Mario became fascinated by the acoustic guitar and jazz sound of Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Bird. He travelled to California where he studied jazz on his own in Hollywood and landed a gig in Venice Beach. Being a member of the American Songwriters, Composers and Publishers Organization, he had the opportunity to meet Laurindo who commented to Mario that "being able to play in Venice Beach after living in L.A. for just three months is unusual, gigs are hard to find."
Mario returned to El Paso and received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Performing Arts from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1992. At the University he studied classical guitar with Aquiles Valdez and jazz with Curt Warren who has studied with Herb Ellis. Mario is now known for his originality as a composer, lyricist and guitar player.
As a soloist, in jazz groups, and large rock and roll ensembles, he has toured throughout New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and California. He has performed on stage with some great musical groups: Chuck Berry, Van Morrison, George Thoroughgood, George Benson, Hiroshima, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira. He also performed in the Texas Jazz Festival in 1987 as the opening for Gato Barbieri.
As part of La Vienta, Otero found it to be both interesting and challenging to play flamenco-based music with his friend and colleague Stefan Schyga. The success of this combination earned them a 6 year recording contract with Telarc International, known for Jazz, Classical and Blues music. Mario feels that the success of La Vienta is due to the persistence of the group through the recording world they had encountered.
Performing on concert stages in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Ohio, San Diego and Phoenix, Mario and Stefan have been heard by thousands. They were noted in Jazz Times Magazine as "intense and joining the ranks of other celebrated guitar duos."
Aside from his original works and performances in La Vienta, which has recorded three albums to date, Otero has also released two albums of his own. They are a mixture of rock and jazz, and when they were first released they sold more than ten thousand copies.
In September of 1995, Mario opened a music school named after his beloved instrument, "La Guitarra School of Music." The school has several instructors, and teaches over two hundred students of all ages. Instruction is given in blues, rock and classical guitar, as well as bass, violin, piano, and voice.
Copyright, Mario Otero - All Rights Reserved - 6503 N. Mesa St - El Paso, TX 79912