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| Spine-tingling mariachi music at Due Torri Restaurante |
The deep throaty notes from the
trumpet made the small hairs on my arms dance with joy: pure joy.
A seven-person mariachi band
made their entrance at the opening night of a new Italian restaurant on Isla – Due Torri.
They strolled through the restaurant,
finally settling near the guests of honor.
Guitars, and violins, and horns, and strong melodic voices – just
thinking about it is giving me goose-bumps again.
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| Serenading the special guests |
The mariachis were dressed in decorative
eighteenth century charro (horseman) attire. Tightfitting and secured with multiple silver
fasteners, these traditional outfits were designed to ensure that no flapping
material would spook the rider’s horse.
The boots have small heels to keep the rider’s foot in the stirrup, and
the large sombreros, the sun from the rider’s head. Most mariachi groups have forsaken the large
unwieldy sombreros in favour of the bare-headed approach.
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| Mariachi group on Isla Mujeres |
But where did the name mariachi originate from? Well, some documents state it was derived
from the French word for marriage, dating from the 1860’s French Intervention
in Mexico. Other documents show that the
word existed before that time.
The music
has, on the other hand, evolved through the centuries from the indigenous music,
played with rattles, drums, flutes and conch-shell horns during religious
celebrations.
Eventually with the
arrival of the Spanish settlers harps, guitars, violins, and brass instruments
were added into the mix. I enjoy
listening to all of those instruments, but for me, it’s the brass horns that really
make the music.
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| Guadalajara Mariachi Festival 2012 |
The modern day mariachi
tradition is very strong in Mexico with annual festivals, and competitions in
Guadalajara, and Morelia in late August or early September. We were lucky enough to enjoy a few days of
the Guadalajara festival last year.
Outstanding music and amazing costumes!
The actual music genre didn’t
become widely popular until 1920 with the first recording of a mariachi band,
played over the Mexican national radio airwaves. Another boost to their worldwide popularity
came from the Presidential candidate Lázaro Cárdenas whose 1935 election
campaign featured multiple mariachi bands.
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| Agapito Mangana Sanchez - at Due Torri Restaurante |
Meanwhile, inside the Due Torri restaurant on Isla Mujeres, ninety
or so invited guests clapped and sang with great enthusiasm. It seemed like everyone, but Lawrie and I,
knew the words.
Even the young keyboard
musician who had quietly been entertaining the guests joined the mariachi band,
belting out spine-tingling notes in a voice that couldn’t possibly originate
from such a slight body.
Mariachi music really gets in to
your blood. I might have been born into
the wrong culture. Perhaps I was meant
to be Mexican, not Canadian.
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| Amazing voice for such a slight person |
But – Celtic music and Scottish bagpipes also produce that goose-bump
tingling reaction of my senses.
Music
opens the door to my heart.
Lynda and Lawrie
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| Ribbon cutting at Due Torri Restaurante - Isla |
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