By: Fredwill Hernandez
Sergio Vallín, who has been the guitar player for the legendary, iconic, and famed Mexican rock band Maná since 1994, released what, in my opinion, will become “a classic and very sought-after album” titled Microsinfonias: the Goldtop Box Set, due to the fact that “only one hundred units were [and are being] made available.”
On Thur. – May 25th, fans began to line up on the sidewalk in front of the Gibson Showroom [in Hollywood, CA] a few hours before the 2 pm start time. Some with guitars in hopes of not only acquiring their copy of the box set – but also taking a photo and getting their guitar autographed by Vallín.
One of these fans was Valentin Quintero, who is famously known as “LAFC Soccer Head” for painting his entire head and face in gold with the LAFC [Los Angeles Football Club] logo and colors, who is a fixture at LAFC soccer games and has become a sort of the soccer club’s mascot. “I’m here to support Maná, specifically Sergio Vallín. I’m a big Maná fan; I love all of Sergio’s music. Plus, we at LAFC and fans have a strong connection with the band. During the MLS Cup finals in 2022, we were down 3-2 with like a minute left, and they played Maná’s “Oye Mi Amor,” and the whole stadium started to go crazy and sing the song. That brought excitement and momentum to our players, who scored and tied the game, allowing us [LAFC] to eventually win the cup in PKs [penalty kicks].”
Microsinfonias was the second solo album released by Vallín, originally released on Jan. 15, 2021, and distributed by Altafonte, which has original sheet music orchestration composed by Edy Lan and Mario Gustavo Juarez.
“The idea for the album was sparked in 2008 when I was asked to perform an original song I had arranged for the Symphonic Orchestra, which I eventually performed at the Auditorio Nacional. The overwhelming feeling I felt performing with the Symphonic Orchestra sparked the idea of doing a complete instrumental album with the orchestra. That idea gave birth to what would eventually become Microsinfonias,” eloquently explained Vallín, who in 2016 went to Prague, Czechia, and recorded part of the instrumental album. “Half of Microsinfonias is based on compositions of Latin artists and friends I admire, and the other half are original compositions. So, when I recorded their songs with an orchestra, I said to myself – why don’t I just ask them to play? Everyone already knows them as composers and songwriters, but not as instrumentalists.”
For the seven-song album, Vallín decided on the songs “Donde Estará Mi Primavera,” by Marco Antonio Solís – who also features Solís on a timbale percussion solo; “Bachata Rosa,” by Juan Luis Guerra, who features Guerra playing the jazz guitar and also features trumpet player Arturo Sandoval and percussionist Luis Conte; “Cuando Nadie Me Ve,” by Alejandro Sanz, which features Sanz on the flamenco Spanish guitar and Ara Malikan; and “Vivir Sin Aire,” by Maná, featuring the band’s frontman and singer Fher Olvera, who plays the harmonica. On the other original songs, Vallín features Steve Vai on “Microsinfonías,” his own son and Berta Rojas on “Don Sergio,” which also pays homage to his father, and Carlos Santana and Janek Gwizdala on “Desnudo,” which is the opening track on the Microsinfonías instrumental album.
“The record is filled with love and beauty, the heartfelt beauty we each put in to share the music I make with the world – with guest friends I deeply admire and love so much,” Vallín also added, who released the Microsinfonias: Goldtop Box Set in collaboration with Gibson Brands and Rey Vinilo. “The biggest challenge of recording the Microsinfonias album was the time for all the pieces to come together. It left me wondering and thinking: when will I be able to finally release Microsinfonias? But God’s plan and timing is perfect and everything eventually worked out.”
The Microsinfonias: Goldtop Box Set includes one Goldtop Vinyl Edition, a three-fold art outer sleeve, one copy of the CD, an autographed picture, a commemorative patch, three Sergio Vallín guitar picks, a QR code to download the music sheets, and one lucky person’s box has a golden ticket who will receive a vinyl copy of two songs from his Microsinfonias performed by Vallín and cut directly to a master vinyl at Rey Vinilo’s recording studio in Mexico City. The gold color vinyl pays homage to Vallín’s own signature 1955 Les Paul Goldtop Gibson guitar unveiled on April 22, 2022.