Mariachi

The band, piece by piece

Strings

• los violines violins
• las guitarras guitars
• la vihuela a small, high-pitched guitar
• el guitarrón the very big bass guitar — -ón makes a word bigger, and masculine.

Brass

• las trompetas trumpets — UNESCO: an addition of the modern mariachi to the string ensemble.

The dress

• el traje de charro the horseman's suit, with silver buttons

The repertoire

• la ranchera ranchera song
• el corrido a ballad about battles, deeds and love affairs
• el bolero ranchero the ranchero bolero
• la serenata serenade
• Las mañanitas the birthday song, sung at dawn

• A mariachi band has violins, trumpets and guitars, plus a vihuela and a guitarrón, a very big guitar; the musicians wear the charro suit with silver buttons.
• Traditional mariachi groups play stringed instruments; the modern mariachi adds trumpets, violins, the vihuela and the guitarrón, a bass guitar, in ensembles of four or more. The costume is adapted from the charro costume.
• The repertoire includes regional songs, jarabes, waltzes, serenades and corridos, and the modern mariachi has added rancheras, the bolero ranchero and the Colombian cumbia.

Un grupo de mariachi tiene violines, trompetas y guitarras.

A mariachi band has violins, trumpets and guitars.

Los músicos llevan el traje de charro, con botones de plata.

The musicians wear the charro suit, with silver buttons.

A night in Plaza Garibaldi

what

Hundreds of musicians wait for customers and are paid by the song; one song costs about the same as a simple dinner. Many people hire a whole band for a wedding or a birthday.

when

Afternoons and nights. The work is not easy: they play standing for many hours.

where

Plaza Garibaldi, in the centre of Mexico City.

who

Many mariachis start playing as children with their family; UNESCO describes the skill passed from fathers to sons and learned by ear.

why

For them, music matters more than tiredness.

• In Plaza Garibaldi hundreds of musicians wait for customers in the afternoon and at night, and customers pay per song; a song costs roughly what a simple dinner does.
• Players learn by ear, and the skill is usually handed down from fathers to sons, mainly through performance.

Por la tarde y por la noche, cientos de músicos esperan allí a sus clientes.

In the afternoon and at night, hundreds of musicians wait there for their customers.

Los clientes pagan por cada canción.

The customers pay for each song.

El trabajo no es fácil: tocan de pie durante muchas horas.

The work isn't easy: they play standing up for many hours.

From Jalisco to the world

Mariachi was born in the state of Jalisco, in the west of Mexico, whose capital is Guadalajara. It plays at the moments that mark a Mexican life: a birthday morning, when relatives arrive at dawn with a guitar or, in families with money, real mariachis, to sing Las mañanitas; a quinceañera; a wedding.

In 2011 UNESCO inscribed "Mariachi, string music, song and trumpet" on its Representative List, noting lyrics about love of the land, the home region, religion and nature, and performance at festive, religious and civil events.

• Mariachi was born in the state of Jalisco, in western Mexico.
• UNESCO inscribed "Mariachi, string music, song and trumpet" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2011.
• Groups perform at festive, religious and civil events, and the lyrics speak of attachment to the land, the home region, religion and nature.
• On a birthday morning the family sings Las mañanitas at the door at dawn, with a guitar or, in families with money, with real mariachis.

El mariachi nació en el estado de Jalisco, en el oeste del país.

Mariachi was born in the state of Jalisco, in the west of the country.

En 2011, la UNESCO declaró el mariachi Patrimonio de la Humanidad.

In 2011, UNESCO declared mariachi part of the Heritage of Humanity.

Mi tío tiene una guitarra y empieza a cantar "Las mañanitas".

My uncle has a guitar and starts to sing "Las mañanitas".