Pop Music : Oscar Chavez Looks On the Lighter Side

“I’ll play some songs, I won’t play others, but I absolutely will not play them at the same time!”

Oscar Chavez’s good-natured response to the audience’s wave of song requests at the Embassy Auditorium on Saturday demonstrated the Mexican folk singer-songwriter’s lighter side, and his invitation to a couple to step onto the stage to perform a tango-like danzon titled “Un Cruel Punal” (“Cruel Dagger”) showed his ability to establish personal contact with his listeners.

The show--part of the four-day “Encuentro de Musica Popular Mexicana” concert series--also displayed the satirical and intense social commentary that has made Chavez one of the major figures in Mexican popular music.

In addition to honoring the requests, Chavez--who has released almost 70 albums over his 25-year career--performed other songs that he had never played with his current band, a gesture of spontaneity that melted away some of the formality of the event.

The music, executed with polish and simplicity by Chavez on guitar, two other guitarists and an electric bassist, was interrupted from time to time as the singer would explain a verse or enter into a discussion of the topic. Among the evening’s selections, Chavez included “Por Ti” (“For You”), his most commercially successful song. A portion of the concert, whose central theme was Mexico City, was devoted to the work of some of Chavez’s fellow songwriters.

The flexibility of his three musicians enabled him to make smooth transitions from one style to another. From the intensity and joy of a huapango to the romance of a ranchera , the Mexican artist demonstrated once again that, carried by his voice, the music of years past sounds as fresh as ever.