Mariachi - Origins

Origins

Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, indigenous music was played with rattles, drums, flutes and conch-shell horns as part of religious celebrations. The Spanish introduced violins, guitars, harps, brass instruments, and woodwinds which mostly replaced the indigenous instruments. The European instruments were introduced to be used during Mass but were quickly adapted to secular events. Indigenous and mestizo peoples learned to play and make these instruments often giving them modified shapes and tunings. In addition to instruments, the Spanish introduced the concept of musical bands, which, in the colonial period, generally consisted of two violins, a harp and various guitars. This grouping gave rise to a number of folk musical styles in Mexico.

One of these folk musical styles was the son. This music featured string instruments and became popular in the colonial period from Veracruz, into La Huasteca and west into Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit, and Michoacán. Son music divided into various regional varieties—the variety popular in the Jalisco area was called son jaliscense, whose best known is “La Negra”. Modern mariachi music developed from this son style, with “mariachi” as an alternative name for son jaliscense. Early mariachi players did not look like those of today; they played only string instruments such as guitars and harps and dressed in typical peasant clothing: white pants and shirts with huarache sandals.

The son jaliscense/mariachi music was popular in the 19th century, especially during and after the Mexican War of Independence when national pride was strong. Those who could play the music could find work at haciendas at a higher rate than those who could not.

The distinction of mariachi from the older son jaliscense occurred slowly sometime during the 19th century. The music originated in the center-west of Mexico. Most claims for its origin lie in the state of Jalisco but neighboring states of Colima, Nayarit, and Michoacán have also claimed it. However, by the late 19th century, the music was firmly centered in Jalisco. Most legends put the origin of the modern mariachi in the town of Cocula, Jalisco.

The distinction from son to modern mariachi comes from the modification of the music. By the end of the nineteenth century, the European art music tradition was firmly transplanted to Mexico, with opera, salon music, waltzes, and more written and performed both by Europeans and Mexicans in the country. One variety was the salon orchestras called orquestas típicas that performed in more rural settings, notably in charro outfits. This use of the charro outfit would be repeated again with the urban mariachi in the 1920s.

After the Mexican Revolution, many haciendas had to let workers go, including mariachis. Groups would wander and play for a fee, which then obliged them to incorporate other music into their repertoires including waltzes and polkas. It also forced them to play in public venues with one of the most popular being the main plaza of Tlaquepaque near Guadalajara. From the late 19th century to the 1930s, mariachi bands were locally known and semi professional.

The Mexican Revolution also brought another wave of national pride, especially in culture, making rural music popular and important for the building of a national identity. In the early 20th century, U.S. record companies were actively recording rural music in various parts of the world. One of these as a recording called Cuarteto Coculense by Columbia, Edison and Victor in 1908 and 1909, recognized as the “first” mariachi recordings. The music also gained attention in Mexico City when a wealthy hacienda family brought an early mariachi band from Cocula to play for President Porfirio Díaz in 1905.