Mariachi 101 - Airdate - 2/2 - 3 p.m. (CT)

Update - 2/2/09: This show has aired. You can download the MP3 from our archive. Let us know what you think!

Joe Hardtke

We're kicking off February with Veronica Rueckert filling in for Jean and a party on the radio in the form of mariachi music.



We have two guests lined up for you with two unique angles on the genre.

Gil Sperry is the author of Mariachi for Gringos. Sperry originally played classical piano and jazz, but was turned on to mariachi after traveling Mexico in the mid 70s. Gil describes his book as "Mariachi 101," covering the foundation of the music and providing a nice list of the top 50 mariachi songs you must hear.

Ramino Burr is a music journalist based in San Antonio and he's followed the Latino music scene for years. His writing has been featured in Billboard, Cashbox and a host of other publications. He has an excellent blog, www.raminoburr.com, that covers everything from boleros to Tex-Mex and he's working on an exhaustive history of mariachi as I write this.

It's my hope that these two gentlemen will represent and delight both new listeners to the music and long-time collectors. What's more, we'll discuss the essential mariachi artists recordings that everyone should hear before they die.

Do you listen to mariachi? Who are your favorite artists? What first turned you on to the music? Share your stories through our Here on Earth Hotline - 1-877-GLOBE-07 - and we'll play them back on the show.