Mariachi Music Thesis

Natividad Cano had a passion for mariachi music that drove his desire to change the stereotypical social relations associated with mariachi music. However, many traditionalists accused Cano for breaking away from traditional elements and commercializing mariachi music as a meaningless choreographed form that would appeal to western audiences (Shay, 2006, p. 77). I see the positive results of Cano’s strive to take mariachi music out of the stereotypical local cantinas and onto the stages of national concert halls, where the artistic value of mariachi music can be truly appreciated by a widespread audience.

It was no surprise that Cano chose music as a career. He grew up in a family of day workers who played mariachi music at various cantinas (restaurants) on the side to earn additional money. Growing up listening to his grandfather playing the guittaron and his father professionally playing every instrument of the mariachi, Cano embraced mariachi traditions as a part of his own identity early on. By the age of six, he learned to

skillfully play the vihuela, “a guitar-like, stringed instrument,” and soon after he started playing mariachi music in a local group with his family members (Seeger, 2009).
As a child, Cano developed his passion for playing music, but he felt ashamed of following his father and grandfather in cantinas, recalling how many mariachi musicians were mistreated due to their perceived lower-class status and how some cantinas would even have signs that would say “Women…Beggars…Mariachis Not Allowed” (Sheehy, 2002, p. 8). Believing that he could escape the degradation of mariachi life by establishing himself as a refined musician, Cano enrolled at the Academia de Musica in Guadalajara, where he trained in playing the classical violin for six years (Greathouse, 2009, p. 59). In his youth, Cano traveled to Mexicali to play for a mariachi group called Mariachi Chapala, where he developed a greater appreciation of rural and regional mariachi music. I believe that his increasing appreciation of the culture and sound of mariachi instilled a desire in him to spread his music to an international audience.
Cano’s longing to bring traditional mariachi music to a widespread audience of different cultures led him to chase after his dreams in Los Angeles, where he was recruited to play for the Mariachi Aguila. His musical talents and experience led him to be promoted as the group’s director, and he decided to rename the group Mariachi Los Camperos, meaning the Countrymen, as a way of symbolizing the traditional roots of the group’s music. Soon, he began to realize that traditional mariachi music in the US was degrading stereotype of a “sound that was accompanied with quesadillas and salsa” (Moon, 2008, p. 141). This realization compelled Cano to take a stand and strengthened his desire to alter the social relations that mariachi was associated with..
Cano dedicated most of his career “to get the mariachi out of the cantinas” and to get mariachi music away from “the stereotype of a group of guys getting together to perform, not very well and…in outfits that didn’t match” (Colker, 2014). Starting with his own group, Cano aimed to renovate the image of mariachi performance. He wanted to get rid of the conventional and degrading practice of mariachis going from cantina to cantina offering to play song requests for anyone that would pay them. But rather, he held on to a vision of establishing a well-dressed mariachi playing a program of music in a respectable concert-hall performance (Greathouse, 2009, p. 59). Unreservedly, I think that Cano’s efforts in wanting to reform the way mariachis were perceived has undeniably established mariachi music as a respectable and cultured art form.
Throughout his career, Cano was characterized as an ambitious musician and a “strict disciplinarian”. He only selected the most talented young musicians that he felt could represent the music of the Mariachi Los Camperos (Colker, 2014). With the growth of Latino population in the US, his group gained success from playing the background music for well-known singers all throughout the US. On tour, Cano recalled feeling that he and his musicians were not able to express their music artistically because the singers won over the audiences and he felt that his group was paid to perform repetitions of the same song. This experience marked his desire to bring mariachi music onto the center stage in its own traditional form. Inspired by his experience, Cano decided to open a restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard called the La Fonda de Los Camperos. This Los-Angeles based restaurant became a magnet for talented young musicians and mariachi music aficionados that would come to see Mariachi Los Camperos’ take center stage in their legendary live performances.
Yearning to bring mariachi music into the mainstream in the US, Cano decided to reshape the image of his own mariachi group. He recognized that in order for mariachi music to gain national recognition that his group would need to appeal to audiences with different musical tastes (Seeger, 2009). Although Cano believed in preserving and honoring mariachi tradition, he was aware that “innovation is necessary for a tradition to survive” (Madrid, 2011, p. 93). Unreservedly, I agree with Cano’s view and his aim to popularize the mariachi sound by blending the complex rhythm patterns of popular music with the traditional mariachi music. In addition to innovating the mariachi sound, he polished his group’s appearance with “elegant and refined white jackets” and made sure that every member of his group exhibited discipline and pride in their performances that matched up to the concert-hall performance standard. (Seeger, 2009).
Mariachi Los Camperos quickly gained recognition in the community and was launched into a global spotlight due to collaboration with a well-known American pop singer Linda Ronstadt. Ronstadt’s passion for diverse music led her to reach out to Mariachi Los Camperos wanting them to record the music for her Mexican folk song album Canciones de Mi Padre (Colker, 2014). The album incorporated innovation of Mexican folk songs blended with the complex harmonies of popular music in a way that preserved the integrity of the traditional mariachi sound. Due to the popularity of the album and the tour, Cano and his group were able to play center stage for top concert venues around the nation and were able to win over a national audience with its performances. Working with Ronstadt, Cano was finally able to fulfill his lifelong desire to bring “concert-hall respect to mariachi music” (Moon, 2008, p. 141).
At the peak of Cano’s career, the Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano’ Amor, Dolor y Lagrimas (Love, Hurt and Tears) album won the 2009 Grammy for best Mexican regional album.

One of the songs from the album, Noches Tenebrosas (Gloomy Nights) was widely popular for its incorporation of a well-known mariachi style called musica ranchera, which represented Mexico’s soulful “country music”. The lyrics of the song retell a story about to the emotional pain felt by someone that was deceived by their lover. (Sheesy, 2008, p. 10) Listening to the song, it opens with a harp solo and then the track gradually introduced the mariachi sound created by a string of instruments that was in tune with the vocal ranges expressed in the soulful voice of the vocalist. The instruments that were used in creating the mariachi sound were violins, trumpets, guitars, as well as the guitarron and vihuela—all common in traditional mariachi music. (Sheesy, 2008, p.

10)
A traditionalist and a visionary, Cano has managed to both preserve and help shape the history of mariachi music. His group, Mariachi Los Camperos is credited as one of the top mariachi ensembles in the nation. Although, many of his critics scorn him for exploiting Mexican culture, it is undeniable that through his influence, mariachi music has gained greater social and musical respect. I believe that his success in establishing mariachi music as a respectable art form came from his strive to preserve the mariachi music traditions, while at the same time progressing the social relations associated with mariachi performance.