whether it be through language or culture or even other genres of music.”

Garcia has worked as a teacher and a counselor at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, and is now a textbook sales

representative.

She lives in El Sereno, but grew up in Rowland Heights, where her parents still reside.

There was always music in her home – jazz, rock, Top 40, oldies and mariachi — so it was natural for Garcia to

begin taking violin lessons at age 6. Her aim was to join the orchestra at her school, St. Mark’s Lutheran School in

Hacienda Heights, when she was old enough. But by the fourth grade, her parents transferred Garcia to Shelyn

Elementary in Rowland Heights, where the orchestra did not have a string section. She kept up with the violin at

home.

At 12, Garcia’s mother asked if she would play mariachi and sing for her grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary.

“I wasn’t really a singer, but I learned ‘Volver, Volver,’ the most famous song, right?

So I sang that song and everybody went wild,” Garcia said.

Garcia did not speak Spanish at the time, but the crowd’s response prompted her to pursue mariachi, as well as

learn the language to compliment her talents and further understand her cultural background. She attended La

Universidad Autonoma de Mexico in Mexico City, UCLA and Chapman University in Orange, obtaining a degree in

Spanish literature and a masters’ in career counseling.

“Then I went to Mexico to learn Spanish and more about my culture because I thought I was missing something,

loving this music so much and feeling disconnected because of the language barrier,” Garcia said.

FOLLOW US TO IXTAPA  CANTINA AND BARCELONA IN PASADENA TO CONTINUE TO CELEBRATION FROM 7-10PM!