Music of the Mexican Mariachi

     Ahh, mariachi. The wonderful tradition of finely-dressed men playing string and brass with a style that can always be tied back to Mexico. Where did this tradition come from? What are the specifics of the genre? And why are mariachi bands almost always comic relief in most modern films? I can only offer answers to most of these questions, and it'll all start with the origins of the genre, from it's name, to it's outfits, to it's form. 

A typical mariachi band's appearance.

    First of all, what is mariachi? Well, mariachi is a style of Mexican music characterized by the style of the musicians performing it, and the name refers to the type of ensemble themselves. The typical mariachi group is an ensemble of about 4-6 musicians, with string and brass instruments (typically guitars, trumpets, and violins) dressed in fancy clothes with the iconic sombrero atop their head. The music itself is recognizable by it's happy tone and feel-good energy! Much of the music is danceable, and if not has a relaxed, mellow tone that makes you feel like at home anywhere.

    The origins of mariachi are rooted within traditional Mexican folk music, and is rumored to have began somewhere in the west of Mexico. I say rumored because well, the origins of mariachi as a whole are somewhat vague! We do know that mariachi as we know it has always been performed with Spanish inspired instruments, such as the violin and vihuela. That, and that the music started more specifically within the Jalisco area of western Mexico. This means that the tradition began developing about the time that Spanish colonists came to the Americas, bringing these instruments with them. 

Approximate location of where mariachi started.

    Now, mariachi did not come into being directly after the Spanish came to Mexico. It took years of developing off of folk music styles, specifically the style of son mexicano, a similar style to mariachi and the base for the genre as a whole. It uses many of the same instruments as mariachi, but is overall a bit simpler. The evolution of the genre into the modern day form of mariachi is difficult to trace, but we do know that it's where mariachi came from.

    During the time that mariachi was developing, the stylish charro outfits it's known for today weren't present at all. The people living within Mexico were oppressed by colonists and conquistadors, and as such wore peasants clothes. This included smaller straw hats, undyed cotton shirts and pants, and sandals. This outfit laid the foundation for the outfits later mariachi would wear, but was nowhere near as nice.

A traditional historic mariachi outfit.

    Also during the time of the early mariachi, the colonists also brought many, many African slaves with them. This added yet another culture that blended with the established native's musical tendencies, causing more branches off of the traditional Mexican music of the time. However, the traditional African drumming common among many of the slaves was not introduced into mariachi itself in any way. 

    No, instead mariachi often have a large bass guitar called a guitarrón, used for rhythmic and bass purposes within the group. Now, despite the modern guitarrón looking like a guitar, just bigger, the instrument was actually designed based off the Spanish bajo de uñas, or fingernail-plucked bass. They also tend to use a higher pitched, smaller decent of the guitar called a vihuela. 

Figure A: The guitarron being played

Figure B: The vihuela being played

    Now, despite the roots of mariachi lying within the 15th and 16th centuries, the history of mariachi as we know it started in the 19th century. During this time, all the instruments I've mentioned were present except the brass. Those wouldn't get added until the 20th century, and the violins would be taking their place until that point as the sharp sound within the ensemble. We can actually hear the transition into the brass mariachi sound, as in the early years of the 20th century some of the first mariachi recordings surfaced under the name Cuarteto Coculense, recorded by Columbia and Edison records. 

   After the mariachi tradition began spreading through recordings, this was the time where the average mariachi ensemble began to change their appearance. As the demand for their style of music increased, the musicians of mariachi had to change up their own style. They moved to the charro suit, the traditional outfit of cowboys from the Jalisco area. Large brimmed hats called sombreros, tight ornamented boots, wide bow ties, and short jackets. The color of these outfits could be black, white, or anything in-between really. Even so, the traditional color of mariachi outfits is primarily black. 

A charro suit.

    With the introduction of recording studios and more American influence coming to Mexico and therefore mariachi, came the introduction of more genres. Particularly, the orchestra became a common place to adapt mariachi songs, due to the shared strings and brass between the two. This, in fact, is where perhaps my favorite performance of any mariachi-made music ever lies. The ever wonderful Luciano Pavarotti, giving his performance of a popular mariachi tune, Cielito Lindo along with Enrique Iglesias. The arrangement and wonderful back and forth between the two make this my absolute favorite song to come out of the genre!

    For comparison, here's a more traditional performance of Cielito Lindo:

    Despite peaking in it's popularity in the mid 20th century, mariachi continues to be an icon of Mexican culture throughout the world. Remaining highly identifiable due to it's recognizable style and outfits, it's truly a wonderful genre with a lot of great things to offer. I know personally I loved researching it, and finding some new favorites. 

Sources

“Mariachi | Music | Britannica.” 2020. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/mariachi.

‌“History of Mariachi Music.” 2019. Nmsu.edu. 2019. https://web.nmsu.edu/~lleeper/pages/Voice/marrujo/history.htm

"Mariachi Music Guide: A Brief History of Mariachi Music." MasterClass. 2021 https://www.masterclass.com/articles/mariachi-music-guide

Clark, Jonathan. 2018. “A Brief History of the Mariachi Tradition | West Music.” West Music. 2018. https://content.westmusic.com/resources/brief-history-of-mariachi/

‌“Mariachi.” 2022. Wikipedia. November 27, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariachi

‌