Felix Contreras | August 24, 2023
If you close your eyes at the beginning of this Tiny Desk concert, you could easily imagine yourself at a party somewhere along the Texas-Mexican border around the 1930s, just after the guitars come out. But open your eyes and you'll see Yahritza y Su Esencia, a trio of musicians from Washington's Yakima Valley, belting out songs about lost love and longing.

Such is the magic of the current wave of Mexican regional music. Yahritza Martínez's voice on "Soy El Unico" speaks to a new generation of Mexican music fans as deeply as some of us old timers. Surrounded by her brothers Armando, on 12-string guitar, and Jairo, on bass, Martínez's impassioned vocals speak of loving someone who does not return the favor. There is an art to singing the kind of impassioned lyrics that are found in the corridos and rancheras of the best Mexican regional music and Yahritza does it again on "Dejalo Ir," another song she wrote when she was 13 years old.

I was doing okay until the group hit its stride with "No Se Puede Decir Adiós" when I had a moment. My mom loved rancheras and corridos and having recently lost her, I had to sit down at my desk during the performance and have a private, quiet cry. So don't hold back, and give yourself up to the powerful emotion of Yahritza y Su Esencia's performance.

SET LIST
"Soy El Unico"
"Dejalo Ir"
"No Se Puede Decir Adiós"
"Inseparables"
"Frágil"

MUSICIANS
Yahritza Martínez: vocals, guitar
Armando Martínez: vocals, guitar
Jairo Martínez: bass

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Anamaria Sayre
Director: Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern
Editor: Michael Zamora
Audio Assistant: Josephine Nyounai
Photographer: Keren Carrión
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Joshua Bryant, Ashley Pointer, Hazel Cills
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #nprmusic #yahritzaysuesencia

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