By José Luis Chagoyán «Hopalong»
Have you wondered why San Miguel de Allende attracts both domestic and foreign travelers? Or why music, always present in San Miguel, unites people from such distant societies? How is it that in San Miguel different cultures—those of Mexico, the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Europe—coexist? How has the city managed to harmonize and create a peaceful environment?
José Luis Chagoyán «Hopalong» and Anne Grady attempt to answer these questions with a magical, musical, production. When they heard «El Canto de las Sirenas» (The Call of the Sirens), they decided to collaborate on this project. Although the sea is not part of San Miguel’s appeal, it happens to be the title Luis Chagoyán gave his most recent creation.
He is a native of Mexico City and has dedicated himself to music since he was 15 years old. He has played in various rock, blues, jazz, son, and classical music groups appearing in Mexico, the United States, Europe, and South America. He has more than 35 productions as a double bass player and is a guitarist, arranger, and composer. As a bassist, he has accompanied great artists like Marco Antonio Muñiz, Gualberto Castro, Pablo Milanés, Luis Demetrio, Guadalupe Pineda, Lila Downs, Yuri, Tania Libertad, and others.
In 1996, he came to San Miguel for the second time and decided to settle down permanently. Here, he dedicated himself to composition, teaching, and live performances.
One day, while giving a guitar and harmony class to his friend Frank Luciano, he told him about a piece he was writing for guitar, female voice, and flute. Luciano then mentioned Anne Grady—a lovely woman with the voice of an angel. The following Friday, Luis Chagoyán and Rol played at La Flor de Jamaica, and Luciano came with his wife Suzan. Grady came with her husband Arthur (also a musician) and Luis Chagoyán stopped by their table to greet Grady during intermission. He brought her a guitar to check her range and was impressed with her clear timbre and wide vocal range. A sincere friendship developed between them, and that gave rise to the production of «El Canto de las Sirenas.»
Grady was born in New York and received her first singing lessons from her mother. Thus began her artistic career as a child followed by participation in the school choir. This was quite similar to the experience of Luis Chagoyán. Grady continued her studies at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. As a member of the choir conducted by Joseph Flummerfelt, she performed with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and other venues under the direction of James Levine, Kurt Masur, and Ricardo Muti. Later, she earned a master’s degree in Music Education at the University of New Hampshire. Luis Chagoyán, in the meantime, was studying orchestration with his friend and teacher Eugenio Toussaint.
Starting with a friendship based on the love of music, Grady and Luis Chagoyán decided to arrange, produce, record, and mix the aforementioned piece. This project is a great example of collaboration between two artists who have come together to create a most spiritual musical performance. It is important to mention that in our beloved city, there are two types of musicians: those who work daily to earn a living in restaurants, the Jardín, on stages and theaters; and those who are semi-retired and do it for the pleasure of playing and expressing their musical feelings.
Here are some of the musicians who have come to stay and contribute to the music scene in San Miguel: Ken Basman, Francisco Mondragon, Severo Barrera, Gil Gutiérrez, Rolando Gotés, Jaime Valle, Julian Arcos, Pedro Cartas, Lila Downs, Yoremem, Magos Herrera, Claudia Shiu, Libby Clemens, Marlow Wolf, Gabriel Hernández, Roque Carbajo, Papacho Sirdey, Carlos Tercero, Ken Bichel, Doug Robinson, Bobby Haggard, Bobby Kapp, Victor Monterrubio, Salomon Mawwad, Luis Gazca, Armando Servin, Doc Severinsen, Sybil English, Fil Fornicola, Jose Luis Chagoyán “Hopalong,” and many more. I apologize for any omission.
The reason why Grady decided to come to San Miguel was at the invitation of her best friend Mary Jane Miller, a renowned plastic artist, who has lived here for 48 years. Her move to Mexico has been an experience filled with surprises, challenges, and various emotions. Most
of us will acknowledge that San Miguel is a sui generis city because of its architecture, gastronomy, cultural, and artistic offerings—and above all—because of the warmth of the locals who interact pleasantly with foreigners. This beautiful corner of Guanajuato is the cradle of inspired artisans and strong workers who value their work. It is here that the lives of Grady, Luciano, and Luis Chagoyán “Hopalong” intertwined in San Miguel. In the next episode, I will give you the details of the process of creating «The Song of the Sirens.» It is interesting and revealing. Thank you. See you soon.A link to the video of The Song of the Siren: (https://youtu.be/6wONU-2nc-U)
