Who Is Who On Our Streets: Our Sun Will Shine Again

By Natalie Taylor

We were at lunch at one of the restaurants along Salida a Celaya when a man with a violin walked in and set up in a corner of the room. Well, I thought, I hope he’s not too bad, and not too loud. As soon as the first strains emanated from his violin, however, it was obvious this was not a run-of-the mill street musician—he was masterful.

Antonio Arreola was born in México City on the Cerro de estrellas—the hill of stars, a focal point for the Anahuac civilization, of which he is part. They encompass many different tribes, and were distributed all the way from Alaska to Nicaragua. The Anahuacs are integral to Antonio’s identity: the pride in his origins, and the preservation of their history and rituals. On his mother’s side he is a Chichimeca; native people who fought indomitably against the Spanish conquerors; never defeated in battle. The search for his ancestral roots led Antonio to Guatemala, where a group of Anahuac people in a town in the jungle continue to celebrate the old traditions.

The cyclic resetting of the Mayan calendar, a renewal celebration, takes place every 52 years, and on that date all lights go out all the way from Nicaragua to Alaska. Then a new fire is lit, el fuego nuevo—the new light—and one by one new fires start, moving northward all the way to Alaska. While in the jungle, Antonio had a series of dreams in which he heard music he believes was delivered by his ancestors. In his waking state he was able to recall the music and it remains fixed in his memory. He has written some of the score, in hopes of recreating the music from the past.

Antonio studied at UNAM in the Conservatory of Music. He specialized in viola d’amore, a baroque instrument played by a select few. A violin hybrid, it has a unique sound produced by sympathetic cords, strings that resonate when other strings are played. Some say the sound produced is delicate and silvery.

One thing is certain, it is a complicated instrument to play, and although it is an instrument of the Baroque era, composers continue to write for d’amore to this day.

Following his studies, Antonio had a position teaching music in México City; a job he lost because of the Covid pandemic. During the lockdown he began playing his viola and violin on the streets and alleys of México City; outside banks, grocery stores, and government buildings. In 2021 he came to San Miguel de Allende where he has family, and lives in the small community of Esmeralda.

The bus from Esmeralda brings him to City Market within a half hour, and from there begins his walk to wherever he will play. At first he played on the streets, then inside restaurants, such as Lolita´s and Murmullo Café. His only steady position is on Saturday and Sunday mornings at Hotel Golpe de Vista. Aside from that, he survives on tips. His dream is creating a CD with the ancestral music he heard in his dreams in the jungles of Guatemala. A major challenge is the needs for specialized instruments to perform it.

It is part of his greater mission—maintaining and promoting the culture of his ancestors. According to Antonio, his people have a saying: “It is not we who will rescue our culture; our culture will rescue us.”

He says the history of México before the Spaniards’ arrival has been written, but was held in contempt. His ancestors built pyramids and roads, and they crafted beautiful works of art, but their accomplishments have been ignored. After centuries of colonization they have lost their historic memory and their pride, even forgetting the names by which their ancestors called themselves—Cemanahuacs. Antonio hopes that the world will someday get to know the other story, the one lost because of the emphasis on Western culture.

His people believe that although they have been put down by the European conquerors, they will rise again because “today our things have been destroyed, but our sun will shine again!”

If you would like Antonio Arreola to play for a particular event, contact him by phone at 442 118 4331 or by email at Remayor07@gmail.com

To read a fuller version of this story, learn more about the Anahuac civilization, and the viola d’amore that Antonio plays, go to natalietaylor.org