Charros y Clásicos
Charros y Clásicos is a conversation at the crossroads of culture, identity, and sound. Hosted by Joel Lee Ozuna and Miguel Javier Gutierrez, this podcast delves into the rich worlds of mariachi and classical music—not just as genres, but as lived experiences that shape who we are. From the practice rooms of local schools to the stories passed down through generations, each episode explores how music becomes a bridge between tradition and transformation. Rooted in the Rio Grande Valley, Charros y Clásicos invites listeners to reflect, laugh, and reconnect with the sounds that define our roots and dreams.
Charros y Clásicos
Nathan Fernández: A Life-Changing Opportunity from José Hernández
Meet Nathan Fernandez, a remarkable talent whose musical journey bridges two worlds – the rich mariachi traditions of his family and the prestigious international stage of Mariachi Sol de México de José Hernández.
In this deeply personal conversation, Nathan reveals his childhood experiences standing beside his father at performances from the tender age of four, toy violin in hand, trying to mimic his father's mannerisms. However, his path wasn't straightforward – for years, Nathan struggled with the tension between family musical obligations and his passion for soccer. "I hated the fact that I had to miss games," he confesses, giving us a rare glimpse into the inner conflict that many young musicians face when balancing family traditions with personal desires.
The turning point came during his high school years when inspiration struck after witnessing a UTRGV mariachi performance. Under the guidance of dedicated educators, Nathan developed his musical literacy and skills, eventually joining his school's mariachi program. But life took a dramatic turn when his father passed away in January 2020, just before the pandemic. This profound loss transformed Nathan's relationship with music – what had once been obligation became a powerful connection to his father's legacy.
When José Hernández invited Nathan to join the legendary Mariachi Sol de México, he faced a life-changing decision. "My dad's favorite group has always been Mariachi Sol de México," Nathan shares, "and I felt like if I didn't take it, I would always be that one guy saying 'I could have, but I didn't.'" Now approaching his second anniversary with the group, Nathan has performed worldwide, including tours throughout the United States, Mexico, and even Saudi Arabia, while developing as a composer and arranger under Hernández's mentorship.
Whether you're a musician, a parent guiding a child through their passions, or someone facing a crossroads between comfort and opportunity, Nathan's story will resonate deeply. Listen now and discover how embracing your heritage while following your own path can lead to extraordinary possibilities.
Welcome to another episode of Charros y Clásicos a Bosky Strings podcast. I'm your host, miguel Gutiérrez, and I'm here with my good friend and co-host.
Joel Lee Ozuna:Joel Ozuna. Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us for another episode of Charros y Clásicos. Today we're proud to shine the spotlight on a local talent from here in Edinburg, texas. He's a graduate from Edinburg North High School and went on to study music at the University of Texas, rio Grande Valley. Now he's living the dream as a violinist for one of the most iconic mariachi ensembles in the world Mariachi Sol de.
Miguel Gutierrez:México de José Hernández. Please welcome Nathan Fernandez.
Nathan Fernández:You know, I think it's every time that I'm here back at home. I love spending time here. I guess I spend most of my time here in the studio, whether I'm recording or writing or just watching videos, like when y'all first got here, I was watching a couple of YouTube videos. I love watching Old School Galleros Vargas, sol de Mexico. So I mean especially, I have a lot lot of like fond memories, you know, from when my dad was working here in the studio. I was very little and stuff, so very excited to be here again.
Miguel Gutierrez:So tell us what brings you into town for this week, this week.
Nathan Fernández:I got invited to do the Our Region Clinic, to be one of the clinicians. So very happy, excited about that. And it's always great to be back home and, like I've always said, I love being in the circle, still, of all these competitions, like, for example, we just did Festiva with Sol about three weeks ago and now, three weeks later, I'm back here doing the same thing. You know, I get to see my mom, I get to see my brother and also very excited to see the students. I've been every time that I come down. I teach in a couple of schools and, you know, I get invited to do a couple of workshops and I think I'm already familiar with the students and the kids and everything. So I'm very excited to be working with them and it's also exciting for them too, because not only me, but I mean Maestro Jose just landed a couple of minutes ago, so I guess it's also very exciting for them to have someone like Jose, you know, and a bunch of other clinicians too. So that's what I'm basically doing this week.
Miguel Gutierrez:That's very inspiring. So let's talk about the person behind your name. Like you said, kids know who you are. We know who you are as a face, but we don't really know who you are as a person. That's why we're here, right? So tell us a little bit about your upbringing.
Nathan Fernández:So for a lot of years, you know like I battled between the love for mariachi and the chore of doing something that you really don't want to do at a certain age. You know I grew up my mom says that when I was in her belly that I was always kicking around whenever I would hear music, whenever I would hear mariachi or any type of music in general. So I guess from a very early age they knew that I liked it and I knew that I liked it too. But in my family I'm the youngest one of five and everyone plays. But in my family I'm the youngest one of five and everyone plays, and my dad, all of my siblings and my cousins, uncles, aunts, everyone. So no, me quedaba de otra. It was like you either do it or you do it. And my dad would always tell us like okay, so it's important for you to learn music, it's important for you to you know, continue the family tradition, at least until you're 18. Once you're 18, you can do whatever you want, if you want to continue in music or you want to study something else. So you know, when I was a little kid I started probably was like around like four years old they bought me my first little toy violin and I was standing next to my dad at his performances. There's videos I mean you remember those VHSs there's videos where I'm standing in a little charro suit with a little violin. You know, it's not even real, I'm not even, I don't even know what I'm doing, but I'm there next to him trying to sing and you know, my dad used to do this thing. When he would sing he would kind of like grab his ear to kind of like hear himself and I would like look at him. And there's videos where I'm just like looking at him and I try to do the same thing, like I grab my ear. And you know, like a little three, four year old and well, I started kind of getting that love for mariachi at a very early age and then my dad had me do. I remember he had an instructor for me which was people that would come, I think, wisconsin for like six months here in the valley, and you know I would get lessons and everything, since I was like very little around eight, nine years old After that. You know, it's the age where you just want to be with your friends, you want to be, you know, playing sports, and I also had like a deep, deep love I still do for soccer.
