Mariachi - Modern Mariachi Development

Modern Mariachi Development

The common perception of the music and look of mariachi developed in the 20th century, as the music was transformed from a regional rural folk music to an urban phenomenon that came to represent Mexico. The music was first introduced to Mexico City in 1905, but it became popular and promoted to the rest of the country from here starting in the 1920s. During this time, many farm workers moved to the city, including those from Jalisco, which settled around Plaza Garibaldi. These mariachi musicians developed new practices, such as performances in plazas and restaurants. However, it also continued its more traditional venues such as serenades, and performances at major family events.

During this time, the Mexican government was heavily involved in cultural promotion as a way to create a unified Mexican identity after the end of the Mexican Revolution. One of these efforts was the promotion of mariachi as an international symbol of Mexican identity, first with radio and sound recordings and later with films.

Mexico built a nationwide radio broadcasting network in the 1920s such as XEB and XEW, which began broadcasting mariachi music as a media production, rather than as a music for social events.This music was already being modified in part due to the advent of sound recording. For example, most son jaliscense songs were longer than the standard three-and-a-half minutes of the then-standard 78 rpm record, forcing the shortening of tunes. Around the same time, the popularity of jazz and Cuban music introduced the trumpet into mariachi, pushing the violins into second place and in some cases, replacing the harp.

The most prized of the mariachis remained those from the state of Jalisco, particularly the areas of Cocula and Tecalitlán. They represented Mexico to the people during the Independence Day celebrations in Mexico City in 1933 as well as during Lázaro Cárdenas' election campaign in 1936.

However, what brought mariachi into great popularity nationwide was film. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, a genre of film called the “comedia ranchera” (ranch comedy) became popular. The charro tradition was strong in Jalisco, especially in a region called Los Altos. After the Revolution, the charreada became a national sport in Mexico and rings constructed specifically for them, followed by professional charro associations. With the breakup of the large haciendas, charros were no longer economically necessary but were used as a cultural ideal, especially by the film industry in the mid-20th century. The first charro movies date from the 1920s, but the first to sing mariachi was Tito Guízar in Allá en el Rancho Grande in 1936. The character achieved fame with Jorge Negrete in films such as ¡Ay, Jalisco… no te rajes! and ¡Así se quiere en Jalisco! The main characters used his ability to sing mariachi as a way to show strength, virility, and aesthetic beauty. Its use in film also made the music popular and a symbol of ethnic pride for Mexican Americans in the United States.

Its use in film also promoted a negative perception of mariachi music. The films associated the charros and mariachi music with machismo, womanizing and drinking, especially of tequila.The reason that the movies did this was that mariachi music was associated with bars and the lower classes in a number of segments of Mexican society in the early 20th century. This would change in the latter half of the 20th century, but the music remains strongly associated with tequila.

Mariachi music and musician became more professional with more formal training starting in the late 1940s and early 1950s, principally due to the success of a major mariachi band by the name of Mariachi Vargas. Their appearance in many films, backing many singing stars and their hiring of a formal musician prompted other mariachis to do the same. The band also expanded adding trumpets, violins and even a classical guitar to become a kind of orchestra, keeping the traditional son/mariachi base while integrating new musical ideas and styles. One other innovation, in contrast to the machismo of the style was the first famous female mariachi performers, Lola Beltrán and Lucha Villa. Beltrán became famous as a teenager when Mariachi Vargas put her on stage one night. She became known for her versions of “Cucurrucucu Paloma” and “Tres Dias” which are considered classics.

The promotion of the music on radio and then in films, made the music widely popular but it also changed it. A single style, that of Cocula, became the dominant national symbol. However, many of the traditional sounds of this style were lost as mariachi groups incorporated other musical styles that were popular on the radio. In the 1970s and 1980s, the music began to become extremely popular in the United States as well, first in the Southwest and moving out from there. New influences have come into the genre from there as well. In both countries, however, the learning of traditional pieces and repertory is still stressed to form a base.

In Mexico, the music remains popular especially in Guadalajara and Mexico City, with wandering mariachis in the historic center of both cities. The International Mariachi Festival in Guadalajara is an annual ten-day event which attracts more than 500 mariachis performing in concert halls and streets of the city. The event attracts both famous and unknown players including Marichi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Nati Cano’s Mariachi Los Camperos and Mariachi América. (:

In Mexico City, the center of mariachi music remains Garibaldi Plaza. The plaza fills with mariachi musicians to solicit gigs from individual songs for passers-by to being hired for events such as weddings and baptisms. They even stand on Eje Central in front of the plaza to flag down passing cars. In 2010, the government renovated the plaza to make it more tourist-friendly, adding new paving, gardens, police, security cameras, painted facades, and a museum dedicated to mariachi and tequila. Although mariachis can be hired in Mexico City over the phone or on the internet, many people still prefer to come to the plaza, hear the musicians and haggle over the price. About 2,500 mariachis hold union cards to work in the plaza, but as many as 4,000 may circulate through on a busy weekend.

In 2011 UNESCO recognized the music as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, joining six others of this list from Mexico.