Celebrate San Patricio's Day With The Chieftains

By Gwen Orel

Looking for something a little different to do on St. Patrick's day?

Why not hear some Mexican music? Via the Chieftains, that is, whose latest album "San Patricio" (Spanish for St. Patrick) tells the story of Irish immigrants who deserted the U.S. Army to fight for the Mexicans during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).

The Chieftains play Town Hall In New York City on St. Patrick's Day.

The CD, co-produced with Ry Cooder, includes performances from Linda Ronstadt, Moya Brennan (who interviewed Moloney for the PBS documentary "Music of Ireland: Welcome Home," showing this month on PBS, as described here last week); Liam Neeson, 92-year old Mexican singer Chavela Vargas, popular Mexican band Los Tigres Del Norte, Lila Downs, and many others. It's the first new album for the Chieftains, apart from compilations, in seven years.

Of course, if you go to hear The Chieftains play their final date of this tour, you won't be hearing just Mexican music, but traditional Mexican music filtered through the musical inspiration of Paddy Moloney, as well as plenty of traditional Irish music, and original tunes as well.

But you may be surprised at the smooth blend of rancheras and boleros with jigs and reels. That musical mixture was one of the most exciting things about the project for bandleader Paddy Moloney.

"Initially, my approach was going to be different; I was going to write music for a symphony, themes about the battles," Moloney explained from a hotel room in Massachusetts. "Then when I started to hear all this wonderful music, and the similarities between their music and our music, recognizing the European influence on Mexican music as well, I thought I must bring out all the colors of this great tradition." The music on the album, he explained, covers different musical styles over nine regions of Mexico.

The idea for the concept album first came to Moloney about thirty years ago, when he was approached by someone at Trinity College, Dublin, to consider doing a project on the Irish in the American Civil War.

While doing a little research on that, he "stumbled on this story, which interested me much more."

Over the years he continued to follow the story. In 1997, Ireland and Mexico released a postage stamp together to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the San Patricio Battalion.

"It was a story untold," says Moloney. While there have been dissertations and books and articles over the years (see stpatricksbattalion.org for a good bibliography, as well as a picture of the Irish postage stamp), the story wasn't popularly known (there have been a few films and songs, including "San Patricio Brigade" from Black 47, who play B.B. King's on St. Patrick's Day).

Mexicans celebrate the men of San Patricio on September 12 and on St. Patrick's Day, but the Irish generally didn't know the history. And it was an episode that was right in line with other projects Moloney has done over the years, dealing with Napoleon, the Battle of Aughrim.

The Chieftains have been pushing the borders of what constitutes Irish music since they began in 1962, showcasing Irish music that centered on instrumentation, particularly Moloney's pipes.

Moloney had played with Seán Ó'Riada, who emphasized instrumental performance as well, and Ceóltorí Chualann (you can see some vintage footage in "Music of Ireland"). "The Chieftains were already starting to take place in the late 50s. Seán was a good friend; I gave him a set of my pipes, to get his son going. My idea for the sound I wanted to achieve with the Chieftains was different from what he was doing."

Over the years, the Chieftains have made albums showcasing the music of Cape Breton, Galicia and Newfoundland, as well as rock and roll and country.

In 1985 they made an album combining their music with that of Chinese artists, "The Chieftains in China." And they have won a total of six Grammy Awards.

It wouldn't be surprising if San Patricio is another, with its blend of history, originality and tradition. Billboard, for example, described it "as thrilling as it is enlightening."

In "San Patricio," Moloney retells a tale from history as well as a musical story. "Often confrontations like battles that take place lead to a connection of music and song," said Moloney. "That's a reason to do a project like this. Here we have a historical moment with a strong musical connection. The Mexicans refer to the Irish as Greengos."

When Irish emigrants fleeing the famine were conscripted into an ugly expansionist war against fellow Catholics, some deserted to form the Legion of Saint Patrick, or the San Patricios.

