Eblen Macari Trio: Mexican-Arabic Fusion

The event notice read: "the ensemble uses myriad instruments to uncover the baroque and Levantine influences in Mexican music."

I'd never heard of a connection between Arabic and Mexican music, but Eblen informed me that there's a large population of Lebanese living in Mexico, and their musical traditions have influenced Mexican music.

Comprised of guitarist and composer Eblen Macari, harpsichordist Olga Martínez, and percussionist Kabalan Macari, the trio gave a concert titled De Beirut a Cosamaloapan at the Mexican Cultural Institute.  The program was described as "a meeting of contemporary music and son jarocho style with Arabic roots and Spanish baroque influence."  They played lush, lively Mexican-Baroque-Middle Eastern fusion in the form of original compositions and traditional songs using guitars (including a jarana), harpsichord, and ethnic percussion instruments (including the darbuka).

The group is based in Mexico and rarely performs in the U.S.  And their YouTube videos are not exemplary of the beautiful sounds from tonight's performance. Some things are meant to be savored only in the moment.