Mariachi

Mariachi came out of rural Jalisco as a string band for weddings and saints' days, picked up the trumpet in the twentieth century, and was carried across the country and beyond by radio and film until it became shorthand for Mexico itself. UNESCO added it to the intangible heritage list in 2011, recognising not the costume but the transmission: the repertoire, the harmonies and the violin and vihuela technique are still passed down by ear within families and groups. The music is functional as much as performative, hired for birthdays, funerals and apologies, and a song is bought one at a time. In Guadalajara the Plaza de los Mariachis has groups waiting every evening; Mexico City's Plaza Garibaldi does the same on a larger scale.

What you actually see

• Plaza de los Mariachis - groups waiting for hire in Guadalajara every evening.
• Plaza Garibaldi - the larger, louder Mexico City equivalent.
• The vihuela and guitarrón - the two guitars that define the sound.
• The Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi - Guadalajara's festival each August.

When to go

Year-round in the evening, since this is nightly work rather than a scheduled show. Guadalajara's international mariachi festival in late August and early September brings groups from around the world and fills the city. Songs are individually priced, agreed before playing.

Honest expectations

Agree the price per song before the group starts, since disputes afterwards are common and tourists are quoted more. Plaza Garibaldi in Mexico City has a rough edge late at night and the surrounding streets warrant ordinary caution. Hotel and restaurant mariachi is usually a shortened, polished version rather than the real trade.

Nearby

Tequila and the agave country are an hour from Guadalajara.