Tracing mariachis' rich history no easy task
When Jonathan Clark combed the great libraries of Mexico for details on the origins of the mariachi, he was surprised to come up nearly empty-handed."I was really disappointed," the mariachi authority admits. "Most of the books on Mexican music didn't even contain the word 'mariachi' in the index."Even if the book were on folk music, Clark said the mariachi was pretty much treated in passing."After going to all the major libraries I realized the answers to my questions weren't going to be in any books."Clark spent the next 12 years in Mexico, becoming the first "gringo" to play regularly at Mexico City's famed hub of mariachi activity, Plaza Garibaldi, and interviewing hundreds of old mariachi masters.At a rehearsal of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, his eye fell on an old man carrying a cane standing in the corner. It was Silvestre Vargas, patriarch of the 100-year-old-plus "best mariachi in the world."A few days later he traveled to Vargas' home in Jalisco, where Vargas pulled out a drawer of loose photos - irreplaceable documents that Clark devoured with his eyes.Between the photos and the numerous interviews Clark conducted, he has given the world perhaps the clearest views yet of an oral history that might have been lost without him. His entry on the term "mariachi" in the 1996 Latino Encyclopedia is concise and authoritative.According to Clark, "mariachi" refers to both the ensemble and the musicians. At various points, it referred to other things as well, including cymbals and a wooden dance platform under which a hole was dug for resonance.The harp and vihuela - staples of the turn-of-the-century mariachi lineup - were instruments the Spanish explorer Cortés brought to Mexico in the 16th century. Despite claims that "mariachi" is a permutation of the French term for marriage, documentation shows it predates French occupation. The best evidence suggests the term comes from the now-extinct Coca language of central Jalisco.Documentation from the latter half of the 19th century also shows it to have been a rural central Mexico phenomenon. Mariachis are documented performing for official functions under Porfirio Diaz in 1905 and 1907, but it was after the Revolution of 1910 that the mariachi became a symbol of nationalism.After that time, mariachis began to garb themselves in the traje de charro (horseman's suit). And while rural groups of curious instrumentation continued, it was the urban mariachis of the 1930s who solidified the sound, lineup and look of the modern mariachi.Radio and film were huge factors in the rise of the mariachi in the 1930s and '40s. Few could afford a phonograph, but radios were common in public places."Film had a huge impact, probably bigger than the radio and phonograph put together," Clark says. "Everyone went to the films. There are just so many films. Mariachi Vargas alone appeared in about 200."Singing movie stars such as Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante used the mariachi as their ensemble of choice, adding to its popularity.Trumpets slowly gained acceptance as standard instruments in the 1930s and '40s. At first only one was used, but following the success of the two-trumpet sound of Mariachi Mexico de Pepe Villa in the early 1950s, dueling trumpets became standard.Through the innovative efforts of arranger Ruben Fuentes and trumpeter Miguel Martinez, Mariachi Vargas became the high standard in the mariachi world.In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Mexican-born mariachi pioneers such as Nati Cano began transplanting the art form to the United States. In 1961 Mariachi Uclatlán of the University of California-Los Angeles, became America's first academic mariachi. The first youth mariachi in the United States was Tucson's Los Changuitos Feos (the Ugly Little Monkeys), founded in 1964.Other milestones include the first U.S. international mariachi conference in San Antonio, Texas, in 1979, and the 1987 release of Linda Ronstadt's "Canciones de mi Padre," which brought mariachi music to its widest audience yet.Today mariachi conferences and mariachi programs at every school level have proliferated, ensuring the best is yet to come.