Nathan Fernández:I love soccer. I played competitive soccer since I was six years old. A lot of people don't know that because a lot of people just see the performance side and, you know, the music side and all that stuff. But, and especially like the circle that we're in now, which I feel like it's a very, you know, broad circle but also very small in a way. You know, todos nos conocemos we're able to kind of like see each other. It's because we travel a lot, you know it's kind of you see familiar faces. So a lot of people don't know that I had that part in my life, you know where I was just playing soccer since I was like six, seven years old. So then I started becoming more soccer oriented and you know I had practice during the week and then games during the weekends and I would get so mad that a lot of those games I missed because we had to work and I hated it. I hated that mariachi came in between me playing.
Miguel Gutierrez:You know the sport that I loved so when you say we had to work, so your dad had a working mariachi?
Nathan Fernández:yes, yeah, my dad had a, uh has a mariachi and I'm no longer part of it full time, but you know it's still up and running and every weekend they have performances and thankfully you know they're still going. It's already 39 years this year, 40 years next year. Wow, it's the 40th year anniversary and I remember funny, you said I'm going to open a little kind of side comment. I remember when I first met you all we kind did the Sonis album 35th anniversary Sonis. So 35 years back then, now about to be 40. And yeah, locally and also traveling. We got to travel a lot with my dad, which is great because we got to meet a lot of people, we got to witness a lot of cool cities, you know so. And then my mom would tag along, because I was too young to travel alone with my dad and the rest of the guys, so my mom was always traveling with us. The chaperone, the chaperone, yeah, yeah it's my mom.
Nathan Fernández:So, um, yeah, I mean we would work every weekend with my dad and at that time which is different, because the last time that I played with my family's group was actually during festiva, so we had the workshops on friday and that same day that we're gonna, aslan was gonna record a video. So the one that's currently in charge right now I'm gonna give him a little shout out joel sanchez, one of my brothers. So well, not blood brother, right, but you know, like my brother, he was in charge but, uh, him and some of the guys there at the university they couldn't make make it to the gig, so then they were about to cancel. I'm like, no, don't cancel, I'm, I'm free. I mean, we stopped teaching, like around like four or five. So then I went to the gig and it's so crazy because I was the only one from my family playing with my family's group, you know, and I guess, because I don't do it that often anymore, kind of gets you thinking like, wow, this is what my dad started, and so going with people that some of them didn't even meet them, meet him. You know, like some of them came after my dad passed away and everything. So we're very fortunate enough to still have the group going and so we would work every weekend and I hated the fact that I had to miss games.
Nathan Fernández:So then for a couple of years I felt very not that I had a hatred towards mariachi, but my dad would always tell me he's like muchacho no sacado el violino en toda la semana.
Nathan Fernández:And I remember one time like he got super mad at me because I guess I had popped a string at one of the gigs, one of the last gigs that we had on the weekend, and I never changed it during the week and I forgot about it. And we get to the, to the job, and I get my violin out and I'm like, oh, I forgot, and he started tripping out. You know my dad was very strict when it came to that like. But you know he was very strict and you know we always tried doing things the right way, but I kind of wasn't content. I'm like you know what I could be playing with my friends? I could be doing this, I could be doing that and all these other things. So for me it was kind of like something that I had to do, like a chore. Yeah, you know, I loved it, I liked it. It's what my family did, but I wasn't so passionate about it so at what age did you start playing in your dad's group?
Nathan Fernández:well, I mean, I started standing there when I was like four, you know, and then, well, so that counts as work, that counts as work.
Nathan Fernández:Yeah, because you know, they had kind of this thing of like, oh, bring the little kid. You know it was like, it was cute, I guess you know, to have like a little, a little kid just standing there and everything, and actually they would really ask for it. And you know, I was just like. You know a lot of the times and a lot of the people that worked with my dad that I still keep in contact with to this day because you know they were a very fundamental part in my upbringing, you know, and growing up we talk and then they're like hey, do you remember when, uh, when we would go on trips and when we would go to gigs and we would leave your house late because your dad was getting mad at you for not wanting to go, and you would get into the truck crying. You would go to the gigs crying like no es que a par, yo no quiero estar aquí, que no me gusta. And you know, my dad was also very, I guess, supportive in a way. He was just like you know what, what can I do for you to? Actually, you know not, dad was also very, I guess, supportive in a way. He was just like you know what? What can I do for you to actually, you know, not cry in front of the guys? And you know, he bought me a little. I'm one of those iPad kids they call them. Now, you know he bought me an iPad and, like you know, my headphones. Y así me iba bien tranquilo, watching movies and playing games and everything. So that was my dad's way of calming me down.
