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He was there when the restaurant near Grand Avenue and Santa FeDrive opened in the 1970s and, after being closed for a few years,when it reopened a dozen years ago under new ownership as RioMirage. However, with cancer last year, Gonz lez's performances have beensporadic. The icon has become a bright thread in the fabric of therestaurant's experience. He misses it the high of performing, engaging with his audienceand his own way of preparing for each gig. "I have a beer, and then maybe a taste of another," said Gonz lezwith a smirk under his thin, dark mustache. Gonz lez, who was born in Phoenix, always had a love for music andsaid he built his first guitar when he was 8. Gonz lez's family worked in labor camps from the 1920s to the1940s. The camps were in Litchfield Park, when someMexican-Americans moved here in 1917 to work in the cotton fieldsfor Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. and others. Soon he became fond of mariachi and intrigued by other singers'knack for falsetto singing, which he taught himself to do. He lovesto perform "Cucurrucucu Paloma," a song regularly requested, whichis, in one version, about a grieving man. Mariachi started in 19th-century Mexico and uses a mix of severalinstruments and contrasting sounds, such as violins with trumpetsand deep guitar plucking set with the sharp, high voice of thesingers. "Music is beautiful. Any song that comes through the world isbeautiful," Gonz lez said. As an adult and family man, Gonz lez supported his wife and sixchildren working as a school-bus driver when the family lived inPomona, Calif. But he moonlighted as a mariachi singer with severalgroups. When Gonz lez moved back to the West Valley, he found daytime workin landscaping, but he played at a number of restaurants, includingLa Perla, a Mexican institution near downtown Glendale. When Rio Mirage opened under new ownership, the owner knew thatGonz lez and Mariachi Del Monte would continue to serve as thehouse band. "There was no question," Rio Mirage manager Clarissa Llanes saidabout keeping the group. It's apparent Gonz lez loves what he does and the audienceappreciates him, she added. "You could see the light in his eye. He was definitely in hiselement," said Anne Brenke, 54, of Gonz lez's performances. Brenke, who lives in Sun City, said she misses seeing Gonz lez atthe restaurant. According to Brenke, Gonz lez knew how to "flirt"with the crowd while he was singing and enjoyed having a good timewith his audience. "Icons are always missed," she said. Based on reporting by the Associated Press. Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Hidea Outboard Motor , China Marine Outboard Motors, and more. For more , please visit Short Shaft Outboard Motors today!
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