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Mariachi band to play Saturday night at Segerstrom

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Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán probably won’t play the Beatles’ “Hello Goodbye” during its show Saturday at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, but it would be just as well.

The mariachi band, which started in 1898 — no, that’s not a typo — will make its Segerstrom debut with a one-night-only performance at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. For Federico Torres, the band’s director and trumpeter, it will also be a near-farewell. The 48-year member is set to retire this year, and the Segerstrom show will mark his second to last in America.

And for true old time’s sake, Torres plans to play the trumpet he’s used throughout his half century with the band — one that was given to him in the 1950s by an older Mexican musician.

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“I’m bringing it to Costa Mesa,” he said through a translator by phone. “Fifty-plus years of trumpet, and it’s my favorite.”

The ensemble, which has collaborated with Linda Ronstadt and Juan Gabriel and claims to have appeared in more than 200 movies over the years, will take the stage at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $39. For more information, call (714) 556-2787 or visit https://www.scfta.org.

—Michael Miller

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