Nathan Fernández:You know, around that age it's a nine-year-old, ten-year-old. You know, you're not mature enough to think like this is what I have to do. This is, you know, my family's tradition. You don't really think of that when you're that age, you know, you're just thinking of what you want to do, and in my case I wanted to play soccer. You know football, I'm such a huge fan.
Nathan Fernández:I was actually kind of sad that I flew in on Sunday because the final de Mexico contra Panamá de la CONCACAF it was in LA, at the, at SoFi, where the Rams play. So I was planning on going and everything, but I'm like, no, you know what, it's better to go a day earlier. And, you know, be with my family and go to church with my family, you know. So, yeah, I started playing around, standing there four years old playing, maybe like seven, eight, pero no creas que tocar bonito. Eh, like just kind of just playing and everything. And then I gave it a shot in middle school for like a couple of weeks and I didn't really like it. I didn't like orchestra, not that I didn't like the music, I just didn't like the commitment. And you know I was still training every single day.
Miguel Gutierrez:So you joined the orchestra.
Nathan Fernández:I attempted to. Yeah, I mean I did, but it was always the same story. You know, at the time my dad was Toda mi familia son músicos líricos, you know. So no one reads music other than, well, now, me. But a lot of people ask me how do you learn those teachers from middle school, how do you learn your music if you don't know how to read? No, pues es que mi papá me solfea la música, por ejemplo, I remember I have the memory of when I was like 7, 8 years old, my dad was a trumpet player Me solfeaba la música, por ejemplo, las mañanitas, sol de la negra, sol fa sol, la si, si, si, si, you know, you know, you know, you know they all communicate in that sense, you know my older brothers and everyone.
Nathan Fernández:And for a lot of people it's kind of crazy, you know, because it's like you can't read a single note. But you know, you can, you know you understand solfege very, very well. So it's kind of trippy for some people, you know. But that's how I started learning and I guess I didn't know. It was so normal for me because everyone around me did it and they couldn't read. So I got kind of unmotivated when I was in middle school because I'm like you know what? I don't even know how to read, you know, and you know these kids are already playing and you know. So I'm like you know what I'm going to. I told my dad I'm going to get out of orchestra and I'm going to dedicate myself to football 100%. I had this crazy dream of wanting to like play professionally but you know that never happened.
Nathan Fernández:And when I get into high school I remember the freshman orientation that we had the mariachi played. I went to Edinburgh North High School and he's still there. Abel Acuña is the mariachi director there. So my brother knew him because he also, you know he had his class, but you know he wasn't really in the mariachi, he was just he had the period you know to, I guess, practice or whatever. And I remember my brother tried to. He took me to Edinburgh North when I was in eighth grade and he took me to meet Abel and he's like, oh, this is my little brother and you know he's going to come. He's going to be a freshman next year. Okay, a ver going to come. He's going to be a freshman next year. Okay, a ver toca algo. No, no, no, estoy bien gracias. I'm okay, I really had no interest in it. And then, you know, we get to the freshman orientation and I still remember the people that were there. I'm a little shout out to Jojo Jose Luis Torres, which you all know. He was like the star in Edinburgh North Mariachi. You know. He sang really good and played really good. He still does know performing with Siete Leguas, but I remember feeling like very inspired because it was a bigger group, you know, like kind of a performing group, and I'm like you know what, and I took a couple of videos on my phone and I showed them to my dad. Dad, look, mariachi, from school, they play very well. And then he's like no, no, no.
Nathan Fernández:At that time I was playing with the Houston Dynamo Academy here in McAllen and we would travel every other weekend, well, every weekend. So one weekend it was San Antonio, and then the following weekend was like Corpus, and then the third weekend San Antonio again. And my dad at that time he was like I guess he was more supportive than ever in that, you know, because I had to, you know, try out for the academy and you know they have different teams. The travel team was the higher level, so I guess he was probably. He was like you know what, si, si te dejo que faltes a esto y esto y lo otro, and then whenever he didn't have work, he would go with me. And whenever he didn't have work, he would go with me. My mom, my dad, you know, and he was always very strict in that too Me decía no, ya, no, te voy a venir a ver. Ya, no, no, estás haciendo lo que te estoy diciendo. My dad was also huge All of my family, you know, they're huge soccer fanatics.
Nathan Fernández:So then I end up getting out of the Houston Dynamo Academy. At the time there was a coach that, uh, one of the coaches for Houston Dynamo, and he was the JV coach for Edinburgh North. So he's like you know what I'm going to talk to, coach Moran, which was, you know, the coach in Edinburgh North for varsity, and I tried out my first day that I was in high school and I was the only freshman that made the varsity team that year. So I was like you know what? Four years later, you know, I'm hoping to get like a college scholarship, you know, to play soccer, and I had, like my life planned out that. A lot of people don't even know that I was like planning, you know, it was very different.
Nathan Fernández:So then my freshman year comes along and obviously I was always very skinny, I was always very, you know, you compare someone like that as a freshman with the seniors that are starters, and I would never get to really play. I only played a couple of minutes, you know, and I was, I kind of got unmotivated. I'm like all of my life, you know, working for this. And then my coaches would tell me, like you know what, it's going to come. It's going to come sooner or later. It's going to come, you know, because you're still young. But I want you to be here to learn and everything. So se me quitaron las ganas. I'm like you know what? I don't want to wait that much, you know, I want to be playing. You know this and that.
