Charro movies painted the picture

Top: guitarrón. Bottom: harp.

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More than anything else, the Mexican cinema of the 1930s, '40s, and '50s standardized both the attire and the instrumentation of mariachis. We think of the cowboy movies and western movies in the United States. In Mexico there were all these charro movies that were made in the '30s, '40s, and '50s. All of the charros and all the mariachis - as well as the lead male, the protagonist - Jorge Negrete, for example, who was the main star here - they all dressed in mariachi charro outfits. Here we have a poster from an old movie that shows a complete mariachi on horseback, including the one playing the harp.
Now you can understand why the guitarrón replaced the harp. Harps are hard to carry around, particularly if you're working or if you're serenading. In contrast, one can hang a guitarrón from the shoulder.