Greetings, everyone! How did I get into Mariachi music? Well, growing up in a Mexican household, Mariachi was a mainstay. Songs like En Mi Viejo San Juan and Amor Eterno are my dad's favorite and some of mine, too. This and a desire to play the trumpet led me down the path of the Mariachi.
After I finally learned how to play the trumpet during my first year of highschool, I wanted to keep practicing during the summer. One Sunday at church, I asked to join their group,where a few friends from grammar school played as well. They were called Mariachi Lupita, named after the Virgen de Gudalupe, the church's patron saint.
disclaimer: image does not belong to me
On Sundays we wore white button up shirts with black dress pants (or skirts) and a special type of red bow but for Mariachi tocadas, or gigs, we wore the brown suit you saw.
I had to leave the group at the end of that summer because I got braces and wasn't able to play anymore but when I rejoined a few years later, I met my best friend, Alex.
We both played trumpet. You might ask, what other instruments are included in the typical Mariachi? Violins also share the melody. The group's rhythm section consists of a guitarrón (literally "big guitar") as the bass and two other types of guitars. Everyone is familiar with the standard acoustic guitar but there is also a slightly smaller Mexican variety with five strings called the vihuela. It has a brighter sound than the lower regular guitar. That's what our group consisted of but some fancier Mariachis can also include a harp or an accordion.
After leaving Mariachi Lupita for a second time, some of us decided to start a new group dubbed Mariachi Cempasúchil, named after the marigolds that bloom around Day of the Dead. Starting a new group was difficult, especially finding violin players! Practicing once a week as a group, it took forever to learn and memorize our first hour of music. We also had to save money from our first few gigs to buy real suits, but in the meantime we dressed like this.
After much practice, a little drama, and a complete rebranding, we finally became official mariachis.
By now, we called ourselves Mariachi LunaNova. The girl all the way on the left has the "starter" attire that I mentioned earlier. This is typical for juvenile groups or, in this case, new members without an official suit of their own.
Unfortunately this group split in two and most of us had a falling out. Nevertheless, it was a great and unforgettable experience.
Actually there are still a couple of YouTube videos up off some of our songs. I will provide the link to our practice of En Mi Viejo San Juan, a classic most notably sung by Javier Solís.
I hope you enjoyed my Mariachi story. Would I ever join a group again? Probably not since I stopped practicing and no longer have the lip endurance to play for hours on end, but it was fun.
Let me know what you think of the genre! I only provided an example of a bolero but there are also corridos, sones, and (my favorite) polkas. Drop a comment down below!
Well, that's all, folks!