Nathan Fernández:So sophomore year well, let me backtrack a little bit. So that same freshman year I had, since I already knew Abel I had a little class with him, a conjunto class, and it was just a class kind of just to you know, practice and learn and everything. But he knew that I wasn't interested and he was so disappointed in me. Like I think if Abe was hearing this he's probably laughing right now. He was super disappointed in me. He was just like no, you're not even trying, like I had you here to learn how to read, because that's what the purpose of the class was for me. You know, since trying like I had you here to learn how to read, because that's what the purpose of the class was for for me, you know, since it was kind of like an open period, I'm going to help you learn how to read and everything. So no me importaba tanto, no me interesaba. You know, I'd rather be with my friends and everything. It came to a point that he was so disappointed in me that he told me like kind of like the last ones, he's like hey, don't show up to my class anymore, like you're not doing anything. I'm like, okay, better for me, I'll go to lunch or whatever.
Nathan Fernández:So after that, that same summer, I was like you know what? I don't think I want to continue soccer. Like I started watching a lot of videos on YouTube, mariachi videos, and one of those videos was mariachi aslan, when they were playing, and I still remember at the Vargas Extravaganza this is probably like 2015, 2015, 2016 they had like the burnt orange uh suits. I think you were there. If not, that was after me, after you, okay. So I remember they were playing el cascabel and I'm like, damn, like everyone's so young, like where are they from? And I didn't even know that the university had a mariachi program.
Nathan Fernández:As a sophomore in high school I didn't know. You know, I was so focused on, like just working with my dad, which you know, it was kind of just something that I had to do and playing soccer. So my life was very, very different back then. So then I started seeing these videos and I'm like utrgv, that's like 10 minutes away from where I live. So I'm like, oh, that's cool, like. And then I started seeing jojo was a senior by that time and and he started performing with Aslan and I'm like, oh, you know what, like, that's possible, like, pero le tengo que echar ganas. So then we started, kind of, I started practicing and I started learning, you know, how to read and everything. And I auditioned for the orchestra and I made it and I remember my sophomore year we were playing.
Nathan Fernández:You know, edinburgh North High School had a very good orchestra program, you know, and Mr Yiannis was there and he was always very supportive too, like he inconscientemente, you know, like he's always teaching like theory to the students. You know, like he's always telling you and that's why I'm so appreciative to Mr Yiannis and Ab know, because mr yanes would tell us like don't play with your ear, play with your mind. You know. So like know what you're playing, like when you're playing up here, know what positions you're playing in, and for me that was on you, you know, because it was orchestra and you know both of y'all know that orchestra and mariachi are very, very, very different Primera posición en el mariachi, primera y tercera. And orchestra, you know it's like way more. And that year we were playing.
Nathan Fernández:That's what I came into. I came into us playing danzón and we were playing, like you know, stuff that was difficult, but it was like the first couple of songs that I was like able to read and everything. So I was doing it every single day. By the end of the sophomore year, you know, I was already kind of like a little bit fluent in reading and I always thought, you know what I learned the wrong way quotation marks, the wrong, wrong way, because I didn't know how to read and I thought that it was the wrong way to learn just by ear. And then I remember when I like, oh, how did you know you start learning your music and everything? And I started and everything they're like you're able to, so like you're able to do that. That's crazy, like. And I'm like I didn't even know because it was normal for me and I'm like, yeah, but I don't know how to read. So then Mr Yanez was like no, you know what? Well, that's like the easier part. You know like we'll get you to read and everything. So we were in orchestra and you know learning and everything and doing UIL, sight reading, contests.
Nathan Fernández:And junior year I get to audition for the mariachi. I auditioned for the mariachi and then you know I'm there playing with Abel and honestly it was one of the best years of my life, my junior year. It was really, really it was a year full of learning and new experiences and you know you're already feeling comfortable with you, know what you're doing and at first my dad was against it because I was missing work so often and I remember I would argue with him all the time. So junior year we finish it. You know we go to Tame, uio and all these festivals and then my senior year um, the first half of my senior year, during the summer, my dad goes into the hospital and he was in the hospital from August all the way to January. He passed away in January 2020. And then, a month later, the pandemic starts.
Nathan Fernández:And so at the time, my senior year, I was very adamant about wanting to continue with my original goal. I was very adamant about going into Aslan. You know, joining Aslan, that was my dream, playing with Mariachi Aslan. And you know, I remember I went to Festiva when Sol de Mexico played, right before the pandemic started, and one of my friends that was playing at the university, his name is Frank Carrion.
Nathan Fernández:He took me to Pancho and he's like hey, pancho, I want to introduce you to Nathan. You know, very talented and you know this, this and that. And then Pancho was like oh, si, si, si, quien es Vamos a estar hablando? I got so excited. I'm like no way Like I got so excited. I'm like no way, he knows who. I am Very, very excited. So we start kind of getting more into the pandemic phase and Pancho had told me you know what, yeah, you're going to be in Iceland, but we're not doing anything during the pandemic. So I was kind of bummed out by it. Fast forward, a year later, I have my first concert with them and everything, and, yeah, I was kind of bummed out by it. Fast forward a year later, you know, I have my first concert with them and everything, and yeah, I was there for two years playing performing.
Miguel Gutierrez:So then, once you join Aslan, tell us about that, your experience there it was great.
Nathan Fernández:I got to do a lot of things with Aslan you know all these festivals that Aslan is present at and got to meet a lot of great musicians the people that I was playing with at the time and the people that we were meeting because we were opening up shows for them, like Vargas, sol de Mexico, los Camperos, nuevo Tecalitlan. It was great. It was really, really fun.
