Mariachi - Mariachi Vargas

Mariachi Vargas

Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán is recognized as the oldest and most famous mariachi ensemble, founded by Gaspar Vargas in the late 1890s. They moved from Jalisco to Mexico City and performed for the inauguration of Lázaro Cárdenas. Mariachi Vargas became famous accompanying singers such as Luis Miguel, Lola Beltrán, and Pedro Infante. Mariachi Vargas’s first recording was in 1937, the same year they appear in “Asi es mi Tierra”. They appeared in over 200 films in the 20th century. Silvestre Vargas took over Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán from his father in 1958 and soon after hired a trained musician, Rubín Fuentes, as musical director. Fuentes along with Vargas were instrumental in the standardizing of much of mariachi music, arranging traditional sons and writing new ones what would be performed by many of the legendary performers of the mid-20th century, such as Pedro Infante, Miguel Aceves Mejía, Lola Beltrán and José Alfredo Jiménez. Mariachi Vargas still remains, tracing its history in terms of generations, starting in the 1890s, with these generations maintaining the group’s authenticity as a mariachi band while the music has evolved. The last Vargas associated with the group died in 1985. That the group still considers itself the original band comes from the notion of passing on the music by generations of musicians, how the original son jaliscense was learned.