Mexican superstar Pepe Aguilar launches U.S. tour in Nashville
Saludos, amigos:
As a columnist who writes about local and state issues, most of my interviews are with politicians, business leaders and civic organizers. That's the nature of my work. But it's a rare treat when I get to talk to an entertainer or cultural icon.
On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to speak with multi-Grammy Award-winning singer, producer and songwriter Pepe Aguilar about his upcoming 23-city U.S. "Jaripeo sin Fronteras" tour, produced by Live Nation, which premieres on Aug. 7 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
We conversed mainly in Spanish, but I've included a link to a bilingual video message from him where he describes how the Western-style spectacle is going to be — full of family-friendly fun, charrería or equestrianism, bull riding, rodeo skills and dozens of musicians, including his mariachi band “El Zacatecano."
Plus, Aug. 7 is his birthday, so he hopes concertgoers will sing him "Las Mañanitas." (Find a version by the late, great Vicente Fernandez at this link).
Aguilar told me he last came to Nashville 20 years ago to produce music. Then, he remembers he could only find one Mexican restaurant. I told him how much Nashville's Latino community and businesses have grown since that time.
Bringing a Mexican-style extravaganza to downtown Nashville shows how far the community has come.
We also talked about Aguilar's origin story.
"I wanted to be a musician since I was in my mother's womb," he said.
He is the son of musicians who first tried his hand — unsuccessfully — at rock music before finding his calling through traditional Mexican genres and spreading the culture of his native Zacatecas. He performs with several members of his family.
COVID-19 sidelined travel, but the pandemic brought Aguilar joy and sadness. It was a time of financial hardship and loss of friends and family, but also led to an abundance of creative output.
"I needed this time. This was an incredibly important moment creatively," he said. "I had no other choice, and I produced 70 songs and wrote 30 songs."
He lived in Mexico during that time and spent his mother's final days with her.
Aguilar comes to Tennessee excited about bringing a unique spectacle the people. The subsequent cities include El Paso, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Get tickets at Ticketmaster.com or Live Nation.
You will also find more compelling reads of the week:
- Valeria Gurr of the American Federation for Children wrote why Latino families will benefit from Education Savings Accounts, which will now become available to Tennesseans after a lengthy court battle. She was our guest on a recent Twitter Spaces conversation.
- The Tennessean reporter Keith Sharon traveled to Arkansas to tell the story of Heather Mendez, who lost two daughters, Angel and Takemi, to suicide. It is a story about grief that will hopefully encourage people who need it to seek help.
- Photojournalist Stephanie Amador stars in the "Here for it" ad featuring the work of journalists from The Tennessean (including a cameo by me).
Share your cuento: Be a Latino storyteller
Thanks to your response, we have secured three storytellers, but we still are looking for two more. As a reminder, The Tennessean is partnering with Plaza Mariachi to put on Latino Tennessee Storytellers program on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. Nominate yourself or someone else to volunteer to share a 10- to 12-minute story that evening. Email me your name, contact information and story idea to dplazas@tennessean.com.
Happy semana! ¡Muchas gracias!
David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network - Tennessee. He is of Colombian and Cuban descent, has studied or worked in several Spanish-speaking countries, and was the founding editor of Gaceta Tropical in Southwest Florida. He has lived in Tennessee since 2014. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.