Miguel Gutierrez:Did you join the university as a music major or were you studying something else?
Nathan Fernández:I did. I was studying music education.
Miguel Gutierrez:Okay, and how did that go?
Nathan Fernández:It went great. I mean, you know I loved the fact that my time was going towards music full time. You know, I loved the fact that everything was revolving around music, you know, getting to the university and having theory, sight singing, piano method classes, it was all coming together.
Nathan Fernández:Yeah, and then, before I knew it, my life had changed completely. You know, I was no longer aiming to be a soccer player, I was aiming to be a better musician. And my dad would always tell me he's like, if you want to continue music, if you really love it, you know you should go study music. And he would always tell me there's nothing like having a degree and being a you know a teacher and being comfortable, because he would see Abel and everything, and even Emilio. You know that Emilio has his job during the week and he still gigs during the weekends. Abel teaches and then gigs during the weekend, which is a lot of. I guess that's the life here in the Valley. You know you teach during the week and then you play on the weekends.
Miguel Gutierrez:So it was motivating for me you know, I only ask about the university because you're saying you know you had your issue of not being able to read. Yeah, does that still follow you in?
Nathan Fernández:university or you know what I owe so much to mr yannis and abel, that it was a high like program in terms of reading.
Nathan Fernández:I mean, both of y'all know mr yannis, you know, and he's we had tech camps every summer and he was always, you know, okay transposing and those tech camps, you know it's like okay if we transpose this song from this key to this key and then from this to this, and it was kind of like subconsciously in your brain already. So then when I got to the university, for example, like my first two semesters of theory was kind of like a refresher, not really like something new, because of Mr Giannis and I feel like whoever's listening to the podcast that went to Edinburgh North and was studying, you know that were studying under Yanis, they can relate, you know it was just a lot of studying, you know, and I guess it was normal for us because we hadn't seen any other programs, you know, or anything like that. So I mean, when we got to college you know, me and my friends from Edinburgh North it was kind of a little bit easier. Those couple of semesters, which were the semesters that we did online, it was the pandemic.
Miguel Gutierrez:What I'm about to ask is a little personal, but it's something I've been curious about. Okay, would you say that your dad's passing is what helped you solidify your decision to continue?
Nathan Fernández:Oh, definitely, definitely. I feel like my dad passing away, even when he was in the hospital. I tried doing it was such an early age for me, you know, I was 17, 16, 17 and me and my brothers had to take that role of like you know what we still have work, so this is kind of a little bit personal. But my dad, because of his heart condition, that he didn't have a heart condition, right, it was just like he had a heart attack and then everyone was like all the doctors telling us, you know what, he can't really worry too much because he'll be prone to another heart attack, which he survived the first one. Second one could be deadly. You know, I don't think he, you know his heart's not strong enough anymore. So his, his biggest worry was, like you know, the mariachi needs to continue. He founded the mariachi in 1989, 86, 1986. And this was back in Monterrey and fast forward all these years. He wanted it to continue and he wanted all of us to continue in it. So I remember I was trying to get the guys together and we would rehearse and everything so he could hear something that he liked, you know. So we kind of did it because, like, so he won't worry Para que no se preocupe, papá and we would show him videos every week there at the hospital. You know, six months at the hospital without coming back home. You're going every single day, you're showing your videos. That way his heart is content and happy and you know what you're doing, great. So then he passes away and my biggest fear was that my dad's group wasn't going to continue. So I'm like, what am I going to do if the guitar player can't show up? What am I going to do if the viola player can't show up? So ever since we were little, my dad would always enforce us to learn a little bit of the rhythmic section guitar, on vuela guitar.
Nathan Fernández:All of my brothers, all of my siblings play all the harmonia and one of them plays trumpet. Well, harmonia and trumpet. So you know, I guess I started studying it a little bit more after my dad passed away. You know, I had kind of like a little bit of knowledge, you know, but not so much to be able to go play. So I started doing that because I'm like you know, my dad's not here anymore. I have to kind of take that role and it was crazy because during the pandemic I'm the only one from my siblings that was born here in the US. So I still have siblings that live in Monterrey. My family is from Monterrey, nuevo León. So it was around the time where the border was closed and stuff. So you know it was very difficult to cross and then I started playing guitar for funeral gigs that we had and everything. So I guess it worked out. You know, and to answer your question, it was that motivation from, you know, having my dad passing away.
Joel Lee Ozuna:Can you tell us more about? After your dad passed, you guys made an album.
Nathan Fernández:We did. We did two albums. The one that kind of more people would listen to is the 35th anniversary one, which is just Sonia's. Before that we did another one in Memoria de Fernando y Antonio Fernandez, my dad and my uncle. This is very crazy my dad and my uncle were a year and eight months apart in life and then my uncle passed away, and a year and eight months later in life and then my uncle passed away and a year and eight months later my dad passed away. So it's kind of you know, and they were the ones that were in charge of the group. So we did an album kind of in memory of them, you know, and in memory of a lot of people that lost a lot of loved ones during the pandemic.
