Mariachi: Symbol & Soul of Mexico

A celebration of Mexican Independence would be incomplete without the presence of a mariachi band. Mariachis are the musicians you see in restaurants or strolling the streets and plazas in their silver-studded charro outfits and wide brimmed hats, playing a popular repertoire of songs that speak of romance, love and joy or betrayal, death and despair.

The mariachi originated in the state of Jalisco sometime during the 19th century. But the origin of the word mariachi is less certain. The most commonly proposed theory is that it derives from the French word for wedding - mariage - because wealthy families would hire a large group of musicians to play on such occasions.

Many researchers reject this notion, assuming that this derivation comes from the French invasion of the 1860s. They point out that mariachi took root in parts of the country where the French never set foot. But it's more likely the French connection comes from the European pretensions of wealthy oligarchs during the Porfiriato, the long regime of Porfirio Díaz, who was a great admirer of all things European.

Another theories claims the word comes from the veneration of a saint known as "Maria H.", which would be been pronounced María A - Chay in Spanish.

Mariachi is totally representative of Mestizo culture; there are no discernible roots in Indigenous musical expression. The traditional instruments of mariachi music - violins, guitars, vihuelas (a five-string guitar), harps, etc. were introduced by the Spaniards and intended to be used for liturgical purposes. But the criollos (Mexican-born Spaniards) quickly adopted them for popular entertainment, much to the displeasure of the church and the colonial authorities, since they were used to accompany the satirical, anticlerical or seditious couplets of the Independentistas.

After Independence, bands of musicians were often hired by the wealthy owners of the haciendas, where they could earn much more than the average campesino. With the Revolution, those comfortable gigs came to an end and the mariachis became itinerant musicians wandering from town to town. They sang corridos, topical songs about revolutionary heroes and enemies, deeds and misdeeds, a kind of bush telegraph, carrying news from one place to another.

Mariachis, still itinerants, strolling musicians for hire, became part of the Mexican urban landscape. For a few coins they would serenade your girlfriend or sing an ode to Pancho Villa. It was affordable entertainment for the masses. As the nation changed, so did the music, incorporating new influences, such as waltzes and polkas, even new instruments, such as the trumpet.

The Mariachi paradigm, as we know it today, came into being with the advent of mass media in Mexico: radio, television and especially the movies. The great composer José Alfredo Jiménez is perhaps the man most responsible for the style, the mood and the ethos of mariachi.

His ranchera songs and bolero ballads comprise a huge percentage of the popular mariachi repertoire. His music and style were also adopted by many of his contemporaries and the recording and movie stars who followed him: Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante, Miguel Aceves Mejía, Lola Beltrán, Javier Solís and, of course, Vicente Fernandez.

The world of José Alfredo evokes the subculture of the bars, cantinas, and cabarets; a world populated by women of the night and despairing men, drowning the pain of love lost, and love betrayed in a shot glass of tequila. And the charro, the Mexican cowboy, hard-drinking, honest and forthright, sitting high in the saddle, he always won the girl.

This style and mood was etched into the popular consciousness by the film noir movies of what is referred to now as the Golden Era of Mexican Cinema.

Many of today's generation of pop stars feel they have to do a mariachi disc as validation, such is the music's importance in the national popular culture.

MOST POPULAR MARIACHI SONGS:

Hermoso Cariño
Mujeres Divinas
Te Voy a Olvidar
Jarabe Tapatio
El Becerro
El Relampago
Niño Perdido
Volver, Volver
El Rey
Cielito Lindo
Guadalajara, Guadalajara
La feria de San Marcos
Mexico Lindo y Querido
Ay, Jalisco No Te Rajes
El Muchacho Alegre
amor Eterno