Mexico City Goes Gaga Over Last Monster Ball

The Monster Ball Tour was huge. 201 shows, spanning four continents, in eight legs, taking two years to complete. Yet all good things need to come to a close eventually; and the Monster Ball did so, this month, in two amazing performances in Mexico City.



This was Lady Gaga at her finest; with three full blown shows in Mexico, and several more side-events and promotions. Her main performances were at Estadio Tres de Marzo stadium, in Guadalajara, then two more at Foro Sol, in the capital city. All three shows were filled to bursting with highly appreciative crowds. (On her website, one girl tells of how she attended the concert without her father's permission. He hasn't spoken to her for a fortnight since, but she says that it was so worth it!)

There were some truly golden moments during the Mexican leg of the Monster Ball. Alejandro Fernández is one of Mexico's more versatile singing superstars. He has previously dueted with Beyoncé, Nelly Futado and a host of musical legends, like Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. He was name-checked in Guadalajara, before Lady Gaga sang her hit, Alejandro. It gave a whole new meaning to her stomping lyric:

"You know that I love you, boy
Hot like Mexico, rejoice!
At this point I've got to choose
Nothing to lose."



In Mexico City, Lady Gaga encouraged the audience to sing the traditional Mexican song, 'Cielito Lindo' to her. The performer sat on the stage, on a high stool, waving her hands, then applauding, as the 55,000 strong crowd serenaded her. This was on Cinco de Mayo, so it gave an extra layer of celebration to the festivities.

But, of course, the biggest news of the Mexican shows was the premier of 'Americano'. It's a song about gay rights, particularly the defeat of Proposition 8 in California, USA, which sought to ban same sex marriages. Yet the sound is Mexican. Lady Gaga wanted to tie the theme in with a statement about immigration laws in the USA. The couple in her Californian marriage are American and Mexican.

Her producer, Fernando Garibay, described Lady Gaga's direction on the song, "I remember her saying, 'Yes, I want mariachi, I want Latin percussions. I want to go big.' I'm so used to people in the industry saying, 'Latin: It's a little bit cheesy'; but she was like, 'F*** that! Let's go full Mexicano.' We started with me on guitar and her on piano, kind of wrote the lyric on the spot, and she sang it all the way through, and that's how the song was born."

The words are bilingual. Half are in American English and the other in Mexican Spanish. As she unveiled it, in Guadalajara, the crowd went insane. Loud cheers and applause met it and the stadium echoed to the sound afterwards. It was a triumph.



Monster Ball support stars, Semi Precious Weapons, released this footage a couple of days ago. It takes us backstage, at the biggest show on Earth, as it played out in Mexico City.



Lady Gaga and her support crew are welcome back in Mexico anyday!

Le Butcherettes: Riot Grrrl a la Mexicano!

We have focused a lot, in this blog, about established artists and bands going into Mexico, but what about those coming out? Mariachi and hot Latino crooners are a big part of the music scene, but they aren't the whole picture by any stretch of the imagination. For a start, there's punk.



Le Butcherettes describe themselves as a garage tapatio punk band. Their sheer energy and angry, young female sound recalls the crescendo of the early '90s Riot Grrrl wave. That could be Bikini Kill, Huggy Bear or L7 reincarnate up there, thrashing about the festival stages in sheep blood and flour. Whatever it is, it's punk at its finest.



The band has quickly developed cult status, spreading out from its native Guadalajara, across the country and into the USA. Formed in 2007, an album, 'Kiss & Kill', followed a year later. They were the winners in both the Best New Artist and Best Punk Record categories of the 2009 Indie-O Music Awards. Indie-O is the foremost Mexican accolade for the Indie scene.

A blistering performance at Hellow Fest 2009, in Monterrey, and opening for The Dead Weather's Mexican dates secured the status of Le Butcherettes as an exciting group to watch. They were nominated for Best Live Act, in 2010, but were pipped to the post by Yokozuna.

Much of the spectacle comes from founding member and singer-guitarist, Teri Gender Bender (aka Teresa Suaréz). She is most often seen in stereotypical 1950s tame housewife attire; though the effect is somewhat marred by the blood-stains down the front. A recent review, in WBEZ91.5, by Jim DeRogatis, read:

(Teri Gender Bender) has more than enough star power of her own. Dressing in ’50s housewife attire as desecrated by a riot grrl, she alternately hammers away on keyboard and guitar while wailing with a throaty, soulful roar that recalls Polly Jean Harvey at her most powerful. She spent as much time running through the crowd or surfing atop its upstretched arms as she spent onstage at the Flamingo Cantina amid the bluesy, chaotic swirl of the band’s arty punk sounds, and while her lyrics rarely directly addressed the topics, it was impossible to mistake her fury at the state of relations between Mexico and America, or between men and women anywhere.
SXSW 2011: ¡Viva la Revolución! ¡Viva Le Butcherettes!

