Malena Cano
MALENA CANO, ALSO KNOWN AS “LA PERLA” IS A VERY WELL KNOWN AND POPULAR MEXICAN FOLKLORIC SINGER IN THE EL PASO-JUAREZ AREA. SHE HAS BEEN NAMED THE FOLKLORIC AMBASSADOR OF THE SOUTHWEST. SHE HAS TRAVELLED EXTENSIVELY TO WASHINGTON, D.C. (TWICE), NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, ALL OF TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, KANSAS, AND MANY CITIES IN MEXICO. SHE IS A RECORDING ARTIST. TO DATE, SHE HAS RECORDED 12 CD’S; THE LAST 8 WERE RECORDED LIVE IN CONCERT AT THE CHAMIZAL NATIONAL MEMORIAL THEATER. (See Recoding History Page.)
SHE HAS BEEN A REGULAR PERFORMER IN ALL OF THE LOCAL FESTIVALS FOR MANY YEARS, i.e. FIESTA DE LAS FLORES, 16TH OF SEPTEMBER FIESTAS AND CINCO DE MAYO FIESTAS. SHE PARTICIPATED IN 9 OF THE BORDER FOLK FESTIVALS, AND MUSIC UNDER THE STARS, THE LAST TWO IN 1987 AND 1988 WHICH BROKE ALL ATTENDANCE RECORDS FOR “RANCHERO NIGHT”.
MALENA HELD ANNUAL CONCERTS TO FULL HOUSES STARTING IN 1991. HER CONCERTS WERE KNOWN FOR HER IMPRESSIVE SCENERY, GUEST SOLOISTS, MARIACHIS, FOLKLORICO AND FLAMENCO DANCING,
AND A CHORALE GROUP WHICH DID HER BACK-UP VOCALS. MALENA HAS ALSO UPLOADED MORE THAN 60 VIDEOS OF SCENES AND SONGS FROM HER CONCERTS IN YOUTUBE.COM. Log in to youTube.com
SHE IS ALSO AN ACCOMPLISHED COMEDIC ACTRESS WITH ABOUT 40 PLAYS TO HER CREDIT: AMONGST
THEM: “QUIEN ES QUIEN?”, “MY FAT FRIEND (MI AMIGA LA GORDA) AND “LA FAMILIA
BURRON”, “ EL SUEÑO DE PETRA”,“EL PECADO DE PETRA”, AND “LA PASTORELA DE PETRA”, WHICH SHE
DIRECTED AND STARRED IN THE PETRA ROLE. THE “PETRA” PLAYS WERE WRITTEN BY RUPERT REYES OF AUSTIN, TEXAS. MALENA TRANSLATED THE SCRIPTS TO SPANISH. (See Plays Page)
“SHE TRAVELLED EXTENSIVELY THROUGH MEXICO PERFORMING IN PALENQUES AND NIGHTCLUBS.
SHE HAS THE MOST EXTENSIVE AND EXPENSIVE WARDROBE OF ALL THE AREA SINGERS; A WARDROBE WHICH SHE DESIGNED AND SEWED HERSELF.
MALENA WAS INDUCTED INTO THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE NATIONAL ARCHIVES BY THE TEXAS FOLKLIFE
RESOURCES IN AUSTIN AS ONE OF TEXAS” FOLK ARTISTS. (See Smithsonian Letters Page)
SHE WAS VOTED THE BEST MARIACHI VOCALIST BY THE EL PASO POPULATION (BY MAIL-IN VOTE), OBTAINING THE HISPANIC MUSIC AWARD IN 1993. (SEE PICTURES IN GALLERY)
SHE HAS ALSO OBTAINED FOUR AWARDS FROM 1992 TO 1995 OF THE PRESEA FRONTERA INTERNACIONAL (iNTERNATIONAL BORDER AWARD) PRESENTED BY RADIO AND NEWSPAPER MEDIA IN JUAREZ, MEXICO AS THE BEST MARIACHI VOCALIST. {SEE PICTURES IN GALLERY)
SHE WAS INVOLVED FOR SEVERAL YEARS, FROM 1989 TO 1994 AS A FEATURED SINGER, ACTRESS AND
CO-DIRECTOR OF THE MUSICAL “REVOLUCION”, AN ANNUAL MUSICAL HISTORICAL DRAMA.
FOR THE LOVE OF HER CULTURE, MALENA VENTURED INTO THE REALM OF DREAMS. THERE, SHE ENVISIONED A SIMPLISTIC, AND YET, ELEGANT MUSICAL CHRONOLOGY OF MEXICO’S HISTORICAL VICTORIES THAT LED TO ITS FREEDOM FROM THE TYRANNY AND ENSLAVEMENT OF SO MANY CONQUERORS. WITH THE ENTHUSIASM OF MANY VISIONARIES LIKE HERSELF, IN SEPTEMBER, 1995, MALENA FINALLY BROUHT TO LIFE, IN THE FORM OF MUSIC, HER LONG AWAITED DREAM WHICH BECAME “VIVA MEXICO!”. “VIVA MEXICO” COVERED MORE THAN 500 YEARS OF THE HISTORY OF MEXICO, ITS PERSONALITIES, DATES AND EVENTS WHICH HELPED FORM TODAY’S MEXICO. IT WAS HER WISH TO ENHANCE OUR CULTURE’S HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION OF THE REASONS FOR OUR CELEBRATIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. “VIVA MEXICO!” BECAME AN ANNUAL EVENT IN SEPTEMBER FOR TWENTY YEARS, FROM 1995 TO 2014 MALENA DIRECTED AND PRODUCED THE PRODUCTION SINCE ITS BEGINNING. SHE ALSO DIRECTED THE CHORALE GROUP “CORO VIVA MEXICO” AND NOT ONLY GUIDED AND LEAD THEM BUT TAUGHT THEM ACTING, SINCE THEY WERE ON STAGE FOR 95% OF THE PRODUCTION. 2014 WAS THE 20TH ANNUAL AND FINAL PRESENTATION OF THE PRODUCTION, WHICH TOOK PLACE AT CHAMIZAL NATIONAL MEMORIAL THEATER ON SEPTEMBER. 26 TO 28. 2014. VISIT vivamexicoelpaso.es.tl
SINCE 2010 SHE HAS BEEN AN INSTRUCTOR & DIRECTOR OF CORO "EPOCA DORADA" UNDER THE SENIOR ADULT PROGRAM OF EL PASO COMMUNITY COLLEGE THEY ARE STUDENTS IN THE SENIOR ADULT PROGRAM CHORUS CLASS. THEY HAVE BECOME VERY POPULAR AND HAVE BEEN PERFORMING AT DIFFERENT PLACES, LIKE THE VETERAN'S HOME, NURSING HOMES, ETC. (SEE PICTURE IN GALLERY.
ON SEPTEMBER 2016 MALENA WAS SELECTED AND RECEIVED THE 2016 McDONALD'S HISPANOS TRIUNFADORES AWARD IN THE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT CATEGORY. ALSO, IN MARCH, 2017, SHE WAS INDUCTED INTO TEXAS COMMISSION FOR WOMEN HALL OF FAME IN THE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT CATEGORY (SEE PICTURES IN GALLERY)
