Traditional Mexican Music

Like any other country or region of the world, the traditional music of Mexico is infinitely nuanced and rich. In fact, the vibrant traditional Mexican music, including the musicians, the instruments, and the costumes, is just as much an intricate part of Mexican culture as the tequila, the cock-fights or palenques, the bullfights, and the sombrero, the distinctive straw hat with a broad brim and a tall crown.

When one talks about traditional Mexican music, the Mariachis come to mind immediately. But, apart from this style, there are various other traditional Mexican music styles like the Ranchera, the Nortena, and the Banda. Given below is a brief explanation of each of these traditional Mexican music styles.

The Mariachi Style: Amongst all the traditional styles of music in Mexico, the Mariachi style is the one that is the most representative. It typifies how the world identifies Mexico, at least in terms of its music, folklore and culture. Like all traditional music around the world, the Mariachi has not been invented by a single person, but instead is a result of a blend of religion, culture and music. It is an intermingling of the indigenous culture with that of the Iberians and the other black slaves that followed them. It is thought that the Mariachi style of traditional Mexican music has its roots in religion. The Christian religion along with its religious music was brought over to Mexico by the Spanish conquerors. In fact, they used religious music to teach the natives about Christianity, and the instruments used to play the music were traditionally European. The natives of Mexico incorporated these new instruments, particularly the violin. The Spanish style of music flourished in the region, intermingling with the indigenous style of music until a blend of the two styles emerged.

Usually comprising of 3-5 musicians, the orchestra of the Mariachis is made up of guitars, violins, and trumpets along with the traditional instruments of Mexico, the guitarron and the vihuela. The music is very lively and the musicians wear costumes that are elaborately embroidered and decorated, which comprise of a large sombrero, tightly fitted pants, waist-length jackets, and boots.

The Ranchera Style: This is a style of song that has been sung for hundreds of years in Mexican ranches, hence the name ‘ranchera’. The music is associated with the rural life of Mexico and its countryside. The costumes therefore comprise of the cowboy attire worn by Mexican horsemen – a jacket, gun holsters, tight breech boots, and of course the ubiquitous sombrero. The basic themes of the Ranchera songs are patriotism, love, religion, and nature. The music is rhythmic in nature and is generally done in the waltz style.

The Banda Style: Being the Spanish word for ‘band’, this style of traditional Mexican music comprises of a group of musicians that play chiefly brass instruments along with some percussion. Stringed music is not used, although the keyboard is used sometimes. This style of music first began emerging when musicians started playing together, about 40 years back, especially in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa. A number of percussion instruments, tubas, trumpets, and trombones are the chief instruments that are played.

The Nortena Style: This style of traditional Mexican music is made up of the ballads that are sung by the people who live in the northern region of Mexico, which borders the United States, hence the term ‘Nortena’, which means ‘from the north’. It is a fascinating blend of several styles of music such as the waltz, the polka, and country music. Its lively rhythms and beats are belted out energetically by large guitars and accordions, known as ‘bajo sexto’, which form the main instruments of this style. Other strings as well as the horn are also used at times. The themes of the songs are based on real life experiences such as illegal immigration, politics, drugs, and of course the theme of love.

The popularity of traditional Mexican music has spread beyond the borders of Mexico, and is enjoyed in the United States as well in other parts of the world, wherever Mexicans have taken it as a display of their rich heritage and culture.