What Do You Get With A Opera Singer, Mariachi Music & Women Composer?

Award-winning singer/composer Juanita Ulloa will formally release her latest CD at a series of several live concerts beginning with an event in Berkeley, Ca. on Oct. 29. The CD, called Mujeres y Mariachi, is the second of a series that Juanita has released dedicated to women, the first one, Mujeres, featuring romantic boleros written by women composers.

Mujeres y Mariachi presents songs by women composers who are pioneers in the mariachi and ranchera music world, including Juanita herself. Two of Juanita’s songs were winners at the Latin-American Song Festival. Also on the CD is a brand new release, by Mexican composer Emma Elena Valdelamar (“Mucho Corazon” and “Mil Besos”). The CD was listed in five categories on the Latin Grammy ballots this year.

Juanita, a mezzo-soprano, has rapidly gained popularity for her unique voice, style, and personality. Raised in Panama and Mexico, having studied music and trained as an opera singer-she graduated from Yale, UC Berkeley, and the Nice Conservatory in France-she has combined her love for mariachi and ranchera music with her classical training and musical gifts to develop her unique singing style. Mariachi music composition has always been male dominated, and the operatic style of mariachi singing had previously been identified only with men, such as legends Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete. Juanita brings to this realm not only her feminine style, but also a range of voice that includes what in opera is called coloratura, an elaborate embellishment of vocal music with ornate figurations sung in a high register. Indeed, she has taken her style further by writing her own feminist songs, and designing a unique wardrobe that combines mariachi tradition with femininity.

Juanita, who mentors many women, says, “I want to set an example for our women to both compose and sing this type of music, and be successful.” In addition to her singing and composing, Juanita plays piano and trains protégée vocalists. She is a successful businesswoman as well, with her own CD producing and recording firm, Ulloa Productions, thus far recording six CDs, including three Parents Choice award-winners dedicated to children. She has also published two matching songbooks and a piano method. When asked what made her adopt this type of music, Juanita says jokingly, “I was a starving opera singer with an enormous love for mariachi music, so it was a natural combination for me.” She adds, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Firm in her determination to celebrate women and to honor their contributions to music, Juanita is donating a percentage of her Mujeres y Mariachi CD sales to organizations whose mission is to help women. Her CDs may be obtained through her website, http://www.juanitamusic.com.