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Mariachi is a type of musical group, originally from Cocula, Jalisco, Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. Usually a mariachi consists of at least three violin
Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
s, two trumpet
Trumpet

The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
s, one Mexican guitar, one vihuela
Mexican vihuela

Vihuela is the name of two different guitar-like string instruments: the historical vihuela of 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings, and the modern Mexican vihuela from 20th century Mexico with five strings and typically played in Mariachi groups....
 (a high-pitched, five-string guitar) one guitarrón
Guitarrón

The guitarr?n is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican 6-string acoustic bass played in mariachi bands. Although obviously similar to the guitar, it is not a derivative of that instrument, but was independently developed from the sixteenth-century Spanish bajo de u?a....
 (a small-scaled acoustic bass) and occasionally a harp. They dress in silver studded charro
Charro

In Mexico, charro is a term referring to a traditional horseman or cowboy of Mexico, originating in the Jalisco. In the rest of Mexico the equivalent term was "vaquero"....
 outfits with wide-brimmed hats. The original Mariachi were Mexican street musicians or buskers.






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Mariachi is a type of musical group, originally from Cocula, Jalisco, Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. Usually a mariachi consists of at least three violin
Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
s, two trumpet
Trumpet

The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
s, one Mexican guitar, one vihuela
Mexican vihuela

Vihuela is the name of two different guitar-like string instruments: the historical vihuela of 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings, and the modern Mexican vihuela from 20th century Mexico with five strings and typically played in Mariachi groups....
 (a high-pitched, five-string guitar) one guitarrón
Guitarrón

The guitarr?n is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican 6-string acoustic bass played in mariachi bands. Although obviously similar to the guitar, it is not a derivative of that instrument, but was independently developed from the sixteenth-century Spanish bajo de u?a....
 (a small-scaled acoustic bass) and occasionally a harp. They dress in silver studded charro
Charro

In Mexico, charro is a term referring to a traditional horseman or cowboy of Mexico, originating in the Jalisco. In the rest of Mexico the equivalent term was "vaquero"....
 outfits with wide-brimmed hats. The original Mariachi were Mexican street musicians or buskers. Many mariachis are professional entertainers doing paid gigs in the mainstream entertainment industry. Professionals are normally skilled at more than one instrument, and they also sing. They sometimes accompany ranchera
Ranchera

The ranchera is a genre of the traditional music of Mexico. Although closely associated with the mariachi groups which evolved in Jalisco in the post-revolutionary period, rancheras are also played today by norte?o or banda music groups....
 singers such as Vicente Fernandez
Vicente Fernández

Vicente Fern?ndez Gomez , simply known as Vicente Fern?ndez, is a Mexican folk singer and actor. Known as el "El idolo de Mexico" and "el rey" throughout the Latin world, Vicente Fernandez, who started his career singing for tips on the street, has become a Mexican cultural icon, recording more than 50 albums and contributing to 40 m...
 or even pop star Luis Miguel
Luis Miguel

Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri , known as Luis Miguel, is a Puerto Rican people-born, Mexican-raised, pop music singer. He is best known for his smooth, crooner vocals and romantic ballads....
. Although ranchera singers dress in a traje de charro
Charro

In Mexico, charro is a term referring to a traditional horseman or cowboy of Mexico, originating in the Jalisco. In the rest of Mexico the equivalent term was "vaquero"....
 (Charro suit), they are not mariachis.

Although mariachis are hired to play at events such as wedding
Wedding

File:Pimenov SvadbaOnTomorrowStreet.jpgA wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, country, and social classes....
s and other formal occasions, such as a quinceañera
Quinceañera

The Quincea?era or Quince a?os is, for Latino and Italian cultures, a girl's celebration of her fifteenth birthday, which is commemorated in a different way from her other birthdays....
 (a girl's fifteenth birthday celebration), they are very often used to serenade women because many of the songs in a typical repertoire have as a theme the desire to touch the heart of the opposite sex. Some of the songs are sad; others are about how much that special someone appreciates your company. Trios of mariachis can be found for hire in different places at night (the best known venues are Plaza de los Mariachis in Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Jalisco

Guadalajara is the capital city of the Mexico state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of the state and in the western-Pacific area of Mexico....
 and Plaza Garibaldi
Plaza Garibaldi

Plaza Garibaldi is a plaza in Mexico City famous for its gatherings of itinerant mariachi and jarocho bands . The plaza is surrounded by numerous restaurants and bars catering to aficionados of mariachi music, the most famous of which is Salon Tenampa....
 in Mexico City
Mexico City

Mexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the most important economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country; the most populous city with over 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008....
) for the purposes of serenading. Mother's days are also another popular occasion for mariachis. Hiring prices can vary immensely and are normally not cheap.

Tourists frequently confuse mariachis with all types of buskers seen in Mexico, such as jarocho
Jarocho

A jarocho is a person, item or style of music from Veracruz, Mexico.The term jarocho is that the term evolved from an old Spanish language word meaning brusque or disordered....
s. Mariachi refers to musicians who dress and play in a style typical of the Mexican state of Jalisco
Jalisco

Jalisco is a Mexican state in Mexico. The capital of Jalisco is the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco. In the 2005 census, Jalisco had a population of 6,752,113 people....
, although the style and music played has spread far beyond the limits of Jalisco and jalisciense music itself. Generally a guitarrón and a vihuela must be included for a group to be considered a mariachi.

Instrumentation

Current mariachi instrumentation includes a guitarrón
Guitarrón

The guitarr?n is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican 6-string acoustic bass played in mariachi bands. Although obviously similar to the guitar, it is not a derivative of that instrument, but was independently developed from the sixteenth-century Spanish bajo de u?a....
, a vihuela
Vihuela

Vihuela is a name given to two different guitar-like string instruments: one from 15th and 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings, and the other, the Mexican vihuela, from 19th century Mexico with five strings and typically played in Mariachi bands....
, a guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
, violin
Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
s, and trumpet
Trumpet

The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
s. Some groups might use a guitarra de golpe, a mariachi harp
Harp

The 'harp' is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the Sounding board. It is also considered to be a percussion instrument....
 or even a flute
Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
. From the 70's some singers have occasionally added other instruments as accordion, organ, keyboard, harmonica, saxophone and even drums, although they were considered additions, never part of the mariachi instrumentation itself. During the last years ranchera singers as Alejandro Fernandez
Alejandro Fernández

Alejandro Fern?ndez is a popular Latin Grammy-winning Mexico singer nicknamed as "El Potrillo" by the media and his fans.Alejandro originally specialized in traditional, earthy forms of Mexican Folk music and country music, such as mariachi and ranchera....
, Pablo Montero
Pablo Montero

Pablo Montero is a popular Mexican singer and actor. Montero is better known for his singing career; in fact, it was his career as a singer that has led him towards becoming an actor....
 and Pepe Aguilar
Pepe Aguilar

Pepe Aguilar is an United States singer of Mexican descent who sings ranchera music. He is the son of the legends of Mexican show-business Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre....
 have made fusions of mariachi with orchestra and drums/percussions giving birth to a mariachi/pop ballads crossover style.

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