Nathan Fernández:That's when it came out, during the pandemic, and then we came out with the sonis and I remember wanting to do like the best job possible. We were recording here and I would tell the guys I'm like I can't believe we're recording on our own. I started recording with my dad when I was 11, 12, and I can't tell you the amount of times that I cried or that he made me cry because he's like, no, my brother would record all the harmonia. My dad would record the trumpets and I would record the violins, but I was so little, you know, and they were always very tough and, like you know, the weird one, the one that you know. So I guess, subconsciously, that's where I started getting you know a little bit practice in that. So, yeah, we did those two albums and then, right after the album came out I think the album came the 35th anniversary album came out a week before we all went back to school, so it was going to be my first day in college in person, you know. And then we had my.
Nathan Fernández:I had my first Aslan performance and everything was so crazy because of the pandemic. I remember at the time Alex Trevino was directing Aslan and he had a couple of personal problems that he had to attend to, so he left right before we started performing again and he vouched for me and he's like I think Nathan should do it, and it was my first ever show with Aslan I was the one that was directing which was so nerve-wracking I didn't think I could do it. I was so nervous. I'm like you know, my dream has always been playing with Aslan. Pero, pues, no manches así. No O sea. Quiero tan siquiera disfrutar un poquito y aprender. You know, sometimes you have to do stuff that you know and I feel like that's the best thing for anyone else. You know, I think we're very we're in situations that make us uncomfortable. I think they make us better and I think the older that I get, the more I realize that.
Nathan Fernández:You know, it's very, very important and going back to your dad's album uh, you wrote that music for it yes, I mean some are the, some compositions are from my like, lyrics from my dad's and lyrics from other people, but the arrangements, yeah, and I and my friend eddie lopez he arranged one of them too, and also another friend, edgar sanchez, lives in tampico he did an arrangement of a song too, and I got to write a song for my dad too, which is my favorite one from the album a little bit, so tell us about you making the connection with Jose so with Aslan we got to do a lot of cool stuff.
Nathan Fernández:We toured with Aida Cuevas for a month and a half, which means like a month and a half without being home at all, hotel after hotel, flight after flight, and then sometimes we would drive and then we got to open up. You know, we were always at the Vargas Extravaganza, so we met Vargas and then Festiva it was either Festiva and Nuestra Cultura, it was Camperos and Sol de Mexico. So I met Jose, since I was doing Festiva Like I think I did Festiva my sophomore year that Abel took me, and then that's where I met him. But you know I didn't really talk to him or anything, I was too shy. And you know you would meet Sol, camperos, vargas, and you start kind of like building this connection with them to the point where, like my last year in Aslan, I was in charge of like picking them up from the airport Sol and Camperos and whoever was coming. So Jose was already like familiarized, you know with, and they knew that I would write and you know that I was writing kind of for Aslan and you know stuff like that. So that's where I made the connection with Jose.
Nathan Fernández:And then we had a recording session, august 2023. And I was so excited we had just came back from the Hollywood Bowl with Maria Chilo Sarrieros and I had just done the Wortham Theater with Maria Chisita Leguas. And the week after I'm like, oh, and to top it off, like Joseandez is going to come to record us, you know, like our aslan album. So we record the string section with jose at the university. I'm driving him around, and then he casually just like, oh, the way I've been eating me done. And I'm like what? And then he's like, yeah, you know, casually.
Nathan Fernández:And then it started becoming more of a reality. And then he's like, yeah, so you know what I'm gonna let you finish, because we had a couple of shows with Aida Cuevas still in Burbank, which is in LA, and Milwaukee, wisconsin. And he's like I'll let you finish those two shows and as soon as you're done, uh, you know, te espero en el restaurante. So he gave me like a month to move from when he invited me and it was very nerve-wracking, very scary, very difficult. The first couple of months were extremely difficult. You know, I would come back super often and I would go to the store and I would, you know, tell you all like, no, you know what it's difficult, but I know I want them.
Joel Lee Ozuna:Let me ask you what made you decide to go for it? Yeah, I bet it was a very difficult decision. You're still in school and you know that's a big decision to move away.
Nathan Fernández:You know my dad, my dad's favorite group, has always been Mario Chisol de Mexico and I felt like if I didn't take it, I was always going to be that one guy that was like I could have, but I didn't. I could have but I didn't. In Mexico we say the uncle who could play professionally but didn't play. No, I could have been a professional footballer but I broke my knee, you know, and I'm like I don't want to be like that, but at the same time everything was going so good here that I just I was in my comfort zone and I was just like you know what Everything is going great here. Why leave? And I was just like you know what everything's going great here, why leave? You know my friendships, my work, you know everything that I would do. I enjoyed it thoroughly and I enjoyed making music with the people that I loved you know the most. So I just I said yes and you know I prayed about it a lot with my mom and you know it was really sad to like leave home for the first time lot with my mom. And you know it was really sad to like leave home for the first time.
Nathan Fernández:And I still remember my last show with Aslan was in Burbank in LA, and we went back to the hotel and and my friend, adrian Grijalov, which is now my, you know, my co-worker he took me one of the suits to see if I was going to fit into those suits. And I remember I was rooming, I would always room with Joel, and he was like dude, this is so crazy like I still can't believe it, like I see it. And I remember I was rooming, I would always room with Joel, and he was like dude, this is so crazy like I still can't believe it, like I see it and I cannot believe it. And I didn't want to do it because at first, like you know what, I have to finish school, I have to do this, I have to do that.
