Vihuela Chord Dictionary: Presented in English and Spanish

José Guadalupe Alfaro is one of the most

sought after vihuela players in the mariachi world. Born

in Mexico City in 1959, he began his musical career in the

mid-1970’s, in the famous Plaza Garibaldi. He studied

music formally at the Escuela Libre de Música, the Mexico

City musician’s union (SUTM) school, and with private

teachers. Through the seventies and eighties, Alfaro

worked in many hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs of

Mexico’s capital city, where — as a member of Mariachi

México ’70, Mariachi Oro y Plata, Mariachi Dos Mil,

Los Monarcas and other groups — he accompanied such

artists as Lucha Villa, María de Lourdes, Felipe Arriaga,

Gerardo Reyes, Beatriz Adriana, Gilberto Valenzuela,

Pandora, and Joan Sebastián. In 1988, he joined Mariachi

Águilas de América, the mariachi that recorded most

prolifically during the 1990s, and with which he remained

for over a decade. Alfaro has recorded extensively with

artists such as Pepe Aguilar, José Guadalupe Esparza,

Alejandro Fernández, Pedro Fernández, Vicente Fernández,

Rocío Dúrcal, Hermanas Huerta, Lucero, Lupita

D’Alessio, Ángeles Ochoa, Paquita la del Barrio, Julio

Preciado, Marco Antonio Solís, Juan Valentín, and Alicia

Villarreal. In addition to

being a current member

of Mariachi México de

Pepe Villa, he is musical

director and arranger for

several singers, including

Guadalupe Pineda, Ángeles

Ochoa, and Alberto

Vázquez. Despite his

busy schedule of recordings,

performances, and

tours, Alfaro still finds

time to teach private

students.