...he leaves the audience wanting more!
Ricardo Roman Arzola was born in El Paso Texas, but spent his early years in the abject poverty of an adobe “vecindad†in Chihuahua Mexico.
Although his upbringing gave him limited exposure to music, a few exceptions prevailed. Principle to his roots education in Mexican music was watching the Golden Era of Mexican Cinema with his mother. The icons of the cinema left an indelible imprint on him. Maria Felix especially dominated his imagination, which is now being realized in his dazzling vocal and stage presence.
Forward to middle school, where Ricardo passed the auditorium one day and overheard an orchestra practice. He demanded to participate. Taken under the wing of a sympathetic conductor he was allowed to engage with the orchestra under conditions. Play the violin.
And he did. He learned. He excelled. Competed. And conquered. He played with the youth philharmonic at University of Texas El Paso for several years, absorbed in classical violin. An opportunity arose to play the violin in a group, a Mariachi group, and he joined. Thus he entered the world of the invisible accompaniment to the Golden Era goddesses. Mariachis. And began to straddle two worlds. Classical violin in the philharmonic, and ongoing Mariachi development: soon entering and winning statewide competitions in both. In Mariachi he sang along with the choruses but as yet had not found his voice. The voice.
Ricardo’s commitment to Mariachi eventually overtook that to the philharmonic and he relocated to San Antonio and joined the premier Mariachi of the region, Mariachi Chapultepec. Suddenly he found himself invited to take the microphone. The requests came time and again for his voice, the voice of immense power and clarity, and his intelligent and elegant vocal style.
Drawn from auditions throughout the country, Ricardo was cast in a new Las Vegas production, M Mariachi, Passion and Tradition, where he played and sang for six months in the V Theater of the Aladdin. The show received critical acclaim, including Ricardo’s notable and dashing solo vocal segment.
…one strapping and talented performer delivers an impression of Juan Gabriel. It's tasteful and funny and he leaves the audience wanting more!
--Backstage Las Vegas, July 13, 2004... Lorraine Zenka
Ricardo’s sensational solo act came to the Hollywood Bowl stage in 2004, and again in 2007, to 17,000 screaming and adoring fans.