The Days of Lore

Märiachi Crüe

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 | musiX | No Comments

I was in Mexico for a week and a half only to return to find that every blogger and their mother had written about Ryan Adams releasing a new metal record. It was fantastic news … I thought I had actually missed something while I was gone.

I spent a solid 10 days without a single note of American music entering my cochlea (save for a couple of Rock Band sessions that included an arthritic, 8-minute rendition of Metallica’s ” … And Justice For All”). No iPod. No nothing. The state of Jalisco is the birthplace of mariachi. Sometimes we’d hear two, three ensembles playing at once while we sat at any of the numerous cafes and bars in Guadalajara, Tlaquepaque and nearby Guanajuato. And it was great.

I observed these generations of men perform together: The proficiency of the playing. Lyrics celebrating life and the beauty of a woman. The pageantry. Not a hair was out of place. And their pantalones looked as if they were spray-painted on to their thin legs, and were usually bejeweled with small, silver studs. It hit me: Mariachis are rock stars in Mexico, the original glam rockers if you will—except they play better music … and look like actual men.

The song most often performed was “Guadalajara,” written by Pepe Guízar in the 1930s, and done and redone countless times since. It’s the anthem, the mariachi equivalent of “Rock and Roll All Nite.” And Pepe Guízar is sort of the Ronnie James Dio of mariachis, only a little taller. I know this probably all sounds ridiculous … but only about as ridiculous as mariachis performing a Radiohead song. Which is to say, not at all ridiculous.

“Guadalajara” - Pepe Guízar

“Guadalajara” - Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán

Tags: "Guadalajara", Jalisco, Mariachi, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Mexico, Pepe Guízar, Radiohead