In the beginning, mariachis mostly quartets

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The early mariachis of the middle to late 1800s were very small and in fact they were called "cuartetos." That's basically a quartet - four individuals, four instruments. The mariachi has gotten larger over time.
They used a variety of instruments in those days including drums, trombones, flutes, accordions, standup bass. All types of instruments. Today, there's a standard set of five instruments that are used in mariachis and I'll show you those a little later.
The mariachi tradition originates in the working class of Mexico and the musicians dressed in working clothes. Guarachis - sandals with open toes- and what is called "calzón blanco," white pants and a white shirt. Sometimes they wore a straw hat, at other times no hat at all. But this tradition originates out of the working class.
I prefer working mariachis. I distinguish between "working mariachis" and "show mariachis." It's like having a car that one only shows; one takes it in a trailer to car shows, vs. a car that one can drive regularly but that is still nice. I used to restore cars so that is why I use this analogy.
There really is a major difference between working mariachis and show mariachis. In the early days they were all working mariachis. They were called cuartetos - four members. Today they can get as large as 15 and only perform prearranged sets on stage.
Here is a photograph of a very old mariachi that used some of the standard instruments that are used today, like the violin. I'll talk more about these instruments a little bit later, but you see here a trombone and a flute as well, instruments that are not part of the modern mariachi. Those were mariachis in those days. This is the attire that they wore in the early years. Here is a cuarteto and they're all wearing guaraches, no hats, no sashes around the waist. A couple of them had bandanas around their neck.
Here is the working mariachi of the 1940s. They work at fiestas and in cantinas. For along period of time mariachis were not viewed very positively. They were of working class backgrounds, they played in bars or in the streets serenading. And sometimes people even drank tequila in that region. As you can see, these mariachis don't even have the same outfits. They're not even dressed alike but they are playing some of the same instruments that are used today, in fact, all of the instruments that are used today and I'll talk more about that in a minute.
Here is a working mariachi of more current times. They aren't even wearing the traditional hats. A couple of them have guaraches, others have shoes, but they have a guitarrón, a violin, the vihuela and a guitar, and they call themselves mariachis.
I, incidentally, was born in this region, the mariachi region. I still have a lot of family there and go back a couple of times a year. This mariachi played at my grandfather's 100th birthday April 8 of last year (2001). This is an individual in town, Saul, singing with the mariachi. This woman also sang. Everybody sings with mariachis. With working mariachis, that is. Show mariachis, on the other hand, when one hires them, they generally perform a prearranged set of songs. One can't just hire a show mariachi to do a wedding, for example, or to serenade one's girlfriend or wife. Well, I guess one could if one wanted to pay $10,000-$15,000 but they'd probably play their set. Working mariachis will play anything one wants. One usually hires them for a set number of hours but somebody in the crowd will always add another hour or two because if you've ever heard a mariachi outdoors, in the countryside, like this, it's hard to go indoors and just sit and watch the show mariachis. Oh, do not get me wrong, they're beautiful and they play wonderful music. They're exceptional musicians but I just prefer working mariachis.
When I go back to my home town every year, mariachis serenade. Men hire mariachis at night to serenade their girlfriends or wives or fiancees. At one in the morning, two in the morning, one hears this blast of mariachi music. It certainly wakes one up, And you know what? Nobody complains. The next day people in their 80s and 15-year-olds ask, "Hey, did you hear the mariachis last night?" It is wonderful music to wake up to in the middle of the night.