Mexico Music

1.Maracas













2.Guiro

3. Harp

5-stringed guitar

Has 6 very thick strings. It is played flat, held against the player's stomach. Popular in mariachi bands.

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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. The Mariachi is 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. 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. 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 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 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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Suj_S4IpNc
The Banda Style:
Being the Spanish word for 'band', this style of traditional Mexican music comprises 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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Uz7fnaX1M
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, 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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1eYkzFJFxA

Through history, musical expressions in Mexico have experienced a huge evolution, from the sound of the drums of a Mayan or Aztec ceremony to the modern expressions of Mexican rap. However, this evolution is additive more than destructive, menaing that instead of replacing music style with another, Mexican music rather incorporates previous rhythms and styles into new ones. Although recently almost every young Mexican music artist chooses more modern musical styles as a way of expression, like Mexican gangster rap, the most widely known “product” of the Mexican music history is The Mariachi.
The Mariachi:
The term “Mariachi” comes from two of the many native languages of Mexico. Originally the word “Mariachi” was used to refer to a dance performed by a group of dancers on a wooden platform. This means that the Mexican term “Mariachi” was an equivalent to the Spanish term “Fandango”. Nowadays, however, Mariachi refers to a certain music style, and also to the band that plays that music. It originated in the region of Jalisco and ensembles traveled from town to town singing about very common subjects, mostly love. This caused the Mariachi style to spread throughout all Mexico, and soon it was the highest representative of the Mexican music. A typical Mariachi ensemble was formed by four or five guitars, a “guitarrón” (a sort of a large bass guitar), violins, some “vihuelas” (a kind of guitar with a round back), and a harp with 28 to 40 strings. In some regions of Mexico a small snare drum was commonly included into the ensemble. The typical arrangement of a Mariachi Mexican music ensemble has evolved through time, especially since the late 1930s. Today, a Mariachi ensemble is considered to be a complete folk orchestra, and its instruments include trumpets and violins as the melody group, and guitars, harp, guitarrón and vihuelas as the harmony group. Among the Mexican music played by Mariachis there are famous tunes like “La Bamba”, “Cielito Lindo”, “La Cucaracha” and the extensively known Mexican hat dance. The presence of Mariachis is almost a requirement on national celebrations as well of public parties and “fiestas”, which often feature two or three different bands that play different kinds of Mexican music.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yjJDv1IeF8I
Norteño
Another important music style is the traditional "norteno," or Northern tunes. Influenced by Bohemian immigrant miners, its rhythm was derived from the European polka dance popular during the 1800s. This musical genre was invented at the advent of the Germans to northern Mexico, during the 20s. The 'bajo sexto' (a 12 string guitar) and the accordion are the defining instruments of Norteño Norteño almost always has the accordion and bajo sexto as the lead instruments, with guitars serving as its roots. Norteño is mainly popular for the enticing aroma of its country music and its clean and steady rhythm.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=k87CKe9mZXw
Rock
Rock is referred to as 'rock nacional', meaning national rock. The world rock events have definitely inspired the Mexican rock artists. In the late 60's, the rock bands strictly had to organize underground events. The 'Woodstock Music and Art Fair' (Rock y Ruedas de Avándaro) was one festival where various groups used to display their talents. It was the time when Carlos Santana became hugely popular at the Woodstock. Rock is a very popular genre in Mexico. The 'Latin ska' movement began around the 80's. It was a movement inspired by the Jamaican ska which is a mixture of Caribbean mento, American jazz, Calypso music and R&B (Rhythm and blues). The Mexican rock was limited only to Latin America till as late as 90's. It is really a combination of its traditional music and its daily life stories.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC9oy7ZGLFI
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February 2012 March 2012

Behind the curtain... // 2012
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Early history of Mexico
The first inhabitants of the Americas are thought to have crossed the Bering Straits from Asia around 50,000 BC. The earliest evidence of human life in central Mexico dates from about 20,000 BC, and the first signs of civilization appear in about 1,500 BC. Olmec cities were built in the jungles of the Gulf coast.
Food
The staples of Mexican foods are typically corn and beans. Squash and chilli are also prominent in Mexican cuisine. Mexican cuisine is considered one of the most varied in the world, after Chinese and Indian. The most frequently used herbs and spices in Mexican cuisine are chiles, oregano, cilantro, epazote, cinnamon, and cocoa. Chipotle, a smoke-dried jalapeño chilli, is also common in Mexican cuisine. Many Mexican dishes also contain garlic and onions. Honey is an important ingredient in many Mexican dishes, such as the rosca de miel, a bundt-like cake, and in beverages such as balché.
Dance
Mexico has a long and rich tradition of dance. This includes the dances performed by the indigenous groups such as the Aztecs and Mayans, as well as dances brought by the Spanish and other Europeans beginning as early as the fifteenth century. The early Amerindian dances included ritual and secular dances. The many European dance influences included ballroom styles such as the waltz, the shottishe, and the polka. A famous traditional dance is Jarabe Tapatio. The Jarabe Tapatío dance in its standardized form was first choreographed by the Mexican, in the early twentieth century to celebrate a government-sponsored fiesta that commemorated the successful end of the Mexican Revolution. Since then, it has become a folk dance popular throughout Mexico and the Southwestern United States. It serves as a symbol of the national pride and honor of the Mexican people. The dance tells the story of love and courtship. It can be performed either by a couple or a group of couples. A charro, dressed in the traditional charro suit, a three-piece suit composed of a vest, jacket, and pants bearing silver buttons down the seam, makes initial courtship gestures to la china (wearing the traditional China Poblana outfit). It looks almost like a mariachi band's attire. They flirt throughout the beginning of the dance, during which time the man attempts to woo the woman with his zapateado (stamping and tapping) and his machismo. Just as he has impressed the woman, he becomes drunk with glory, and is shooed away as a borracho (an inebriate), but ultimately, he succeeds in conquering the china, throwing his hat to the ground and kicking his leg over his partner's head as she bends down to pick it up. The two do a triumphant march to a military tune called a diana, and the dance ends with a romantic turn or the couple hiding their faces behind the man's sombrero in a feigned kiss.
Education
The education in Mexico is good but not one of the best. This is because Mexico focuses more on its culture such as its Literature, Visual Arts, Cinema and media, Music, Cuisine and Sports. It offers education from nursery and pre-school to getting a Masters or a Doctorate.