The 21st Encuentro Nacional de Mariachi Tradicional (Traditional Mariachi Festival) gets into full sway Sunday, October 2 with a grand gala at the majestic Teatro Degollado at 6 p.m. and ends with a “Gran Fandango” in the city center on Saturday, October 8.
This festival, which in previous years has always heralded in the main international mariachi festival, focuses on the genre’s original, purest form, minus the charro suits, trumpets and familiar musical repertoire.
Whereas the modern mariachi band with its mix of brass, strings and big, bold sound has come to represent Mexico and Jalisco in particular throughout the world, 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.
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