El pasado nunca se termina

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Leonard Foglia’s staging places the 12-piece Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán on stage rather than in a pit, integrating the ensemble into the drama as a pseudo-Greek chorus. Costumed in traditional black-and-silver mariachi attire with sombreros, the musicians anchor two of Elaine McCarthy’s four-tiered risers while the conductor stands off-center on stage. Projections by McCarthy define shifting times and places, with Christopher Maravich’s lighting shaping atmosphere, from mottled cave interiors to open exteriors. Scott Marr’s costumes delineate Mexico’s social strata, contrasting wealthy hacendados and indigenous workers. The production fuses Western operatic structure with classic mariachi idioms—solos, duets, quartets, and dance—into a seamless, intermissionless one-act evening.