Guadalajara’s National Encounter of Traditional Mariachis has usually been a low-key precursor to the big and brassy sounds that predominate at the more well-known International Mariachi Festival at the end of August.
That may not be the case this year as the festival debuts for the first time under the new management of the Jalisco Culture Department. The 14th edition of the festival honoring the less ostentatious form of the mariachi genre promises to be a big event in its own right, running – for the first time – for an entire week, from Monday, August 17 through Sunday, August 23.
The Culture Department has planned more smaller-scale recitals this year, as well as workshops for musicians, exhibits, book and CD presentations, recordings, didactic concerts, film screenings, theatrical presentations and more. Another bonus is that there’s no charge for any of the festival’s events, even the big gala concerts at the Degollado Theater. The program is also being extended to the “Pueblo Magico” of Tequila.
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 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, guitarones and harps, or some other mix of string instruments. The makeup of the groups varies by region much more than modern mariachi bands.