Eric Steinman
Musical Director-Concert Accompanist-Vocal Coach
Notes From the Music Director
POSTING 2 Sunday, July 15th, 2007 "A scream for help"
POSTING 4 Monday, July 30th, 2007 "Sinaloa=SINaloa"
I thought I would change course a bit with this posting, with the intent of discussing the classical music scene, and the powers behind it in Mexico. Sadly, in a country where a raise in the price of tortillas caused riotous demonstrations in many cities, millions of dollars are put into the hands of unethical people, by both the Federal and State Governments. That is certainly not to say, that the Arts should take a lesser role in Mexico, but rather to point out that money should be carefully spent, with specific goals in mind. To me, the two major goals would be to raise the appreciation level for the Arts amongst the populace, and educate, train, and support the Artists who make the Art possible. Mexico has a very great history in classical music. Opera, in particular has played an important part, especially in the past, when such great artists as Maria Callas and Giuseppe di Stefano visited regularly. The magnificent Palacio de Bellas Artes in the heart of Mexico City has been the center of operatic activity since its opening in 1934. INBA, the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, is the government branch that makes the decisions as to which projects are funded. A large amount of federal money is set aside for INBA. Being that the Mexican Presidency and the federal government changes every six years, without possibility of reelection, the executive decision makers at INBA change with the cycle as well. At this point let me remind you that the PRI (the Revolution Party) were in power for over 80 years when the more conservative PAN party won the presidency seven years ago. In the last election, August 2006, the PAN party narrowly won the presidency for its second six year term. The other candidate, known as AMLO in his country is a Hugo Chavez supporter. It surprises me that citizens of the USA were not more concerned about a socialist barely losing the presidential election. Had he won, civil unrest most probably would have spread throughout the country. When the PAN took power six years ago, one hoped that things would change. But, in my humble opinion, the level of poor decision making blossomed. As a result, honest guys like me, felt the pain to such an extent that it literally became damaging to our collective healths.
Being that the funding power for the Arts is squarely located in Mexico City, the rest of the country depends on the spoils not spent. Some federal money is provided to states for annual festivals, a few of which have grown to great importance. The Cervantino Festival, in Guanajuato, and the Festival of the Barrio Antiguo in Monterrey are examples. Some of the states have powerful Arts lobbies and get relatively large sums. Both Nuevo Leon and Sinaloa, the states where I spent almost all of my time during the 17 year stay, got plenty of federal money. Guadalajara is another city that shares in the fun. Many of the principal cities in Mexico, have small European style opera houses which were built by those noble folks, the Spanish, during the same period that they perpetuated lives of servitude and poverty on the native Mexican. There are such opera houses in Zacatecas, Torreon, Durango, Mazatlan, Guadalajara, and Oaxaca. The kind folks who bring you the artistic slave system in Mexico City, also for the most part control the "out of town circuit." They send out packaged casts and productions which routinely exclude talented local artists, who may be at a very high level. Normally some local folks will get the chance to play the smallish parts. Choruses are often supplied locally in these performances. Orchestras…well that's another thing.
There are several very fine orchestras in Mexico, but let me quickly add that they are not populated by very many native Mexicans. The finest of the fine, in my opinion, is the Orquesta Sinfonica Sinaloa de los Artes, led by American conductor Gordon Campbell. The orchestra is composed of fabulous string players from mostly Eastern European countries. All throughout Mexico there are many folks from the former Iron Curtain countries who gravitated to Mexico when it became possible to peacefully leave their native lands. These wonderfully talented and trained artists populate the orchestras that are non-union. This means…all orchestras except for the ones in Mexico City. The orchestra of Bellas Artes is 100 percent union. It's level could be called "standard" at best. It is composed of Mexican players, most of whom have not received the excellent training of the Americans and Europeans. These guys are tough dudes, however, and they have been known to walk out when things aren't going their way at the theater.
Many young American artists also work in the non-union orchestras. As a music educator, I sometimes wonder why we spend so much time producing a bundle of great instrumental artists, when there are no jobs for them. The major orchestras in this country, all union orchestras of course, are filled with musicians who rightly have spent the greater part of their adult lives in their orchestras. The great orchestras, such as the NY Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Philadelphia Orchestra have very little changeover. Where is a young American trumpet, flute, string player going to go? Well, Mexico is a popular option. Don't believe that fool O'Reilly when he tells you in a sarcastic tone that Mexico doesn't welcome Americans to work, while sending all of their peasants here to bask in the glory of American life. Nonsense. All an American needs to work in Mexico is a letter from the prospective employer saying that he is needed. There is no problem getting legal for any American musician who is invited to join an orchestra in Mexico.
Yes….Americans are all over Mexico. And, I might add, certainly not only in the Arts field.
More on all of this, in the next post.
Till then, till then, I am as I ever was and ever shall be….
Going to a Lagunatics rehearsal. :)
POSTING 2 Sunday, July 15th, 2007 "A scream for help"