Nathan Fernández:But I'm like you know what, if I don't take it, I don't know when else I'm going to be able to do it. So I'm just going to go with the flow and I'm going to take it and lo que pase, pase, you know, and I'm like, si me corren o si no me aguantan, that's okay, I'll come back home, but thankfully, you know, I ended up liking it. You know, learning a lot and got the opportunity to, you know, perform with Jose Hernandez, which is, you know, he's such a great arranger, one of the best you know. He's made so much history and being able to play next to him is I have really no words. It's very incredible.
Miguel Gutierrez:Has he had any say-so in your writing? You know?
Nathan Fernández:I still write and I still record, and every time that I record and write, I always show him stuff that you know hey, what do you think of this, what do you think of that? And he always gives me, you know, very, very great comments. Okay, make sure that if you're arranging for someone that can't sing that well, you know you have to mask it with, like you know, other things musically, but if they sing really well, you can't put all these notes. You want the singer to shine Exactly, and not only him. But you know, like, there's a lot of great musicians like Adrian Baca, adrian Grijalva and everything. And Adrian Baca, he went to Berklee School of Music and he writes and everything. And adrian vaca, he went to berkeley school of music and he writes and everything.
Nathan Fernández:And also him, you know, like, not just jose, but a lot of people. Obviously jose hernandez, you know, he's the one that you want to pay attention to the most and you know I I've gotten to share a couple of stuff that I that I've done and thankfully, you know, I have the great privilege of, you know, being able to transcribe a couple of things that he has recorded but that he has never written. So and then sometimes he'll hand me out like scores that are like handwritten to put on Sibelius and you know, send him the file and to be able to, like, have those physically and, you know, to be able to see the way that he writes, the way that he kind of thinks, for like a brief moment there's really no words for that and I feel like if I hadn't taken the opportunity, I wouldn't have never, I wouldn't have ever known how that felt, you know. So, yeah, I would say he has had a lot of impact on the way that I do things now.
Nathan Fernández:Y por lo que falta de aprender? You know like there's so much more to work on and so much more time to learn from him and from the other musicians too that are very, very talented.
Miguel Gutierrez:So another side thing that you're starting to get some underground fame for is recording, Recording yeah, tell us about that.
Nathan Fernández:Well, I love recording, recording. I feel like it's something that whatever you build or whatever you think of it gets documented, you know. And then one of my favorite things is when you write something or you have the idea in your head and then you record it. You see the process of it and then it finally comes out on, like Apple Music and Spotify. And I remember the day that the Sonnys came out with my family's group, I had it on repeat for like I think like a whole month, because I'm like I can't believe we're on Apple Music, spotify, you know, and stuff like that. So it's a great feeling and I love recording and I love seeing the process of it.
Nathan Fernández:¿cómo empieza nada más? Una idea en tu cabeza, en tu mente, y se hace realidad, se vuelve realidad, you know. So for me it's something that I feel like my dad passed on to me and I couldn't just take it for granted once he wasn't here anymore. You know, I had to keep going for it and everything, and, and I love being here, I love putting up stuff that you know, things that are memorable for me, you know performances, medals, and I like to frame albums that I've worked on, and then in the mixing room we have my dad's discography, so it's very special for me.
Joel Lee Ozuna:And for our listenersathan's. Actually, the one who, who wrote our, our, our tema for charlotte classicos, and most recent he, he, I gave him this idea that I had for the longest time and he made it come to life. Tell us more about that. The intermezzo Intermezzo.
Nathan Fernández:So, going back a little bit, I remember the first this, the Bosque podcast. For me, Charros y Clásicos was always very relaxing because I was still in school when it came out and I remember my mom was working the whole day, my brother was working, it was just me, my mom and my brother. So I would have class like at 9 am and come back home and I didn't have rehearsal till like two with aslan or orchestra or whatever. So I would come back and I liked ordering stuff for like furniture and stuff and like while I was building it I was always listening to the bosque podcast, charles y clasicos, and I remember marcos's first one, the very first one where you know we got to do the tema for it and it was cool. You know like it was something original and something new and you know you don't really know where it's going to lead to, but you know what it's like, really entertaining. And while I was building furniture I'm listening to the podcast in the background and stuff. So I've always been very grateful for the fact that I got the opportunity to write for this podcast and I guess charros y clásicos no me entraban en la mente. I was just like. You remember the first idea that it was like write a song and then write a classical piece, yeah, so whenever we interview someone that's in the mariachi world, we'll use the song. Whenever we interview someone that is in the classical world, we'll do that's right. Yeah, I remember that and I wrote the classical and it just was never recorded.
Nathan Fernández:It's a little bit difficult, you know, because it was around the time that I was leaving. So then Joe came up with the idea of, like you know what I really like, this one song, Intermezzo, que es parte de la obra de Carmen que tiene grabada Mariachi Vargas. And Intermezzo comes out and he's like you know what, I would really want to do this. And I remember I did a little adaptation of it, a little bit different but very similar in the same sense, and it was written for a long time and I just never got to record. It was a little bit difficult because I was already living in Los Angeles. So I remember Joel was like, hey, you know what, we're gonna start off with the podcast again. And you know like, yeah, let's do it. And we were, we got to record it and it's so crazy because, boss, the, the Bosque one, it was with the participation. It was just me and I remember Jesus Villegas playing trumpet.
Nathan Fernández:And then this next one, this Intermezzo, the new one. I got to record it in Los Angeles In my bedroom and I recorded Armonia. And I remember thinking I'm like, wow, I'm getting flashbacks of what I used to live before, Because now we've gotten to record a lot of stuff with Jose at his studio, and then I've gotten invited to other sessions too, outside of Sol de Mexico. They're in Los Angeles and nothing really over there is homemade like it is here in Texas. There's like people rent out studios and you're surrounded by great musicians.
