As in past years, the 18th Encuentro Nacional del Mariachi Tradicional (Traditional Mariachi Festival) will precede Guadalajara’s big annual mariachi bash, with performances scheduled at ten city venues from August 11 to 17, as well as several outlying municipalities, including Chapala.
The aim of this mostly free festival is to bring this underrepresented form of music to wider audiences and ensure the genre’s preservation.
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 musicians represent a style closer to son music, the form that gave birth to mariachi in the 19th century. They often 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.
This year, festival organizers have been collaborating with the Comisión Nacional para la Salvaguardia del Mariachi (National Commission to Safeguard Mariachi or CONASAM) and the renowned Colegio de Jalisco historical institution. As in previous years, an international colloquium on traditional mariachi will be held during the festival, as well as workshops and round-table discussions. New this year will be classes open to the public to teach “baile de tarima estilo Jalisco” (Jalisco-style tarima dance), which features rapid zapateado (footwork) danced to the beat of an idiophone percussion instrument crafted from wood, known as a tarima.
Next week’s festival will feature around 100 activities with more than 300 participants from 14 Jalisco municipalities and seven Mexican states.
The program
The event kicks off the weekend of August 9 to 11, with a series of fandangos (open-air musical parties) held in the main plazas of various Jalisco towns, including Chapala (see page 17). Other municipalities hosting events are Tepatitlán, Tecalitlán, Colotlán, Mascota, Villa Purificación, Autlán de Navarro, Etzatlán, Tlajomulco and Cocula.
The opening gala is scheduled for Sunday, August 11, 5 p.m. at the Teatro Degollado. Bands from Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán and Nayarit will perform. Entry is free with a “courtesy ticket,” available on a first-come-first-served basis.
Tuesday, August 13: Fandango Barrial in the esplanade of Guadalajara’s San Sebastián de Analco church, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, August 14: Fandango Barrial in Las Nueve Esquinas – the downtown plaza where Calles Libertad, Ocampo and Leandro Valle (and others) all converge, 6 p.m. Also 6 p.m., in Colonia El Vergel in Tlaquepaque, at the intersection of Río Grande and Río de Janeiro.
Thursday, August 15: Mariachi concert in the Plaza Fundadores, behind the Teatro Degollado in the city center, 4 p.m. Fandango Barrial in the Coexcomatitlán Malecón in Tlajomulco, 6 p.m. Also, Pedro Moreno 150 between Cuitláhuac and Allende, in Colonia La Alberca, Tonala, 6 p.m.
Friday, August 16: Mariachi gala in the Teatro Degollado, 6 p.m. Also, Fandango Barrial in the Andador 20 de Noviembre in Zapopan, 6 p.m. A traditional mariachi concert dedicated to the “Angels and the Saints” will be held in the Guadalajara Cathedral 7 p.m.
Saturday, August 17: Fandango Infantil: Performances by children’s traditional mariachi groups from Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, and San Francisco, California. Closing gala in downtown Guadalajara’s Teatro Degollado, 7 p.m. when many of the festival’s leading participants will be feted. At the same tine there is a “Gran Fandango” with bands from various states playing in the Plaza Liberation 7 p.m.