When announcing their 2025-26 season last winter, Tucson Symphony Orchestra officials were downright giddy about having Tucson desert rockers Calexico back on their stage.
But late last month, a family health crisis prompted Calexico to bow out of the orchestra's "Holidays in Tucson" concerts this weekend.
The orchestra turned to Orkesta Mendoza, Sergio Mendoza's popular Tucson cumbia band, as an 11th-hour substitute.
"We were looking forward to perform with Calexico ... but having Orkesta Mendoza to step up is great because we have already performed with them," said TSO Music Director José Luis Gomez. "They're a fantastic band, also from Tucson."
"We were very fortunate that, with the news about Calexico, that Orkesta Mendoza was available at such short notice," TSO President and CEO Paul Meecham said.
Orklesta Mendoza stepped in to replace Calexico for this weekend's Tucson Symphony Orchestra "Holidays in Tucson" concert.
Orkesta Mendoza will be one of several collaborators on the TSO's holiday concert that Gomez says celebrates Tucson as much as it does the holidays. Dancers from the University of Arizona School of Dance and in-demand Tucson vocalist Katherine Byrnes also are part of the show.
"The whole idea of this 'Holidays in Tucson' celebration was to celebrate the music and the musicians of Tucson," Gomez said. "The holidays in this community are very important. You have the Hispanic influence, you have people from other places and you have Tucson's own flavor. We wanted to celebrate all those things."
Tucson Symphony Orchestra Music Director José Luis Gomez will be at the podium for this weekend's "Holidays in Tucson" concerts.
While UA School of Dance and Byrnes are longtime TSO collaborators, this weekend will be only the second time the orchestra has teamed up with Orkesta Mendoza. But its namesake leader was part of Calexico for the band's one and only TSO concert last January.
"You know, having the opportunity to play with so many musicians, 70 musicians or something like that ... it's just an amazing experience," said Mendoza, who would have been on the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall stage this weekend even if Calexico hadn't cancelled. He regularly sits in with Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino, who routinely tap a host of Tucson musicians to join them in live shows.
Spanish guitarist Diego Garcia aka Twanguero will join Sergio Mendoza and Orkesta Mendoza at the Tucson Symphony Orchestra's "Holidays in Tucson" concert this weekend.
It's a formula that Mendoza also follows.
"I normally like playing in big groups. That's why I have a big band," he said, adding that his band this weekend will number as many as 10, including Brian Lopez from XIXA and Salvador Duran — two musicians who often sit in with Calexico.
Katherine Byrnes is part of the cast for Tucson Symphony Orchestra's "Holidays in Tucson."
"Now that Calexico is not doing it, I'm kind of trying to do something that would feel like a Calexico vibe by inviting collaborators that would join Calexico on stage," he said, calling it a tribute to the band and the Calexico family.
Mendoza also is featuring Spanish guitarist Diego Garcia, who goes by the stage name Twanguero. A Latin Grammy winner, Tanguero fuses a number of musical styles and genres, from Spanish classical guitar to fingerpicking fit for modern country, rockabilly, jazz and surf rock.
Tucson Symphony Orchestra Music Director José Luis Gomez will be at the podium for this weekend's "Holidays in Tucson" concert.
Twanguero has performed with some of the world's biggest names, including Juanes, Wycleaf Jean, Fito Páez and José María Cano.
Next year, he's adding Orkesta Mendoza to that list. Mendoza said the Los Angeles-based Twanguero will join his ensemble for a number of shows, "so I was like, come down and join us for this one, too," Mendoza said.
Gomez said the concert will be a celebration, with popular Christmas carols that the audience is encouraged to sing along to and symphonic holiday works, including Rimsky-Korsakov's: “Polanaise” from the "Christmas Eve Suite" in the composer's 1903 opera "Christmas Eve."
While the "Christmas Eve Suite" is often performed around the holidays, the opera is rarely staged. Rimsky-Korsakov based it on a Russian fairy tale by Nikolai Gogol that includes broken deals with the devil, sorcery, men being slung around in burlap sacks and a sorceress who manages to steal the moon.
Not exactly the vibe you want to experience during the holidays.
One of the highlights will be the UA dancers performing Duke Ellington's 1960 "Nutcracker Suite," a jazz interpretation of Tchaikovsky's famous opera.
"This is a great organization," Gomez said, calling UA Dance Director Duane Cyrus "an incredible artist" and the dancers' appearance on the program one of the evening's highlights. "It's celebrating the ... great artists and organizations that we have in town, and they are one of those, for sure."
"Holidays in Tucson" includes the Christmas carols “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” "Sleigh Ride" and “White Christmas"; and two songs composed by Tucsonans: Salvador Duran's “Las Calles de Tucson” and Joey Burns' "Hear the Bells."
Tucson Symphony Orchestra Choral Director Marcela Molina leads the ensemble in Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" in preparation for this weekend's performances.