They were led by John Riley, from Connemara (for a great ballad about him, listen to Irish band Gráda's recording of Tim O'Brien's song, "John Riley," on their new album "Natural Angle").

"When John Riley decided to go on and fight for the Mexicans, he saw the injustice of landgrabbing, and the whole dispute as to where the borders lay. We suffered the same kind of situation back in Ireland... the neighbors came to visit and forgot to go back."

In the war, the San Patricios often found themselves fighting other Irishman on the U.S. side. "They fought to the bitter end. A lot were captured, some got away, some stayed and married. If they went back, they faced court-martial, branding with a 'd' for desertion, hanging."

Famously, General Santa Anna said, "a few hundred more men like them and we would have won the battle."

But the men of the San Patricios were viewed as traitors in Ireland as well (although today, Clifden, Riley's hometown in Galway, flies the Mexican flag in honor of the battalion, and there is a statue to Riley donated by the Mexican government donated in 2004).

Despite Moloney's long-standing interest in the subject, it wasn't until two years ago that he really sat down to do it and began researching with the album in mind. "Ry came after me with a big stick, to get on with it!"

Cooder, who wrote and sings the ballad "The Sands of Mexico," a song about an Irish man thinking of his wife back in Ireland, had worked with the Chieftains on the Grammy-Award winning 1995 album "The Long Black Veil" as well as the 1997 album "Santiago," also a Grammy-Award winner. Cooder "loves the Mexican people and knew the story well," Moloney explained.

As Moloney began recording the album it started to change, from the first song, "La Iguana," sung by Mexican artist Lila Downes.

Moloney went to Mexico City to see a memorial dedicated to the Battalion.

A pipe band marches very Sunday morning, "wearing the same color the uniform would have had in 1847. I imagined the rattle of bones, ending in a minor key."

Poet Brendan Graham wrote the words, Moloney the melody and Moloney asked his friend, actor Liam Neeson, to speak the verses.

Neeson told Moloney that if a film is made, he'd like to play John Riley (there have been a few films, notably "One Man's Hero" in 1999).

The final song was originally going to be an Irish tune as a kind of link, but in fact, said Moloney, it's a Mexican tune, although people have told him it sounds like it's an Irish pub band playing.

Making the musical connection work was also the most challenging thing for Moloney.

Sometimes it happened almost by magic - "Persecución de Villa," for example, an early 20th century song, has almost the same melody as the Irish song "Kevin Barry"" - but more often Moloney worked hard to find instruments and tunes that would work together.

Mexicans didn't have jigs, reels and hornpipes, but there were some mazurkas and polkas that could link up with the Irish tunes.

Some tracks are Mexican with some Irish instrumentation, and then there are transcendent tracks that showcase the Mexican music itself, like "Luz de Luna," sung by 92-year old Chavela Vargas.

When Moloney went down to Mexico to work with musicians there, "they were playing all these strange instruments I'd never seen or heard of before. The Tigres are the biggest band, they go around in their own little jet!"

The norteño-band ensemble have won a Grammy and Latin Grammy.

While the band's instruments were different from those he knew, Moloney found they shared similar backgrounds in many ways.

"We talked about how they started, how I started, the tradition... I talked about my grandmothers and grandfathers and how they played up in the Slieve Bloom mountains, how after dinner when the day is done, the storytellers and ramblers are coming on, and the melodeon would come down off the dresser and the dancing would start. They told me the same thing about their tradition! They had no electricity either. They talked about the fun, the entertainment... it was how a lot of them got going as well."

At Town Hall, there will be a few dancers, as well as guest singers. But don't worry about it being so global it won't be green. "Anytime we play in concert, there's good traditional Irish music," said Moloney.

"Some people might say did I not go too far with the Chieftains in China, or playing with Indian musicians in 1977, but musically their themes and their tradition were in pitch with ours. We have never gone away from being true to the tradition of Irish instrumentalists. It's why people ask us to come and play with them!"