SBS Language | ‘We have a duty to enrich’: Mexico honours lifelong Australian mariachi maestro

Australia, like Mexico, has a very special place in the heart of Mexican singer Víctor Valdés, who has shared stages with artists from all over the world including Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes and North American rock and Tex-Mex band Los Lobos.

“That ‘Mexican-ness’ is there constantly and very strongly [but]… I also feel Australian. I can’t deny it, because this country has opened doors for me and has allowed me to grow in different ways,” the mariachi told SBS Spanish after receiving the “Distinguished Mexican” award from the Institute of Mexicans Abroad.

Organised by the Mexican Embassy in Australia, the award not only acknowledges Mr Valdés’ successful career but also honours his role in raising awareness of mariachi music in Australia and around the world. 

“This recognition is a great honour, knowing that, in Mexico, my country, they value what we’re doing here to disseminate our culture and traditions. [Receiving the award] was something very, very emotional,” Mr Valdés said.

Mr Valdés receives his award.

Image-Emmanuel Rodriguez

Beneath his warm and relaxed demeanour lies a focused and energetic artist working tirelessly to increase the visibility of his own country’s music and culture, as well as that of other Spanish-speaking countries.

During his first year in Australia, more than two decades ago, he began teaching Latin dance classes at the Sydney Dance Company and soon after founded Australia’s first traditional mariachi band under the name Victor Valdés and The Real Mexico Mariachi Band.

But his success is no fluke, rather the culmination of years of hard work combining his great talent with his passion for folk music forged from the age of eight.

As a child, he won first place in the National Folkloric Dance contest in Mexico City for three consecutive years, and then, as a member of the famous Mexican folklore group “Veracruz Mexico”, he won the award for Best Folkloric Group in the country awarded by the Union of Music and Theatre Critics.

Mr Valdés with his harp at the SBS Radio studios.

Ashley Mar

Mr Valdés acknowledges that his elementary school in the city of Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz, played a pivotal role in his success, providing him with the support he needed to develop his skills and hone his artistic talent. 

“I was selected for the school’s dance and music program which still exists today… (and) it definitely changed my life,” he said.

The artistic activity as a child was my springboard, my space rocket which I got on and well I’m still there, in a life that sometimes seems like fantasy because it’s so beautiful: trips, stages, lights, collaborations. 

As part of “Veracruz Mexico”, he travelled to different cities presenting concerts and performances in some of the world’s most prestigious theatres, including the Sydney Opera House where he performed on stage multiple times between 1992 and 1997.

Ultimately, it was this experience that ignited his love affair with Australia. 

In 1998, Mr Valdés returned to the country not as a visiting artist, but as a new immigrant. 

Since then, he has been working non-stop to help raise awareness of and participation in Mexican culture and music in Australia, as well as disseminate the rich, cultural heritage of the Hispanic diaspora in the country.

“Lately … I have had the pleasure of being hired by The Wiggles to make programs in Spanish and to translate many of their hits [into Spanish],” he said.

A Mexican folk dancer performs alongside Mr Valdés’ ensemble.

Image-Emmanuel Rodriguez

This opportunity came about as a result of his experience with a cultural education program called “Cultural Infusion 2000”, which involved him designing hundreds of school workshops to promote the culture of Mexico and other Hispanic countries and to highlight the overall importance of multiculturalism in Australia.

Mr Valdés has also played alongside legendary former Cold Chisel frontman Jimmy Barnes as part of the International Summit of Mariachi and Charrería in Guadalajara in August 2018, where together they sang a mariachi version of “Waltzing Matilda”.

The event brought together 500 groups from all over the world, including Australia, Croatia and Spain.

“I had a very nice career in Mexico, at the University of Veracruz with my teacher Alberto De la Rosa, but my 23-year career in Australia has led me to re-evaluate my roots and made me very aware of our Hispanic culture, not only Mexican culture, but the different cultures from all of Latin America,” Mr Valdés said.

“We all belong to Spanish-speaking countries and we all identify strongly with the music and traditions that we bring with us when we emigrate to Australia”.

According to Mexican Embassy in Australia data, while the Mexican community is one of the smallest, Spanish-speaking communities in the country, it is also one of the fastest-growing.

Currently, there are just 7500 people of which 5000 are permanent residents and 2500 hold student visas.

But the relatively small size of the Mexican community is not the reason why Mr Valdés continues to share his country’s musical traditions with broader Australian audiences.

His commitment is tied to his personal philosophy adopted when he made the decision to leave Mexico to make Australia his new home.

It’s a duty we have when we come to multicultural Australia.

“We have to try to contribute in all areas, in my case, in the field of Mexican folk music, but all Latin Americans who are planning to come to Australia to start a new life, or who already live here, well, we all have a duty to enrich Australia’s multiculturalism,” Mr Valdés said.

Mr Valdés and his fellow musicians in Melbourne’s Federation Square.

Supplied/VV

“I feel that… it is a mission that we must embrace, and we must [share] everything that our countries have given us.”

Read this story in Spanish here.