Nathan Fernández:Actually, two weeks ago I had a session with Eric Hernandez. He's Chuy Hernandez's son, sobrino de Jose Hernandez, and he's a great. He was a secondary for Sol and I was still thinking like, damn, like I finally met you. I've seen you in a bunch of videos. So when I'm recording Intermezzo in my bedroom, you know I'm doing. And then the dueto, the violin duet it's actually Adrián Grijalva, the first violin, you know, first solo, and Cristo Hernández, daughter of José Hernández, and trumpet Eloy garza. So you know, I think it's been a nice collaboration, you know, and in terms of the newer life, you know that we get to live. That's that's awesome.
Miguel Gutierrez:Yeah, no, that's a big thanks to you for that um, for making that happen. We really appreciate that no, thank you all.
Nathan Fernández:Thank you all. You are such and I've always said it's such an amazing story, such an amazing business, and I was telling joe yesterday or two days ago when I visited the shop I'm like you all gave life to the valley so tell us as of now, how long have you been in seoul?
Nathan Fernández:I am going on two years. This summer Time flies. Huh, where have you toured? So I've done two Christmas tours with Sol and each Christmas tour was like about like 23, 24 cities and I've gotten the opportunity. One of my goals was to come back home and play.
Nathan Fernández:My first time that I did that was in Bronzeville Last year at Nostra Cultura, and then my second time was a couple of weeks ago at festiva at the university, and I hadn't played at the university in two years, there in that stage with aslan, the last time that we did festiva before I left, and it was also sold in mexico, I was driving them around and everything. So it was very crazy for me to actually, you know, live that same festival over again. But you, you know, with Sol de Mexico, and then the upcoming one is in June. It's going to be at the McAllen Performing Arts Center. So I'm very, very happy about that. And you know we've gotten to do a lot of shows, you know, in Guadalajara, nochislan, zacatecas, puerto Vallarta, tamazula. I think I must have gone, have gone to Guadalajara already like four times, five times, since I've been with Sol, and didn't you guys get a chance to go to?
Joel Lee Ozuna:was it Saudi Arabia?
Nathan Fernández:Yes, we went to Saudi Arabia a couple of months ago, which is really crazy because Mexico and the US same continent, and when you have your family that's from Mexico and then you live here in the States, you have a little bit of both worlds, but then there's a third world and many more worlds that you don't really know. So we get there, we're not tired, but it's 3 am because it's like an 11-hour difference. So it's really really crazy to, like, you know, see people that have never seen. People were going up to us like, oh, what is that? Oh, it's traje de charro. Yeah, oh, silver, yeah, silver, botonadura, and, you know, being able to promote mariachi in a different part of the world, across the globe. You know, it was amazing.
Nathan Fernández:We were there for seven days. We flew back on a Sunday Well, we flew in on a Sunday to LA and we had to perform at the Santa Cecilia Festival that Sol plays every year in Boyle Heights, east LA, and we got off the plane and none of us went back home. We went to Adrian Vaca lives close to LAX we went to Adrian's house, we changed, showered, you know, and we go to East LA, to Boyle, and then we play a one-hour show straight off the plane, very jet lagged, and then this was on a Sunday. We flew out to Portland on Thursday, which was the first show of the Christmas tour, first show out of 23 shows. So ever since like November, touary, january we were so tired, wow. But it was a great experience. And also being able to play with the best of the best and you know learning and everything. It kind of keeps you a little bit more motivated, not just because of what you're doing or where you're going, but you know who you're playing with.
Miguel Gutierrez:I think is the most important part I think it's time now for one of our golden questions where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?
Nathan Fernández:in the next 10 years. Well, if you asked me this 10 years ago, I would have told you that I would see myself as a professional soccer player. That did not happen. So I think some of our plans you know we kind of plan out for things Sometimes, you know, along the way a lot of things happen, you know, and I could say that a lot of things did happen within my time in Sol de Mexico which made me stay longer, you know, even though I was homesick and you know that I, for the longest time now I feel like LA is, you know, sometimes I'm here and I'm like, oh, you know what, I can't wait to go back to LA and work and have you know that lifestyle again.
Nathan Fernández:So I could tell you that I see, in 10 years, you know, I definitely do want to continue writing and recording and performing. So I think music is always going to be a very big part of my life because it's been my whole life, ever since I was a little kid. So I would hope that, you know, in the next 10 years I'm still playing, performing, recording and writing and doing everything that I am teaching maybe, you know, and I feel like that would keep me fulfilled, you know, having music, especially mariachi music, in my life. I think it's always going to keep me fulfilled and it's always going to keep me close to my family in a way.
Joel Lee Ozuna:And what's a piece of advice that you have for someone who wants to pursue music?
Nathan Fernández:I think that whoever's trying to pursue music try to find the motivation within themselves to continue and not quit. And especially in music, you know you never stop learning, you never, never stop learning. And I would say to just persevere and have that consistency and, you know, be disciplined, hard with yourself and great things will happen.
Nathan Fernández:Well, thanks for for having us today in your home and in this, uh, this very comfortable studio thank you very much for having me and thank you very much for coming, for making the time on this rainy day to come to the studio. Thank, thank you very much. I had so much fun. Thank you, nathan, appreciate it.
