Perhaps your neighborhood was in a celebratory mood yesterday. After all, it was Diez y Seis de Septiembre, the date on which Mexico celebrates its independence from Spain. It all began with El Grito de Dolores, the proclamation from Father Hidalgo, a cry which is repeated every September 16 across Mexico, as well as in many cities such as San Antonio, home to a substantial population with Mexican roots.
An important part of the celebrations of Diez y Seis de Septiembre is the ringing of bells, echoing the pealing of bells which called the people of Dolores to hear Hidalgo's famous call, now heard every September 16 at Mexico City's Zocalo, as el presidente declaims: "Viva Mexico!" while ringing a replica of the famous original bell of Dolores.
So did you hear celebrations in your neighborhood? I guarantee there were mariachis serenading me and my neighbors on the near northwest side of San Antonio. Perhaps there were also bells ringing at one of our San Antonio missions, perhaps Mission Espada.
Miguel Bernal Jiménez wrote a four-movement symphony commemorating the events of September 16, 1821. Bernal was born in the tranquil city of Morelia, where his "Hidalgo Symphony" was recorded at the Morelia International Music Festival, led by Fernando Lozano. In 1949, Bernal was in a more tranquil mood as he remembered his hometown with "Noche en Morelia." Imagine a pastoral walk around Morelia's beautiful central park then turning a corner to find a quartet of guitarists busking for pesos.
One other note of interest regarding Miguel Bernal is that he was a devout Christian. In fact he spent his later years, as dean of the College of Music of Loyola University, New Orleans, where he continued to write music and perform as a highly trained organist. He died young, at the age of 46.
Many musicians of Latin America have brought their talents to the United States. In addition to Bernal, the Cuarteto Latinoamericano served as quartet in residence at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh from 1987 until 2008. Sadly, I believe I recently saw that the quartet will be retiring after the 2025-26 concert season. They will leave as part of their legacy over 100 albums, many of them focused upon music of Latin America. Perhaps the most popular of their recordings was "Valses Mexicanos 1900." The most familiar of the waltzes on the recording was Juventino Rosas' "Sobre las Olas (Over the Waves)," a sure candidate for our Great Americas Songbook. Yes, this was written for dancing, and Rosas had no inclination to write words to the lilting melody. However, Paul Francis Webster did, and these are the words most often heard (in the embedded player, below):
When You Are in Love, its the loveliest night of the year... Stars twinkle above, and you almost can touch them from here.
Whether the language is Spanish or English, or the dance is a Viennese or a Mexican waltz, there is so much music which has found its way to an enthusiastic welcome in our United States. Listen for more Musical Moments every weekday afternoon at 2 on KPAC 88.3 FM.
