Losing Their Voices

Voz Vaqueros, The Singing Men of Las Cruces, have dwindled in number but not in musical enthusiasm.

By Jeff Berg

As I write this, about 70 men are singing in the background. With all ranges of voices, the words and notes of each holiday song and several melodies resound clearly. They are even putting an Ebenezer like me a bit in the holiday mood.

Voz Vaqueros choir with their children's ensemble.

The recording I'm listening to is a compilation of Christmas songs by Voz Vaqueros, The Singing Men of Las Cruces, and is a retrospective of their first 30 years. The disk was released in 2002.

Voz Vaqueros is under the guidance of conductor George Jarden, a now-retired Las Cruces pediatrician. Jarden has almost always been involved with men's choirs, going back to when he started a singing group during his med-school days at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa.

"I came here in April of 1970, and at that time there was an event called Vaquero Days," Jarden recalls.

One of his neighbors was growing a beard for a Vaquero Days contest that required that type of facial hair. The name of the event inspired Jarden to come up with the name "Voz Vaqueros," which roughly translates to "voice cowboys." The "cowboy" part of the name also resonated with Jarden's memories of hearing the term "buckaroo" on the old Roy Rogers television show. "Buckaroo," of course, is an Anglicized version of "vaquero." Jarden invited the neighbor to sing along, and from that point on, Voz Vaqueros boomed for many years.

"I put out a call to form VV in the spring of 1971, and had lots of guys in their 30s, 40s, and 50s reply," Jarden says. "Thirty-five showed up for the first night. Over the years we played 60-70 shows a year, and at Christmas we were the biggest ticket in town. We played at St. Paul's church, and probably had 1,000 people attend."

Jarden says that St. Paul's holds about 700, but extra chairs were always added for the holiday concerts, often pushing the count near 1,000.

Sadly, however, like many "men only" groups or organizations these days, Voz Vaqueros is currently down to only about 20 singers. "Some have died, others have moved away," Jarden laments. "And there is no one new coming along. They are all going onto other things."

Jarden pulls out a number of old photos that show the heyday of the group. Former governor Jerry Apodaca was once a member, he points out. Back then, Voz Vaqueros had the 70 or so voices needed to create the sound that Jarden feels only men can make.

"It has a certain timbre and spirit to it," he says.

Since Voz Vaqueros has not been able to attract a few more good men, however, Jarden has turned his interest to getting children involved. This year, the Voz Vaqueros Children's Chorus will be on hand to perform at most of the group's four holiday concerts (see box for listings).

Jarden says, "They are from first to sixth grade, and there are 20 now, boys and girls. This is revived from the late 1980s children's choir that we had, and is now in its fifth year."

Jarden was also the driving force behind the production of The Animals' Christmas, which was performed during the previous two holiday seasons in Las Cruces. The Animals' Christmas is a collaboration between noted singer and occasional actor Art Garfunkel and songwriter Jimmy Webb. It is a Christmas cantata that tells the Nativity story as it was witnessed by the animals said to be present.

Jarden seems a bit disappointed in the earlier productions, since it was hard to balance the storytelling with the singing and the large orchestra that was employed. At times, they drowned out the singers and made the production a bit difficult to follow.

Although The Animals' Christmas is taking this year off, Jarden is not giving up, and hopes to tinker with the work to make everything balance properly.

Jarden's interest in The Animals' Christmas even led to him being able to meet Art Garfunkel recently. Garfunkel also called him to express his thanks for his interest in the project.

And in the meantime, Jarden is planning a one-man show of Gilbert and Sullivan songs that he will perform at Las Cruces' Black Box Theatre next autumn. "I love Gilbert and Sullivan," he says. "Their songs are done in a meaningful way and with purpose."

But his main interest still lies with Voz Vaqueros, which he is determined to get up and running as it was in the 1970s, when the group produced 16 vinyl record albums and 11 cassettes. The group later produced a lone CD, which is the musical background to this article.

"The Little Drummer Boy" is up now, and Vivaldi's "Domini Fili Unigenite" is coming up soon.

"We do songs we like to sing," Jarden says with a smile, when asked if any of their music is original. The Voz Vaqueros spectrum goes from cowboy songs to "good old patriotic songs" at their annual Fourth of July show. Some of the album cuts are even sung in Latin.

Jarden switches the conversation back to the 1970s one last time. "There are all sorts of sociological reasons that men's choruses are declining," he says, with a bit of puzzlement in his voice. "The world is a little 'demasculinized,' and men's choruses are becoming 'retro.'"

Briefly, we note that other organizations that are fraternal and male have likewise been suffering from declining membership the last few years.

But not so on this Christmas album. Everything is turned up a notch as the group's recording of "O Come All Ye Faithful" overrides the late-season crickets that sing outside the office window.

If you are 16 or older and would like to share your vocal talents with Voz Vaqueros, contact George Jarden at 524-3916 in Las Cruces. No audition is required, and everyone is accepted.

 

There is no bucket big enough in which
senior writer Jeff Berg could carry a tune.

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