Martin Espino
Encyclopedia
Martin Espino is a Mexican-American musician and composer of indigenous Yaqui and Tepehuano
ancestry from Whittier, California
. He is best known for performing authentic prehispanic music with his band MEXIKA. Espino spent over twenty five years researching prehispanic musical instruments and performed with many indigenous musicians from Mexico
, Ecuador
, Peru
and Bolivia
. Espino's musical inspiration comes directly from traditional Native American/Mexican music as well as ambient improvisations.
As the composer and artistic director of a group called Nahualli Ensemble, and co-leader of QUETAL , Espino has received many awards from various groups including the ASCAP.
Espino continues to lecture and concertize throughout America. In October 2008, his instruments were used by the Bakersfield Symphony to replicate a performance of Silvestre Revueltas SENSEMAYA, and Carlos Chavez SINFONIA INDIA, compositions which were specifically written for indigenous instruments of Mexico, and are usually performed on "substitute instruments". Espino's musical partner Christopher Garcia was asked to help perform the compositions with the symphony. Both Espino and Garcia are classically trained musicians as well. Other than his solo works, Espino has also composed for theater, video and television commercials. Espino was also a contributing artist for the live-action film adaption of El Muerto: The Aztec Zombie
.
Tepehuán
The Tepehuán are a Native American ethnic group in northwest Mexico, whose villages at the time of Spanish conquest spanned a large territory along the Sierra Madre Occidental from Chihuahua and Durango in the north to Jalisco in the south...
ancestry from Whittier, California
Whittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
. He is best known for performing authentic prehispanic music with his band MEXIKA. Espino spent over twenty five years researching prehispanic musical instruments and performed with many indigenous musicians from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. Espino's musical inspiration comes directly from traditional Native American/Mexican music as well as ambient improvisations.
As the composer and artistic director of a group called Nahualli Ensemble, and co-leader of QUETAL , Espino has received many awards from various groups including the ASCAP.
Espino continues to lecture and concertize throughout America. In October 2008, his instruments were used by the Bakersfield Symphony to replicate a performance of Silvestre Revueltas SENSEMAYA, and Carlos Chavez SINFONIA INDIA, compositions which were specifically written for indigenous instruments of Mexico, and are usually performed on "substitute instruments". Espino's musical partner Christopher Garcia was asked to help perform the compositions with the symphony. Both Espino and Garcia are classically trained musicians as well. Other than his solo works, Espino has also composed for theater, video and television commercials. Espino was also a contributing artist for the live-action film adaption of El Muerto: The Aztec Zombie
El Muerto (film)
El Muerto is a live-action independent film adaptation of the comic book series, El Muerto: The Aztec Zombie created by Javier Hernandez...
.