# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/21 "2011-08-03T18:19:17Z")
Our good friend is from Mexico and he enjoys mariachi music a lot. I don’t, but I’ve never heard anything besides the loud restaurant stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/22 "2011-08-03T18:59:17Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I’m told that in Mexico once you get into the cities no one listens to that stuff. That’s enough to make me want to move to Mexico to get away from that shit. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/23 "2011-08-03T19:30:45Z")
I didn’t care about it either way untill I got to college. Every year on May 5th we were taking exams, and there would be a mariachi band playing under the open windows. Now I hate all forms of mariachi music. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/24 "2011-08-04T01:18:29Z")
My mom was from Mexico and she loved mariachi music. I grew up listening to that awful shit and I can’t stand it. I never cared for Mexican food either. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/25 "2011-08-04T01:34:39Z")
Fine, you say you like it. But honestly…is it on your iPod? Do you own CD’s of it and listen to it of an evening? I like polka music, too…but not on my iPod, not something I’d pay money to own! Great fun at weddings and festivals…but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/26 "2011-08-04T01:44:26Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > 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. Mariachi and norteno are actually quite, quite different. There’s not much “subtle” about it. If you mean, “they both have lyrics in Spanish and originated in Mexico” … well yeah. But just read the wikipedia articles on the two forms for a start. As for the OP. Well … does anyone really _like_ rap? Does anyone really _like_ polka? Be-bop? Phillip Glass? Viennese waltzes? You can take this question in any direction and display cultural idiocy disguised as superiority. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/27 "2011-08-04T04:37:20Z")
> [@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”). Came in here to mention them. I never heard of them until NPR mentioned them last week, but I did like their mariachi. I live in a very latino-oriented area, and my husband, who is only half-latin and resents people assuming he loves mariachi, really HATES mariachi. But I’m thinking he might like the Bronx version. ---
**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 4, 2011, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/28 "2011-08-04T12:32:23Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > 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. Next time you’re going out for dinner, suggest a quieter venue. It’s been too long since my last visit to San Antonio, but I seem to remember _many_ mariachi-free restaurants. Do your companions prefer loud, festive places over quiet conversation? Maybe you need to find some different companions. Somebody else asked whether anybody here actually listened to mariachi music. I’ve got a few by [Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan](http://www.arhoolie.com/mexican-regional-tejano/mariachi-vargas-de-tecalitl.html), billed as “the best” mariachi group by their record company long ago; however, they’ve lived up to the hype. (That link goes to Arhoolie Records–where you can find a wealth of Mexican/Tejano music among the other rootsy stuff.) [Los Arrieros](http://www.losarrieros.com/) blew me away at a recent Houston International Festival. In my neighborhood, [Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts](http://www.meca-houston.org/) has a fine, spirited young mariachi. (Warning–link plays music.) My late Mom & I saw Linda Ronstadt’s\* Canciones de Mi Padre\* years ago; we both loved the show. Then there’s conjunto, Norteno, banda (oom-pah on acid), the romantic trios & all the tropical styles. Or modern stuff like Cafe Tacuba, who appeared at our International Festival years ago & kicked off Rock en Espanol in Houston. Or go way down south for some tango… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/29 "2011-08-04T12:51:52Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Fine, you say you like it. But honestly…is it on your iPod? Do you own CD’s of it and listen to it of an evening? I like polka music, too…but not on my iPod, not something I’d pay money to own! Great fun at weddings and festivals…but that’s about it. Exactly. Add to this Caribbean Steel Drum music. Awesome at weddings, great fun when you’re drinking, but not something I’m likely to put on my playlist. That beluga has good taste, though. That piece is gentle enough that I might actually enjoy it for its own sake, not because it reminds me of tequila. ---
**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 4, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/30 "2011-08-04T14:36:57Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Next time you’re going out for dinner, suggest a quieter venue. It’s been too long since my last visit to San Antonio, but I seem to remember _many_ mariachi-free restaurants. Do your companions prefer loud, festive places over quiet conversation? Maybe you need to find some different companions. One of my favorite places happens to be a mariachi crap shoot - on any given day of the week, they _might_ be playing. I had just gotten back from dinner there when I posted. For the most part, though, I don’t encounter mariachis on a regular basis. La Fogata always seems to have them, though, and I happen to really like them. Good, authentic Mexican food (not just Tex Mex), but no way to enjoy a good conversation. I might go there if I wanted a tasty meal with someone I didn’t particularly like. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/31 "2011-08-04T14:44:23Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > 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. I like it a lot. But in a restaurant it makes me want to kill. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/32 "2011-08-04T14:55:54Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Fine, you say you like it. But honestly…is it on your iPod? If I had an iPod, it would be. > [@kittenblue](#): > > Do you own CD’s of it and listen to it of an evening? Yes. . ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/33 "2011-08-04T15:40:56Z")
> [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > Mariachi and norteno are actually quite, quite different. There’s not much “subtle” about it. If you mean, “they both have lyrics in Spanish and originated in Mexico” … well yeah. But just read the wikipedia articles on the two forms for a start. Not only that, but mariachi alone is a pretty vague and general term. The OP is like asking, “Does anyone actually _like_ country music?” Moreover, the OPs problem seem to be that s/he is familiar with this music only in one particular context, namely restaurants where someone is coming up to your table to play. (As opposed to, say, on a [French TV show](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_Gt7f_Qg6E), or [a bolero with Linda Ronstadt in concert](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7nhke_lola-beltran-and-linda-ronstadt-hay_music).) Should I hate saxophone music just because of the guy in the subway who plays one for spare change when I’m trying to read the newspaper? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/34 "2011-08-04T15:44:36Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > If I had an iPod, it would be. > > Yes. > > . I have some music of this genre on my phone (sorry, not an iphone). The fact is that a lot of mariachi is just bad, or unremarkable, but you can say that about the vast majority musical genres, such as punk and rap, too. (Which I have on my phone as well.) But the good stuff is, well, good. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/35 "2011-08-05T05:36:01Z")
The live stuff is nice. I used to specifically go to my local Mexican restaurant on Friday nights, just to hear the band. Though I will admit you cannot actually have a conversation while they are playing. Far more annoying was what was on the TVs. They apparently exist only for the workers and the few people who actually speak Spanish. And I never understood the wisdom of showing the more scantily clad women at a place in the Bible belt. The only reason we still go (now that the band is gone) is that it is the cheapest [non-fast] food in town. ---
**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 5, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/36 "2011-08-05T13:30:56Z")
> [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > As for the OP. Well … does anyone really _like_ rap? Does anyone really _like_ polka? Be-bop? Phillip Glass? Viennese waltzes? You can take this question in any direction and display cultural idiocy disguised as superiority. In what way am I displaying cultural idiocy, and in what way am I acting superior? Because I don’t like one tiny aspect of a particular culture? Or did you take me literally when I asked if anyone actually likes mariachi music? Of _course_ I know some people out there must like it, or it wouldn’t exist. My question was why, as I can’t see the appeal of an indoor trumpet played at close range. I honestly would like you to answer my first question. Your post was pretty insulting. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/37 "2011-08-06T02:08:00Z")
> [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > As for the OP. Well … does anyone really _like_ rap? Does anyone really _like_ polka? Be-bop? Phillip Glass? Viennese waltzes? You can take this question in any direction and display cultural idiocy disguised as superiority. > [@Small\_Hen](#): > > In what way am I displaying cultural idiocy, and in what way am I acting superior? Because I don’t like one tiny aspect of a particular culture? Or did you take me literally when I asked if anyone actually likes mariachi music? Of _course_ I know some people out there must like it, or it wouldn’t exist. My question was why, as I can’t see the appeal of an indoor trumpet played at close range. I honestly would like you to answer my first question. Your post was pretty insulting. I think the thread title might unintentionally suggest a different tone than you intended. I know it raised my hackles for a second or two, but the content of your OP didn’t bother me at all. HOWEVER, and for whatever it’s worth, Claire’s (quoted) remark is exactly what I refrained from saying to a _different_ poster in this thread, whose comments were posted before Claire’s. Until I went back and checked who wrote what, I was certain that Claire’s remarks were directed at that other poster. . . ---
**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 6, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/38 "2011-08-06T03:31:31Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I think the thread title might unintentionally suggest a different tone than you intended. I know it raised my hackles for a second or two, but the content of your OP didn’t bother me at all. > > HOWEVER, and for whatever it’s worth, Claire’s (quoted) remark is exactly what I refrained from saying to a _different_ poster in this thread, whose comments were posted before Claire’s. Until I went back and checked who wrote what, I was certain that Claire’s remarks were directed at that other poster. > > . In that case, sorry for any unintentional offense. I actually don’t hate mariachi _music_ (I wouldn’t call myself a fan, but it’s alright), I mainly just hate it played next to my table at full blast when I’m trying to have a conversations, which is basically any time I’m in a restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/39 "2011-08-06T04:57:46Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > 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. Love mariachi, wouldn’t care for it blasted into my ears while trying to enjoy a meal. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290/40 "2011-08-06T05:05:36Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > … I actually don’t hate mariachi _music_ (I wouldn’t call myself a fan, but it’s alright), I mainly just hate it played next to my table at full blast when I’m trying to have a conversations, which is basically any time I’m in a restaurant. I think all of this was perfectly clear in the OP. . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-mariachi-music/591290.md?page=3)