August 27 will see the start of a miniature festival within the impending International Mariachi Festival.
The 11th National Meeting of Traditional Mariachis will bring 400 musicians from 16 states together in the Guadalajara metro area for an alternate take on the emblematic mariachi group.
Whereas the modern mariachi band with its mix of brass and strings, charro outfits and big, bold sound has come to represent Mexico and Jalisco in particular throughout the world, traditional mariachi music has lost out in the public consciousness. Traditional mariachi musicians represent a style closer to son music, the form that gave birth to mariachi in the 19th century. They wear much less ostentatious loose-fitting white peasant shirts, usually with black or white pants and huarache sandals. The big difference, though, is that they do not employ brass instruments, sticking with guitars and violins, guitars and harps, or some other mix of string instruments. The makeup of the groups varies by region much more than modern mariachi bands.
The meeting of traditional mariachis will have several events showcasing this underrepresented form during the opening days of the festival. Along with a traditional Gala at the Teatro Degollado on September 1, 12 p.m. the Jalisco State Secretary of Culture this year is inaugurating a section of the Casa de la Cultura Jalisciense Augustin Yañez dedicated to the preservation and archiving of mariachi music. There will also be a play, “Soy Mariachi” (I am Mariachi) performed at the Teatro Degollado on August 28, a traditional mariachi group giving a minuets concert at the Guadalajara Cathedral on August 31, 7 p.m., and a ceremony officially recognizing the form as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Plaza de Liberacion at 6:30 p.m., September 2.
The 11th National Meeting of Traditional Mariachis opens with a ceremony and an exposition at 8 p.m., August 27 at the Museo de Arqueologia de Occidente in the old military barracks at Zaragoza 224 between San Felipe and Reforma, downtown.