Director, Music of Mexico Ensemble; Director, Jazz Combo
Jesús “Chuy” Guzmán is widely recognized as arranger, director, instructor, and musician in the genre of Mexican mariachi music.
Guzmán is the musical director of Mariachi Los Camperos De Nati Cano, and master of numerous traditional mariachi instruments: trumpet, vihuela, guitarron, guitar, and violin.
For over nearly 20 years, Guzmán has served as head instructor for numerous international mariachi festivals in the United States and Mexico. Career highlights include collaboration on the orchestration and musical arrangements for the Symphony Orchestra of Jalisco and recording as a guest artist with Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan.
Mr. Guzmán also toured and recorded with Linda Ronstadt on her Grammy Award-winning album, Canciones de Mi Padre (Songs of My Father) and has appeared in several Hollywood motion pictures. Mr. Guzmán’s production for Mariachi Los Camperos titled Llegaron Los Camperos was nominated in 2006 for a Grammy Award under the Mexican-American category.
Most recently, his production for Mariachi Los Camperos, Amor, Dolor, y Lagrimas was awarded a Grammy for 2008 Best Regional Mexican Album. Guzmán has been a faculty member in the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology since 2000.
