About a year ago, Luis Alfonso passed a trial by fire. He went to Guadalajara, Mexico, to a friend’s wedding, and when the mariachi band arrived, he began to sing. The next day, he visited Tequila, the town where the drink of the same name is produced, and the same thing happened; Luis Alfonso interpreted several rancheras.
These events would not have been unusual, and perhaps the people who heard it would not have been so impressed if it were not for the fact that Luis Alfonso is Colombian.
“People couldn’t believe he was Colombian,” said Luis Alfonso, whose videos of these events went viral. “[Pero] a Mexican is born anywhere.”
That same week, Luis Alfonso was invited to a popular television program and he took the opportunity to offer a press conference that he had not planned.
“We went to meet and incidentally to make ourselves known a little,” he said.
Mariachi music is not new in the life of this performer now based in Medellín. He says that he grew up watching the movies of Pedro Infante, Vicente Fernández and Jorge Negrete, where it was common to see these artists perform ranchera songs.
“I am passionate about old-time rancheras,” he said. “That passion later became my vocation […] Now I represent that genre with a touch of my style, between popular and modern”.
The person responsible for this fondness for Mexican cinema was his maternal grandfather, and Luis Alfonso was amazed to see the actors arrive on their horses to conquer a woman singing on a balcony with their guitars.
“I’ve always been an old soul,” he said, “[Soy un] passionate more than anything about Mexican music, culture and traditions”.
On the day of the interview, Luis Alfonso was on tour in various cities in the United States, including Tampa, Atlanta, Miami, Palm Beach, Orlando and San José. He was surprised when he saw Mexicans, Colombians, Puerto Ricans and Spaniards in the audience.
The artist came to present songs from “La terraza”, his most recent album and which he recorded live, a very popular modality among some artists, including Grupo Firme. He also presented songs from “El señorazo”, an album of unpublished songs that he will release this week and that includes several collaborations.
After this visit, Luis Alfonso hopes to return to the United States to visit other cities and to show his more Mexican Colombian side.