2010 was huge for Le Butcherettes. Their first single, 'Henry Don't Got Love', was released; their second album, 'Sin, Sin, Sin', was recorded; they supported New York based Indie legends, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, on tour.



This single can be downloaded, for free, from the band's Bandcamp page.

Texas Prog-Rockers, The Mars Volta, have also been vocal in their support of Le Butcherettes. Guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López has produced 'Sin, Sin, Sin', as well as contributing some bass guitar to the recording and occasionally joining them on stage to perform it. He will be facilitating the release of their album, on May 10th, 2011, on his own record label.

Keep up with the force of nature that is Le Butcherettes, through their official site, MySpace, Facebook and, of course, Twitter.

White Lies: 'Ritual' Album

White Lies are a British-based, indie rock band, who are currently taking the world by storm. They have been extensively likened to Joy Division and The Killers, though its members deny that either have been an influence. Last October, they rocked Mexico with their slot at the Corona Capital Festival, Mexico City. In the full knowledge that their album, 'Ritual', was soon to be released, the band looked around themselves and they had an idea.


'Ritual' was released on January 18th, 2011, along with a promotional video. The soundtrack previewed, with snippets, three of the album's songs: 'Bad Love', 'Holy Ghost' and 'Bigger Than Us'. The film itself was shot entirely in Mexico City, intercut with scenes of the band performing in a studio.



The story follows the spiritual shopping trip of two young Mexican women. They collect witchcraft supplies, each precisely prepared before being placed in a box. The box itself is carried as if it is something sacred, as the women process through the market. The box is then taken to the cathedral to be blessed. Finally, the women are at the center of a third ritual, with a shaman dancing up the energies around them. We are never told what the outcome of these endeavours should be. The point is not the reward, but the quest itself and the rituals engaged upon along the way.

The footage was mainly filmed at Mercado de Sonora, a market known for its witchcraft supplies, in Mexico City. Also featured is Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de María (Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary), as well as several streets in Mexico's capital city.


In October 2010, Mexico City was their third and final stop, on their short Mexican tour. Previously, they had played at Guadalajara and Monterrey. They managed to grab some time off before their Guadalajara date, in order to spend quality tourist time looking around the city.

White Lies will be back in Mexico in a couple of months time. They are playing at Vive Cuervo Salón, Mexico City, on May 26th, 2011, as part of the North American leg of their world tour.

NIN's Mexico Connection

In August, 1999, Nine Inch Nails took over two locations in Jalisco. They brought with them award-winning director, Mark Pellington, and immediately cast 250 local people as extras. This was the shoot of the 'We're In It Together' music video and the result was a stunning piece of dark cinema.



'We're in This Together' is a paranoid love song, about a couple trying to survive against an unknown force. In this dystopian world, something is out to get them, with hints of torture and attempted separation. The couple cling to each other, even when there is no hope.

You and me
We're in this together now
None of them can stop us now
We will make it through somehow

It is never stated who, or what, is after them.

The video reportedly followed the plot of a nightmare, which was dreamt by NIN lead singer, Trent Reznor. It also paid homage to the 1927 cult film, 'Metropolis', with obvious similarities, including the black outfits of the the characters within it. The lady, to whom Trent Reznor so desperately wants to cling, is only alluded to in the seven inch extended version. She is glimpsed in a red dress, stark against the black and white of the rest of the footage, in a nod to 'Schindler's List'.

Filming took place between August 5th-8th, 1999, in downtown Guadaljara and in a dry lake, 100km (62m) south, near to the town of Sayula. The intersection of Independencia Norte and Hidalgo was widely used as a location, as was Mercado Mexaclatzingo and a local hospital for people suffering from extensive burns. The building, in which Trent Reznor sings alone, is on la Calsada del Independencia, one of the main highways running through Guadaljara.


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During the four days of filming, 250 Guadalajara men were employed, working 12 hours a day. They were all aged between 20 and 30 years old and made up the horde of black-clad people running with Trent Reznor. It's been suggested that they represented his loneliness and isolation in this world.

