Mariachi
The French named mariachi, but the Coca Indians gave the original name in 1500's referring to any musician. Mariachi sound is impacted by African influence known as SON. Rhythmic pattern altering between 3/4 and 6/8.
Instruments of Mariachi
In a complete Mariachi group today there are as many as 6 to 8 violins, 2 trumpets, and a guitar, which are all standard European instruments. Then there is a high-itched, round-backed guitar called the vihuela, which when strummed in the traditional manner gives the mariachi its typical rhythmic vitality; a deep voiced guitar called the guitarr'o which serves as the bass of the ensemble; and a Mexican folk harp, which usually doubles the base line, but also ornaments the melody.
Beginning of Mariachi
Mariachi began in the nineteenth century in the Mexican State of Jalisco, in a town known as Cocula. The Mariachi was the distinctive version of the Spanish theatrical orchestra of violins, harp and guitars that developed in and around Jalisco.
The principal music played by these early Mariachis was the SON, the popular music of the day. A mixture of folk traditions from Spain, Mexico, and Africa, the son was found in many regions of the country. The son from Jalisco is called the son jaliscience. Sones from other regions include the son jarocho or veracruzano, from the region around the Gulf port of Veracruz. The most famous example of the son jarocho is La Bamba. A typical son huasteco, also known as the huapango, is the La Malague~n a.
Mariachi and Dance
The son-and other types of Mariachi music are not just music to be played and sung. From the very start it as music to be danced to. The lyrics of the sones frequently describe country life: in particular, the plants, animals and the people of the region. These lyrics are highly suggestive, often using imagery of the courtship of farm animals to describe the relations of men and women. In the dance the movements of the performers represent the farmyard courtship described in the verses of the sones.
Mariachi Vargas
Mariachi goes back hundreds of years; there are no Bachs or Beethovens in its history because Mariachi music was the music of the country people. Until the 1930's Mariachi groups were local and semi-professional. They were almost entirely unknown outside their region. This began to change 60 years ago, when the Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitl`an n, founded by Gaspar Vargas in 1898, went from Jalisco to Mexico City.
Carlos Santana Ryan Conroy All the world knows the special magic of Carlos Santana. Since 1966, he has led the group that bears his name, selling over 30 million albums and performing before an estimated 13 million people. In every performance, Carlos shares with his audience a personal communication that crosses all boundaries and differences. Carlos was introduced to traditional music by his father, Jose. An accomplished mariachi violinist and experienced musician, he taught Carlos the basics of music theory and gave him an understanding of the value of a note. Although Carlos' excitement for music would be sparked by his first experience, he quickly discovered the limits of its traditional form and wanted more. Carlos wanted to play the kind of music that was filling the radio waves and making people dance. Tijuana, 1955 the drastic change of moving from the small, quiet town of Autlan to the humming, thriving boom town of Tijuana brought a renewed hope and opportunity for a new life. Both for Carlos and his family. The eight-year old Carlos quickly left the violin for the guitar, studying and emulating the sounds of B.B. King, T-Bone Walker and John Lee Hooker. Soon he was being asked to join local bands like the T.J.'s, where he added a unique touch and feel to his own renditions of all the great songs of the 1950's. As he continued to play with different bands along the busy Tijuana Strip, he not Page Two only started to perfect his style and sound, but actually started bringing home enough money to really help his family.
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Bachata is a creolized music, meaning that there is both European and African influence. It is also a descendent of a few different Dominican Republic and Cuban forms of music – primarily son, but also merengue and ranchera. Son is music of the African diaspora, commonly involved in debates of African retention. Elements of African music, such as call-and-response and preference for polyrhythm survived the middle passage and are deeply rooted in Caribbean tradition. Stringed instruments are believed to have been part of the European influence on the area, as well as harmonic patterns, as well as verse-chorus structure and prominent duple meter. Modern groups consist of two electric acoustic guitars, an electric bass guitar, a guira (A Dominican Republic percussion instrument), and bongos (Hutchinson). Bachata is thought to have originated in the rural areas, being the music of choice at rural friendly gatherings, similar to son’s roots. Bachata then migrated to the cities with the impoverished as they looked for work. With this move the music transformed into something entirely different from its romantic, seren...
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of a mariachi are only men. Most of the time, media such as radio and television, among others have been in charge to prevail this stereotype. Most of the time when people hear mariachi music the vocalists are men. Rarely, people hear a woman as the principal vocalist of a mariachi group. According to Sheehan (2006), “Mariachi performance was a male domain” and a negative effect caused by this stereotype is that sometimes women are not well welcome in a mariachi group. In the book title Mariachi Music in America, a member of a mariachi group named Leonor Perez pointed out that this stereotype prevails because women do not take very often active roles as mariachi musicians compared
It was music of country people that celebrated the joys, the struggles, and the triumphs of the Mexican people. The Mariachi was a version of Spanish theatrical orchestra consisting of violins (usually two), guitars, also called “guitarron”, and a harp. The word “Mariachi” derives from the French word “wedding” or “marriage”. Music and dance were important elements of Spanish theatrical productions, enormously popular throughout the Spanish-speaking world during the colonial period. It was from this group that several of the most distinctive regional ensembles of Mexico developed, including the Mariachi. The musical form and ensemble of the Mariachi developed differently from region to region throughout time. The ensemble that is familiar today began to take shape in the nineteenth century in the state of Jalisco. In other areas such as Veracruz and Huasteca, the northeast region of the country, the ensemble evolved differently. By the end of the nineteenth century, the instrumentation consisted of the cocula or the vihuela, two violins, the guitarron, and two
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