In the tiny Mexican fishing village of Ajijic in the spring of 1979, a mariachi was born.
Diego Kohl, who will perform in Vernon March 19 and Armstrong March 21, is the son of two Canadian artists who had taken a sabbatical from North American life and gone south on a creative quest. That led them to the artists colony on Lake Chapala.
Kohl’s birth date began with an earthquake. Thereafter, he was nicknamed, by the people of the village as Temblor (little earthquake in Spanish).
In the cultural vibrancy of Mexican life that surrounded Kohl during his formative years, mariachis were very much a part of the magical reality of the experience. Most children dreamed about being a mariachi so a young Kohl was inspired by the many encounters of his early years.
At the age of 10, Kohl returned to Canada with his family and became immersed in Canadian culture, receiving his education at Pleasant Valley Secondary School in Armstrong.
Upon graduation, Kohl had become accomplished on guitar and piano and was ready for a return to Mexico, where he studied traditional ranchero country music.
After being steeped in Mexican folk music for two years, he returned to Canada where he continued his post-secondary education at Okanagan College and then at Vancouver Community College.
At this juncture in his educational pursuits, Kohl made contact with Alex Alegria, a Mexican expatriate from Oaxaca, Mexico, who was in the process of starting a band called El Mariachi, and was looking for a bass player.
It wasn’t long before Kohl was playing the guitarron (a very special Mexican bass guitar) on a regular basis for El Mariachi Los Dorados and touring to the annual International Mariachi Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico as the sole representatives of mariachi music from Canada.
On an annual basis for about six years, El Mariachi Los Dorados has made a pilgrimage to the Okanagan to welcome the arrival of spring.
Kohl and El Mariachi Los Dorados will be at the Vernon college campus March 19 at 7:30 p.m. Advance Tickets are $20 at the Book Nook.
On March 21, they will be at the Zion United Church hall in Armstrong at 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets are $20 and available at Chocoliro in Armstrong.
The concerts are producted by Ken Smedley, Kohl’s father.
