cultura, Cultural, Entertainment

Al Hurricane entertains the crowd at the 2013 Coconino County Fair

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Click on the image to see a slideshow from the performance. Hover over each image to see a description.

By Frank X. Moraga / AmigosNAZ

With half the band stuck in a major traffic jam on Interstate 40 near Holbrook, Al Hurricane had a couple of options to consider while he sat backstage trying to stay warm in a tent at the Coconino County Fair. He could delay the show until the rest of the band arrived in an hour or so, or he could follow the performers creed — “The Show Must Go On.”

Hurricane chose the latter, opening the show on time, and hardly anyone noticed a few missing parts to the performance. The growing crowd had braved an afternoon rain huddled under the canopies to listen to the man known as “The Godfather of New Mexico Hispano Music” perform his mix of cumbias, rancheras and oldies.

With a mix of nervousness and humor, Hurricane prepared to walk up the stairs to the stage during the 64th annual Coconino County Fair minus a keyboard player and the horn section. No problem.

Prior to taking the stage, Hurricane related that his son, Al Hurricane Jr. had called him from the stop-and-go traffic on I-40 and assured him they would be arriving soon.

“He said ‘Okay dad, you open up and try to save me some of my songs when I get there,’ ” Hurricane told AmigosNAZ.

With is real name of Albert Nelson Sanchez, he was born in the tiny town of Dixon, New Mexico, moving to Albuquerque as a youth in the late 1940s. One story said he picked up the guitar when he was 5 years old, with his mom giving him the nickname “Hurricane” because he kept knocking over everything in the house.

Hurricane said he first started performing in public when he was 10 years old.

“I used to sing country and western songs for tips in restaurants,” Hurricane said, eventually forming his own trio band in high school, known as the “Sentimentals.” He eventually named one of his hits after the band — “Sentimiento,” which along with “La Mula Bronca,” both earned Gold Records.

“I’ve been performing for 60 years and my son has been performing for 40,” he said. “I love music. I don’t know what I would be doing now without music. We have fun. I get five or six year olds who come up and ask for an autograph.”

He often signs them with best wishes to their mothers and grandmothers.

Hurricane released his first album, “Mi Saxophone,” when he was in his early 20s and has since performed around the country, with even gigs in Argentina, Paraguay, Spain and elsewhere abroad.

He has performed with Chubby Checkers, Marvin Gaye and Elvis Presley, and most recently with Little Joe y la Familia in Santa Ana, California.

The Aug. 30th performance in Flagstaff wasn’t his first in the area.

“I came here to the fair in 1964 or ’65 and performed with Fats Domino,” he said. Flagstaff resident Irene Montano said her mother used to make meals for the band when they came to the Flagstaff area to perform.

Today, his band performs at casinos in New Mexico and Arizona and other venues in the Southwest.

And there is always a chance that he will return to the north country.

Hurricane said he was anxious to check out the local casinos around Flagstaff, including Twin Arrows and Cliff Castle for possible performance venues.