Musical Industry

Mariachi music is a vibrant, lively folk tradition tracing its roots to Southwestern regions in Mexico. The typical bright and rhythmic Mariachi sound is created by a number of different instruments. Most Mariachi ensembles have several violins, one or more trumpets, plus at least three guitars: a classical guitar, a guitarron (large acoustic bass guitar) and a vihuela (five-stringed, high-pitched rhythm guitar). The Mariachi folk tradition has become emblematic of Mexican pride and Mexican nationalism by incorporating regional song forms from all parts of Mexico. Although not much new Mariachi music is composed today, Mariachi groups are frequently hired to perform at social events in Mexican and Mexican-American communities.

In the Mariachi Trilogy (a.k.a. Mexico Trilogy or Desperado Trilogy, director Robert Rodriguez’s series of three movies set in Mexico, the main character, ‘El Mariachi’, is a traveling Mexican musician who keeps his guitar case filled with guns. The original movie (El Mariachi, 1992) was filmed on a tiny budget, but its two sequels (Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico) were produced by Columbia Pictures and filled with some of Hollywood’s biggest screen stars. The ‘El Mariachi’ character is played by Antonio Banderas, and the supporting cast includes Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Eva Mendes, Mickey Rourke and Cheech Marin.

A Mariachi band was also featured more recently in No Country for Old Men, Joel and Ethan Cohen’s Academy Award-winning 2007 film. In that movie, the main protagonist character, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is shot in a gun battle and stumbles, badly injured, into a Mexican border town where he is taken to the hospital by Mariachis.

By gaining new exposure through popular movies, Mariachi should gain more awareness in the U.S. and, ultimately, lead to an increase in the popularity of Mariachi and other forms of Mexican music.

Mariachi continues to be popular throughout Mexico, as well as in the United States. In the U.S., Mariachi is perhaps most prevalent in the major cities with the highest concentrations of Mexican-American populations like Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas-Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Denver, Seattle, Chicago, Phoenix, Santa Fe, New York and San Francisco.

Professional Mariachi groups are increasingly hired to play at special gatherings, and they are also sought-after for appearances in movies and on the recordings of popular vocalists. For example, Linda Ronstadt’s 1987 double-platinum album Canciones de Mi Padre has a decidedly Mariachi sound, and several leading Mariachis were assembled to perform on the recordings and the subsequent tour.

Additionally, according to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics are the fastest-growing demographic in the American population, and almost half (43%) of Hispanics in the U.S. are of Mexican heritage. This rapid increase in the Mexican population in America should bring with it increased demand for Mariachi ensembles, plus heightened demand for Mariachi guitars and other Mariachi instruments.