Francisco Gonzalez, a journalist for the local newspaper, Periodico Publico, reported at the time, "One of the curious things was that 95 percent of the people didn't know who Reznor was. They were only curious about the shoot, and not who the artist was."

Sergio Pérez: Formula One Comes Home to Guadalajara

Think Mexico and Formula One and a name immediately comes to mind: Sergio Pérez! The championship BMW Sauber driver is gearing up for the 2011 opening, in the Australian Grand Prix. But first he is coming home, to Guadalajara, in Jalisco, to demonstrate his skills in a city-wide race.


Sergio Pérez
This Saturday, February 26th, Sergio Pérez will be driving last season's C29 car through the streets of Guadalajara. In a specially laid out curcuit, the action will pass by the City Hall and the Cathedral.

He told Formula1.com, "This will be a very special day for me, being at home with my family and all my friends, and running the Formula One car in the city. This will be an additional boost for my motivation before leaving for Bahrain."

As a rising star, Sergio Pérez has had a fantastic career to date. At just 20 years old, he won four races for the Barwa Addax Team, to place second in the 2010 GP2 Series. He had previously been its youngest ever driver to win a race. In 2007, Sergio was the British F3 champion. Then, in October last year, it was announced that he had been snapped up by German Formula One giants, Sauber, for the 2011 Season. He will be Kamui Kobayashi's driving partner.


Sergio Pérez
Sergio, who celebrated his 21st birthday on January 26th, isn't the only car-racing celebrity to be born in the city. His elder brother, Antonio Pérez, is a star of the NASCAR Corona Series. He was its champion in 2008. It will be two for the price of one, on Saturday, as Antonio will also be demonstrating the stock-racing skills that made him famous. They will be bringing with them another NASCAR legend, Germán Quiroga.

Germán Quiroga and Antonio Pérez have spent the last few series head to head, in adrenaline fuelled races; each putting in their all to try and beat each other to take home the NASCAR championship title. For the past two years, it has been Quiroga who took the trophy. However, they will arrive in Guadalajara as best buddies, showing off their cars and treating the crowds to some high-speed racing.


Antonio Pérez

Guadalajara's organizers have laid out a 1.5km (0.9m) circuit through the city's streets. It's all a far cry from the childhood of the brothers Pérez, which Sergio remembers as an eight year old, go-karting close to home, as his first foray into driving. The brothers are thrilled to be home and participating in such an event. "Mexico is hugely excited about the coming season," Sergio said. "It's great we can offer the people an event like this in the run-up to it."

So, see you in Guadalajara on Saturday then?

Edit: You can read a report about this event on Checkered Flag: Perez Receives Ecstatic Reception in Mexico.

Bésame Mucho

'Bésame Mucho' is the Mexican love song that took over the world. After being recorded by some of Mexico's greatest stars, including Pedro Infante and Jose Jose, it went global.



The song has been translated into 20 languages. Lucho Gatica serenaded with it, Chilean Bolero style. Elvis Presley recorded a version. Josephine Baker sang it, as a morale booster, for the troops in World War Two. Frank Sinatra crooned it. The Beatles used it in their audition tapes for Decca and EMI, as well as featuring it in the 'Let It Be' film. It has appeared on the original soundtrack of countless films. Yet how many know that it was written by a fifteen year old girl, who thought that kissing was a sin?

Consuelo Velázquez had been playing piano since she was four years old. Eleven years later, she was a young teenager, installed at Mexico City's National Conservatory and the Palace of Fine Arts, dreaming of love.

'Bésame Mucho' literally translates as 'Kiss Me Much', but it's often rendered in English as 'Kiss Me A Lot' or 'Kiss Me Again'. Naturally, many people over the years have asked Consuelo who she was thinking about, as she sat at her piano and composed her classic tune. She claims that it was no-one in particular. Just her imagination and the longing for romance.

Consuelo was born, on August 29th, 1916, in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco. Her family, all strict Roman Catholics, moved to Guadalajara, while she was just a baby. She spent her formative years there, before moving to Mexico City to train as a concert pianist. At fifteen years old, with those hormones raging, she day-dreamed about finding love. But she had been raised as a good girl. No kissing, cuddling, flirting, romancing or any of that before marriage; and certainly nothing that would disgrace herself and her family.

