The
mariachi
is considered the highest expression of the most recent era of Mexican folklore and has become a symbolic institution not only of music, but also of the culture of the Aztec country.
Despite its unknown origin and the multiple theories that could justify it, its development from the interior of
Mexico
has crossed borders over the decades to achieve a more commercial dynamic, a modified repertoire and a transformed but highly recognizable aesthetic.
Like any tradition, the
mariachi was
born from humble environments, it acquired fame, it became almost fashionable and imitators emerged.
Later, the upper bourgeoisie made it fall from grace, later the more commercial branch recovered it and exported it to other countries and, today, the mariachi is indispensable in the most important social celebrations, whether at the state or family level.
The holding of meetings, contests, congresses, holding exhibitions, publishing books and research, and other activities around mariachi have also revived the musical style in recent years.
Without a doubt, the declaration that took place on a day like today, November 24, nine years ago, in 2011, has had a lot to do with it, when Unesco inscribed the mariachi on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
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As a noun, the word "mariachi" refers both to the individual who is part of a
mariachi
musical group
like the Mexican musical group;
while as an adjective it refers to the specific musical genre or style born in Mexican folklore.
The mariachi is originally from a region of western Mexico that includes what are now the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Michoacán and Colima.
It extends as far north as Sinaloa and Durango and as far south as Guerrero.
Therefore, attempts to attribute it to a specific state or population are in vain, as the exact place of birth of the mariachi remains unknown.
There is no doubt that with the arrival of the first slaves, African music also reached Mexico during the colonial period.
Therefore, many regional traditions of mestizo folk music, including that of the mariachi, resulted from the cultural and musical combination of indigenous and foreign elements.
But this development of mestizo folk music in Mexico is not well documented, which has given rise to all kinds of theories and speculation.
The oldest known reference to the term "
mariachi
" appears in a letter written by the priest Cosme Santa Anna in 1852, although the word was previously found as a toponym.
The mariachis documented during the second half of the nineteenth century in western central Mexico were commonly associated with the rural festival or fandango, and with the name of the wooden platform or platform on which couples danced sones and syrups, both genres most important of the initial repertoire of the mariachi.
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Likewise, it is known that the first
mariachis
they wore peasant garb and had little concern for dressing alike.
After the 1910 Revolution, however, modest uniforms began to appear to match them.
The first time the mariachis were able to dress elegantly, they chose the horseman costume or charro costume to do so.
And it is the gala version of this costume that contemporary mariachis wear, with their fitted embellished trousers, short jacket, embroidered belt, boots, wide bow tie and hat, which is in turn the outfit that wealthy owners once wore. of the haciendas.
It is clear, therefore, that the roots of mariachi are rural, but contemporary mariachi is the result of an urban phenomenon that occurred in Mexico City after the Revolution.
It was in the capital where the urban mariachi was born and where it has been developed to this day.
One of the versions about the history of
mariachi
dating from the 20s of the last century explains that Cirilo Marmolejo moved his group from Tecolotlán, in Jalisco, to Mexico City, becoming one of the first mariachis to settle there.
When the Tenampa saloon canteen was inaugurated three years later it soon became the center of mariachi activity and attracted other groups from rural areas.
Although mariachis had performed for official functions under the direction of Porfirio Díaz in 1905 and 1907, it was not until after the 1910 Revolution that the mariachi was widely adopted as a symbol of nationalism.
Later, Mexican presidents used mariachi music for political events and the media helped popularize it.
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During the decade of the 30s, the radio, the cinema and the phonograph were in charge of launching to national and international stardom what until then had only been rural and regional music.
The main role of the
mariachi
in the media became that of accompanying the main singers of the ranchera genre, the most popular nationalist musical expression in Mexico.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a typical mariachi group consisted of four musicians and the instrumentation varied according to the region of origin, although there were two that stood out above the rest: the one in central Jalisco, which preferred two violins, the vihuela (an instrument small guitar-like with a convex bottom and five strings) and the guitarrón (a large six-string bass version of the vihuela);
and the one from southern Jalisco and Michoacán, who preferred two violins, harp, and blow guitar (the original mariachi guitar).
After the Mexican Revolution, mariachi groups increased the number of their members and the instruments from different regions began to combine and duplicate as well.
After a period of experimentation, the instrumentation of the urban mariachi was standardized.
The modern classical guitar was adopted and the vihuela and the guitarrón were preserved, while the blow guitar and the harp fell into widespread disuse.
Wind instruments also began to be added regularly to the traditional string ensemble.
In the 1920s,
mariachis
began to use the cornet;
In the 1930s, however, the trumpet replaced the cornet, until in the 1940s the trumpet became institutionalized and the combination of two trumpets became, in the early 1950s, the most recent innovation in standard mariachi instrumentation.
The standard contemporary instrumentation for a complete mariachi group is two trumpets, three or more violins, a vihuela, a guitar, and a guitarrón.
Sometimes a harp, a guitar and a trumpet are added, depending on the economic budget that is available in the hiring, but what does not vary is that all the members can sing.
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The repertoire of
mariachis
It is immense and contains songs from the different regions of Mexico, but modern mariachi music has adopted other musical genres such as ranchera, bolero and even cumbia.
Mariachi songs speak of love for the land, nature, religion, women and the qualities of the country.
Learning by ear continues to be the main means of transmitting
traditional
mariachi
music
, which continues to pass from generation to generation as another educational tool when it comes to instilling values that promote respect for the natural heritage of Mexican regions.
Currently, and without the strength of past decades, the
mariachi
it remains alive and in motion, because the world has crossed enough borders to become part of all humanity as Intangible Cultural Heritage.