Merry mariachi fest

Cristian Castro headlines the annual Mariachi Christmas Spectacular and no doubt those who aren’t familiar with the popular Mexican singer will come away as fans.

Castro’s El Indomable, which featured icon Vicente Fernandez on a few tracks, presented a departure for the 30-something singer and proved to be a hit with ranchera aficionados.

Pair Castro’s vocals with the power of the world’s best mariachis (in this case, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán and Mariachi Sol de México de José Hernandez) and the audience will be awash in soaring vocals, sentimental strings and big horn sounds. Plus, more than 700 young mariachis and dancers will participate in the annual concert.

The festival kicks off at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 at US Airways Center. For info, visit www.eliasentertainment.com or call
1 (800) 637-1006.