She was both a virtuous girl and a virtuosa. Her dreams went no further than her fingers on the piano keys; and her mind soaring with creating the greatest Mexican love song of all time. Here she is, in adult life, playing it again:



Those lyrics are:

Bésame, bésame mucho, Como si fuera esta noche la última vez. Bésame, bésame mucho, Que tengo miedo perderte, Perderte otra vez. Quiero tenerte muy Cerca, mirarme en tus Ojos, verte junto a mí, Piensa que tal vez Mañana yo ya estaré Lejos, muy lejos de ti. Bésame, bésame mucho, Como si fuera esta noche la última vez. Bésame mucho, Que tengo miedo perderte, Perderte después.

Kiss me, Kiss me a lot, As if tonight were the last time. Kiss me, kiss me a lot, Because I'm afraid of losing you, To lose you again. I want to have you very close To see myself in your eyes, To see you next to me, Think that perhaps tomorrow I already will be far, very far from you. Kiss me, Kiss me a lot, As if tonight were the last time. Kiss me, a lot, because I'm afraid of losing you, To lose you later.

'Bésame Mucho' wasn't an immediate hit. After graduating from the National Conservatory and the Palace of Fine Arts, Consuelo took a job at a radio company, XEQ. She also continued to write songs, while performing concerts as a pianist. Then, in 1941, the song was picked up and recorded by Emilio Tuero and Chela Campos. It soon became popular with the big bands and, through them, was showcased to troops, stationed across the world, during the Second World War. By March 4th, 1944, it was at the top of the US Billboard Charts, where it stayed for 12 weeks.

Since then, its global success has been unstoppable. Throughout the decades, it has continued to resurface, often performed by the biggest names of the day. As late as 2007, a contestant on 'American Idol', Sanjaya Malakar, chose to sing it to woo the nation during 'Latin Nation'. Even Simon Cowell couldn't fault him.



A year later, Russia's celebrated baritone, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and South Korea's coloratura soprano, Sumi Jo, included it in their set, at a star-studded gala in St Petersburg:



While the Italian 'X-Factor' saw contestant, Guisy Ferreri, perform it. She ultimately came second in the whole show:



'Bésame Mucho' has travelled the world, being translated into many different languages. As music styles change, this song changes with them. Each artist comes to it with a different spin and a new way of presenting it. Here is a unique version, the fusion between Danny Aiello and rap artist, Hasan:



Finally here is the chilled, groove remix of the tune, released by Worldwide Groove Corporation:



It might have originally been the song of a teenage Mexican girl, yearning for love, but now it's the sound of romance everywhere. Who knows what the future may bring!

Minerva: Pride in Mexican Beer

A brand new beer, targetting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender market, has been launched in Mexico City.

Believed to be the first of its kind in the world, the beverage has labels depicting articles of gay pride. These are designed to be unglued, from the bottle, and worn as badges.

The 'artisan honey ale' arrives as 'Salamandra' or 'Purple Hand', both of which are buzz-words or icons harking back to the gay civil rights movements of the 1960s. They are designed in colors, which also have significance within the LGBT community. 'Salamandra' has a rainbow icon, while 'Purple Hand' is, well, purple.

Brewed by Minvera and distributed by Bodega 12, the malt-based beer contains 100% organic honey. Dario Rodriguez Wyler, the company's commercial director, explained, “We're out in the market, with great respect, with the idea of offering a product directed to the gay-lesbian community, that has been ignored for too long, but is important and very demanding."



On October 31st, 1969, sixty members of the Gay Liberation Front and the Society for Individual Rights sat down in front of the Examiner offices, in San Francisco, USA. They were there to protest a series of homophobic articles, carried by the newspaper, concerning the city's gay and lesbian bars. Employees, inside the building, took revenge upon the protestors by emptying purple printer ink over them, from a third-storey window. Some say it was a barrel of ink; others say that they were several small bags of ink.

Whichever way it was, protestors were soon covered in the stuff. When the police arrived, it was to arrest those outside. None of the Examiner staff were ever so much as cautioned. However, some protestors did get away. They used their saturated clothing and bodies as ink pads, in order to leave purple hand-prints all over the city. It became a powerful display of gay power, in the climate of the times. The incident became known as 'Friday of the Purple Hand'.

Meanwhile, salamandra (salamander) can be described as a sexual innuendo, best exemplified by drinking the beer directly from the bottle.



'Purple Hand' and 'Salamandra' are already available in bars and clubs throughout Mexico City, Guadalajara and several beach resort areas, including Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos. Minerva are also planning to open a 'Purple Hand' club, in Mexico City. The ale is already due for export to the US, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia and Japan.

Minerva is just a tiny brewery, located in Jalisco, however they appear to have got this right. The company sold out of all 500 cases of their gay pride beer within just two days. They are naturally brewing more!

