# Does anyone actually \*like\* mariachi music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 3, 2011, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290 "2011-08-03T05:44:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/1 "2011-08-03T05:44:27Z")
If so, why? What person sits in a restaurant, enjoying conversations with friends and family, all while secretly thinking, “You know what would make this moment complete? A deafening trumpet blast, right in my ear.” I can take or leave most mariachi music at a distance, or at an outdoor festival, but an indoor trumpet, in a setting where people are trying to talk? Really? Someone explain to me why mariachi bands exist. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/2 "2011-08-03T07:59:05Z")
If only there were a country somewhere, where people play and enjoy ethnic music, and if said style of music also came from said country… That said, there is a group, “Mariachi El Bronx” who does a contemporary English version of it. I like that ok, but not so much the stereo blasting kind. BTW, this band normally just play hardcore punk (under the name “the Bronx”). ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/3 "2011-08-03T08:11:00Z")
indoors, the band usually contents itself with just strings. with brass instruments, it’s no more noisy than your night club jazz players. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/4 "2011-08-03T08:43:59Z")
Oh, and there are other genres of similar Mexican music, like norteño, which will sound similar to my ears, but I’m sure there are subtle differences in instrumentation, etc. So what you hear as mariachi may be something else. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/5 "2011-08-03T12:06:34Z")
I love _good_ Mariachi music. The band in one long-ago all-night Mexican place in Houston kept the trumpet player stuck in a corner, to avoid blasting out diners’ ears. For wandering minstrels in Mexican restaurants, I prefer the trio style, with guitars & romantic harmonies. Mariachis fit better in a really big place where much tequila is drunk & the people are happy to be there. (Let me guess–you don’t care for Mexican/Tex-Mex food, either.) Your profile says you live in San Antonio. Tough. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/6 "2011-08-03T13:18:36Z")
Went to a wedding a few weeks ago. The grooms side was a big traditional Mexican family. They had Mariachi music and it was just great! What fun it was. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/7 "2011-08-03T14:50:31Z")
One of my best memories from 35 years ago is sitting near Lake Amatitlan in Guatemala, eating boiled shrimp, drinking Cabro, watching the young women frolic, and paying a mariachi band a few bucks to play everything they knew. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/8 "2011-08-03T14:56:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Your profile says you live in San Antonio. I’m with Bridget. You need to have another Margarita and chill out. Consider yourself lucky that you don’t live in some culturally deprived part of the country. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/9 "2011-08-03T15:04:50Z")
Avoid making eye contact at all cost. Some are fine as long as they are not serenading to me or us. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/10 "2011-08-03T15:05:19Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > If only there were a country somewhere, where people play and enjoy ethnic music, and if said style of music also came from said country… > > That said, there is a group, “Mariachi El Bronx” who does a contemporary English version of it. I like that ok, but not so much the stereo blasting kind. BTW, this band normally just play hardcore punk (under the name “the Bronx”). I heard a story on this earlier in the week and I was surprised how much I adored the music. It made me want to hear more! ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/11 "2011-08-03T16:12:14Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > Someone explain to me why mariachi bands exist. Why, for the [beluga whales,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS_6-IwMPjM&feature=youtu.be) of course! ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/12 "2011-08-03T16:16:20Z")
[This song,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGa_YucOmBE) which was performed on _Breaking Bad,_ is just too awesome for words. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/13 "2011-08-03T16:35:44Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > [This song,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGa_YucOmBE) which was performed on _Breaking Bad,_ is just too awesome for words. Just to nitpick, that is a [narcocorrido](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcocorrido), and not something you would hear your typical Mariachi band play in a San Antonio mexican restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/14 "2011-08-03T16:53:41Z")
Not normally, but a few years ago I heard a great one in Santa Fe. The fact that they were outside helped quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/15 "2011-08-03T17:02:41Z")
In the right setting, with a good group, mariachi music can’t be beat. It’s not something that I want to hear constantly, but I enjoy it in small doses. In fact, I’m going to a little Mexican restaurant tonight specifically because they’ll be having a trio of musicians wandering around the place. They play more country than traditional Mexican tunes, and generally I don’t like country, but they’re good. Again, it’s not something that I want to hear all the time, but every now and then… I miss San Antonio. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/16 "2011-08-03T17:08:48Z")
I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/17 "2011-08-03T17:18:16Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > I’m with Bridget. You need to have another Margarita and chill out. Consider yourself lucky that you don’t live in some culturally deprived part of the country. Yup, from San Antonio. If I lived in Ohio, I doubt I’d have an issue with mariachi music one way or another. I love the culture of my city. I like Tejano music just fine. I just don’t happen to love showing up to a restaurant, only to have all hopes of good dinner conversation drown out by trumpet playing three feet away. And I can’t imagine why anyone would enjoy that. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/18 "2011-08-03T17:22:37Z")
I like it too. Good mariachi music is full of energy and fun. My favorite song is Juan Colorado. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/19 "2011-08-03T17:46:47Z")
I can’t stand it. Growing up in California I heard it all the time. I’m told that in Mexico once you get into the cities no one listens to that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/20 "2011-08-03T18:06:58Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > I love the culture of my city. I like Tejano music just fine. I just don’t happen to love showing up to a restaurant, only to have all hopes of good dinner conversation drown out by trumpet playing three feet away. And I can’t imagine why anyone would enjoy that. Tell them that it is your birthday, maybe they’ll leave you alone then. (Not!) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290.md?page=2)