How to Enjoy Mariachi Music

With the rise in the number of Mexican people in the U.S., mariachi music is also enjoying a wider audience. Mariachi music is said to come from the French word for wedding, and indeed mariachi is a popular addition to any Latino wedding. The native peoples of Mexico are the inventors of this great music. Guadalajara, Mexico is the birthplace and current epicenter of mariachi music. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Know the makeup of a mariachi group. Bands can range from 4 to more pieces and often have violins, trumpets, guitars and small harps. They also often have two unique guitar variants, a high pitched "vihuela" and a low "guitarro."
2. Recognize the sounds. The mariachi will have a standard rhythm that carries the song, and often features the duality of the instruments, pairing the low and high sounds together for contrast.
3. Learn the words. Of course, mariachi is performed in Spanish, so you may not understand the words. However, the lyrics are often romantic or describe courtships, especially at a wedding. Since mariachi began as a folk art it often uses images from the country life.
4. Recognize the costume. Mariachi musicians would not be complete without the intricate suits (called "charros"), and their wide-brimmed hats. Suits are often color coordinated and the players will wear cowboy boots and use them to tap the rhythm of the songs. However, since this was at first a country tradition, the original mariachi uniform was probably somewhat less luxe.

Tips & Warnings

• The Mexican Hat Dance "jarabe tapatío" is mariachi music.