Christmas in Mexico: More Festive Celebrations

There's no snow in Cancún, but there is white sand! Gritty the Snowman was the creation of the Howden family, during their Christmas in the Mexican resort.



Mexican children participating in Las Pastorelas (Shepherds Plays). This tradition dates back to the coming of the Spanish to Mexico and it is still going strong today. Las Pastorelas are often improvised, ad hoc affairs, with players telling the stories in their own ways.

These plays tell a host of Biblical stories, from Adam and Eve, through to the more common Nativity tales. Most popular of all is La Pastorela (The Shepherd), which portrays the arrival of the Archangel Michael to a group of shepherds. The archangel tells the shepherds to go to Bethlehem to pay homage to the baby Christ. The shepherds' journey there is beset with problems, notably caused by the devils, Luzbel and Asmodeo. They do have assistance though, in the form of el Ermitaño (the Hermit), who shares his wisdom, as well as various angels.

This is a Mexican tradition which is also prevalent in the USA. More about that can be read here: Pastorelas and Pastores - las pastorelas, los pastores, autos sacramentales, El fin del mundo, Moros y Cristianos, Las Pastorelas.



Fireworks dazzle the skies, as the Christmas Tree is illuminated in the center of Mexico City. Just about every village, town and city in Mexico will be well decorated during the festive season. The most spectacular will be in the cities, where a huge budget is spent on creating extravagant illuminations along the streets and in the plazas.



Santa Claus stopping off, during his busy schedule, to meet with children (of all ages) in Guadalajara. Santa often makes a point of visiting shopping malls and hotel resorts too. Just because you're away from home, it doesn't mean that Santa can't find you.

That, of course, includes the Christmas party Mecca of Cancún. Here is Santa Claus and an elf turning up there on Christmas Day:





These little angels were part of a Christmas parade, through the streets of Oaxaca. They are sitting on a float, waving to the crowds gathered to cheer them on. Note the poinsettia on the lap of one of the angels. Poinsettia is everywhere in Mexico, at this time of year, as are parades!



Ice, in Mexico? Well, usually only in the drinks. At Christmas, there's also the Zócalo Ice Rink, which is the largest in the world. Based in the main plaza, at the heart of Mexico City's historic district, the ice rink is a stunning 300,000 square feet. And here you were, assuming that the world's biggest ice rink was probably in Lapland, or Antartica, or somewhere cold.



Meanwhile, the stockings are up and waiting for Santa Claus. This being Mexico, the nearest palm tree on a glorious beach provides the best place to hang them!

Feliz navidad! (Happy Christmas in Mexican)

Miss Mexico is Miss Universe 2010

Last week, Ximena Navarrete, Miss Mexico, stepped from the crowd of 83 international beauties to claim the title of Miss Universe 2010. In a star-studded gala, held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Miss Mexico was officially named the most beautiful woman on the planet.

Ximena Navarrete is 22 years old and hails from Guadalajara, Jalisco. She won the Nuestra Belleza Mexico pageant, in Mérida, Yucatán, in September, 2009, in order to take the international stage as Miss Mexico. Before her modelling career so spectacularly took off, she was studying nutrition, at Universidad del Valle de Atemajac (University of the Valley of Atemajac), in Zapopan, Mexico.

The beauty queen's real name is Jimena Navarrete Rosete, but she prefers to render it in the Maya spelling of Ximena. She is one of two children of dentists, Carlos Navarrete and Gabriela Rosete. After being crowned, she told reporters, ""I imagine that they're all going crazy in Mexico right now. I'm extremely proud and I'm sure they're very proud, too."

It would seem that she was right as, within minutes of her win, the Mexican president, Felipe Calderon, tweeted that 'her victory would help Mexico's image as a country.' He later commented, ""Her triumph is a source of pride and satisfaction for all Mexicans, who see in her the fruits of perseverance."


Ximena Navarrete in National Dress
Miss Universe is in its 59th year and it is watched by 600 million viewers worldwide. It is organized by New York's NBC and American tycoon, Donald Trump. Contestants parade or dance in national costume, evening dress and swimsuits, with the top placed ladies from each category moving onto the next, until an ultimate winner is announced. The rules demand that contestants are intelligent, well-mannered, and cultured, with applicants, in previous pageants, often failing in the interview rounds. Commentators for this year's Miss Universe have remarked that Miss Philippines failed to win outright, despite being the favorite to do so, because her responses to questions were a little banal.

