El Paso mariachi singer in hospice care gets tearful wish to sing with mariachi final time

June 10--Mariachi music brought tears of joy, memory and family as Leobardo Hernandez again picked up a microphone Saturday.

The 89-year-old former El Paso mariachi singer is in hospice care, uses a wheelchair and lost his eyesight about five months ago. But he hasn't lost his talent.

Hernandez was treated to a surprise family reunion and sang with Mariachi Estrella de El Paso as a "Senior Wish" granted by Hospice El Paso.

Hernandez sang Saturday morning, sang how he hadn't in years with a mariachi band in front of family, grandchildren, friends, nurses and social workers.

Hernandez was joined by his partner and fellow singer, Laura Carmona, 88, in a show of a longtime friendship.

And the tears flowed.

Siempre te voy a recordar

Hernandez and Carmona were mariachi singers for more than 20 years, performing in schools, nursing homes and the longtime "Revolución" musical production about the Mexican Revolution at the Chamizal National Memorial Theater.

Family said that the pair were part of a local group named Mariachi Alegria.

"Acá entre nos. Siempre te voy a recordar. Y hoy que a mi lado ya no estás ..," the pair sang in "Acá Entre Nos," a sorrowful tune of love lost.

The lyrics roughly translate to "just between us. I will always remember you and now that you are not by my side there's nothing else to."

Family members wiped away tears as the elderly duet sang in voices with the tremble of age. One of the mariachi violinists looked like she was about to cry.

"Acá Entre Nos" is Hernandez's favorite song, he said after his performance with an audience of dozens of his fellow residents of the Regent Care Center on the East Side.

"We were remembering. It was so nice to remember the past. I gave thanks," Hernandez said in Spanish.

"Better than yesterday," Hernandez replied when asked how he was doing. "I didn't expect this. Last time, they brought in a stereo and they played mariachi songs but it was not the same."

Hernandez's advice: "I ask children to take a decent path, a path with honor, study and learn music and learn mariachi music."

Carmona said singing with Hernandez again was like a beautiful trip into the past.

"Singing is my life," Carmona said. "I had my horse and I would sing at the Fiesta de Las Flores. It brought back so many memories."

Beautiful feeling

Hernandez often sings to the nurses at the care center, said Yvette Perez, a social worker with Hospice El Paso who helped organize the mariachi performance.

Hernandez's "Senior Wish" was "for him to sing one last time with mariachi," she said. "When I first met him, he started singing."

Mariachi Estrella de El Paso volunteered to help make the wish come true.

The young mariachis were joined by Hernandez as they performed classics such as "El Rey," "Amor Eterno," "Cruz de Madera," and "La Bikina."

One tune that was extra special

As a young girl, Sylvia Jobe would join her father on the song "El Perro Negro." She would make a barking sound, which is part of the song about a black dog. Hernandez also has another daughter and son.

Jobe drove in with her son from Arlington, Texas, to surprise her father.

On Saturday, she sat next to her father, holding his hand, her head on his shoulder as he sang "El Perro Negro."

"It was a blessing all around," Jobe said afterward. "I had not seen him sing in so much time and it brought such joy. It brought back so may memories of him in his mariachi outfit."

Jobe said her father told her that he knew that something special was brewing Saturday and that he could feel her presence.

She held back tears while talking about hearing her father sing again.

"It was overwhelming," Jobe said. "It was such a beautiful feeling to see him in his element, bringing joy to everybody else."

Daniel Borunda may be reached at 546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.

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