Mariachi
By, Joey Galantini
History
Mariachi music originated in the Mexican state of Jalisco, in the town of Cocula, in the 19th century. Contemporary mariachi is an urban phenomenon associated with post-revolutionary Mexico City. It was in that nation's capital and principal metropolis that the urban mariachi was born and where most of its development took place. Vestiges of earlier types of mariachis may still be found in rural Mexico, but the urban mariachi has been the dominant model since the 1930s.
About the Music
The actual word mariachi refers to how the musicians are seen in public places and how they present themselves to others. They usually wear wide brimmed hats called sombreros while wearing silver studded charro outfits. They play different instruments like violins, guitars, and basses. Their songs speak about machismo, love, betrayal, death, politics, revolutionary heroes and even animal.
Dance
The most common dance technique in mariachi is zapateado, a kind of footwork from Spain. Pounding of feet into a raised platform often provides the percussive rhythm of mariachi. The dance varies by region. Another dance style, jarabe, commonly known in English as the "Mexican hat dance."
El Bebeto - Cuando Tu Me Besas Version Mariachi by Adrian Frank 1