The next year promises to be arduous for Ximena Navarrete. Alongside her tiara, she has now taken on the mantle of ambassador for a host of causes. In appearances organized by Miss Universe Organization, she will be travelling the world to spread messages about peace, promote disease control and raise public awareness of AIDS. In the process, she will visit some of the most poverty stricken nations and will talk with hard-to-reach groups, like sex workers in India.

Throughout her travels, the onus will be upon Señorita Navarrete to remain flawlessly beautiful, charming and well-mannered. A gaff could haunt her, and her nation, for decades. 41 years after holding the Miss Universe title, Filipino Gloria Diaz is still facing criticism after implying that Cebuano people could not speak articulately in English. As late as yesterday (Sept 1st, 2010), the Vice Mayors League of the Philippines-Cebu passed a resolution declaring Ms Diaz to be a persona non grata.

Ximena Navarrete also earned an undisclosed salary; the use of a Trump appartment in New York; a one year scholarship to New York Film Academy (along with housing and expenses) for after her reign; and an array of clothes, jewelry and accessories appropriate for Miss Universe.

Mariachis!

This weekend, over 450 mariachis participated in a parade around Guadalajara, in Jalisco. They were here, from as far afield as the Slovak Republic, Japan, Canada, Australia, the USA and several South American countries, to enjoy the 17th Mariachi and Charreria Festival. They were joined in the parade by traditional dancers and charros (cowboys), creating a colorful and vibrant display of Mexican culture. It was an event which drew over 200,000 spectators and, despite fears about violence in the area, passed without incident.



The Mariachis can be found all over Mexico. Often in distinctive sombrero hats and studded charro uniforms, they serenade diners in restaurants; entertain shoppers in the malls and markets; drift along streets, causing a spring in the step of all those passing by. They create the magical atmosphere of Mexico City's Garbaldi Plaza; and many still flood to watch the most talented of all perform their concerts. Mexicans frequently hire Mariarchis to play at weddings or on other special occasions. To an international audience, the marachi music IS the music of Mexico. It is what they hum to themselves, far away back home, trying to rekindle the feeling of their Mexican vacation.

Mariachi music was born in the state of Nayarit, in Western Mexico, during the colonial period. In its traditional sense (there has been a lot of experimentation over the years), it is played by an ensemble using a vihuela, a guitarrón, violins, trumpets, an acoustic guitar and, sometimes, a harp. In fact, it is considered that, without the vihuela and guitarrón, the band is not Mariachi. Often, but not always, there is a vocalist or two. It is noteworthy for the Grito Mexicano, moments when the whole ensemble shout out a refrain or call, like 'AY YA YAY YA!' or 'tequila!'



When Mariachi began, it was seen as scandalous. Just as parents in the 1950s worried about the influence of rock'n'roll, and their modern day counterparts panic about death rock metal, then the colonial and post-colonial elders protested the Mariachi. The instruments were mostly Spanish in origin and had been used to accompany church services. The vihuela and guitarrón provided a backdrop of music by which the Catholic devout could take Communion. Then the younger generation started using them for popular music.

These instruments, perceived as religious, were now used to sing songs about machismo, revolutionary heroes, love, death and politics. Some of these were even anti-clerical. Priests railed against the Mariachi from their pulpits, exorting Mama and Papa to rein in their wayward youngsters. Despite, or because of, this, the Mariachi flourished. Then, as Mexico gained independence from the Spanish, Mariachi grew in popularity as something distinctly Mexican. The songs became used to spread news from village to village, town and city. The bands played at Independence Day celebrations everywhere; and also during the 1934 presidential election campaign of Lázaro Cárdenas.

But it was the advent of movies that truly pushed the Mariachi into the hearts of Mexicans; as well as linking this genre of music with Mexico for all foreigners. Mexican movies, and the appearance of Mexicans in Hollywood movies, promoted the idea of macho Mexican men, with charming smiles and hearts of gold. Idols, such as Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete, turned their smouldering gazes towards the camera, quickening the heartbeats of women all over the world. Their Latino hot, tough guy image was underscored with Mariachi music.

It's still happening. Robert Rodriguez's directorial debut, in 1993, began with the first of his 'Mariachi Trilogy'. 'El Mariachi', 'Desperado' and 'Once Upon a Time in Mexico'. They went on to achieve global acclaim, Hollywood 'player' status, several movie awards and a lot of profit for Rodriguez, as well as launching the American film careers of Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. Mariachi music worked its magic again.