Mariachi los camperos de nati cano biography

Natividad “Nati” Cano, Grammy award-winning mariachi leader and former director of the Music of Mexico Ensemble at UCLA, died of colon cancer on Oct.

3 at his home in Fillmore, Calif. He was 81.

Cano played a major role in bringing mariachi music from local cafes and cantinas in Mexico to concert stages all over the world, from Disney Hall to Carnegie Hall and beyond.

Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano is a Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles–based mariachi ensemble which was formerly led by Natividad "Nati" Cano.

The group he founded, Los Camperos de Nati Cano, performed at the White House on several occasions. Los Camperos was awarded a Grammy in 2008 for Best Regional Mexican Album for their CD “Amor, Dolor Y Lagrimas: Musica Ranchera Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano” (Smithsonian Folkways, 2008).

Cano was the recipient of an NEA National Heritage Fellowship.

Cano’s legacy is strongest however, in his efforts to pass the mariachi tradition to young people. He directed the Music of Mexico Ensemble at UCLA as a lecturer f