Mariachi Is a Woman Who Has Rights

Mariachi music is indistinguishably linked as to being one of the national identities of Mexico. Although the image of the male wearing a fitted charro suit has become synonymous with this genre of music, this norm has been changing. In recent times, communities have seen the increase of non-traditional performers, most notably that of women. I know that for myself the image that comes into my head of when I think of Mariachi is that of a group of 5 or 6 male musicians.

This image of the male charro was put into question when I first saw Mariachi Reyna De Los Angeles perform at a popular Mexican restaurant called El Cielito Lindo. Seeing them sing with such sensitivity, warmth and a vivacious spirit, I understood why Mariachi is loved by many Mexicans. The sad truth is that it wasn’t until three year ago that I figured this out. But in reality, this demographic shift in Mariachi has been going on for over 100 years.

As noted by Ashley Gardner, “director of the Point Loma-based Women’s Museum of California…..” So to learn that, as early as 1903, a woman figured out how to follow her passion and play in a Mariachi group, was amazing. To see the evolution, and know that there are now over 30 women Mariachi groups in the U.S., is also amazing”(Varga, 2013).

Women’s participation in the world of Mariachi has modest beginnings and also has roots in family life. Furthermore, since Mexican women first pioneered the all female groups in Los Angeles, I have decided to mainly look at the area of California.

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In fact, outside of Mexico, Southern California as a whole is considered to be the world’s leading cultural areas for Mariachi. This can be concluded because there has been more and more information readily available, including sources from women in mariachi. Unfortunately, this documentation also shows a lack of respect for women in this professional field. Women have been constantly put in a disadvantage throughout history, so much so that it has only been a short 100 years since women got the right to vote. But as history seems to prove time and time again, no matter how much you oppress a group of people, the minority population will always get through it. This goes to show that although mariachi has a history of machismo, in this paper I will show that the rise of women in mariachi reflects their rising status in society.

Background

In order to look at the rising status of women in Mexican-American culture, we must first start in the beginning of how Mariachi started and values bestowed upon it. “In Mexico, the western state of Jalisco is popularly represented as the birthplace of Mariachi. An excessively circulated national symbol, performances and performers of mariachi embody two important tenets of Mexican nationalism: machismo and mestizaje. In addition, Jalisco is also famous for its beautiful women, known for their light skin and piety.”(Mulholland 2013:359).

When analysing Mexican culture, machismo is a term that is always brought up. “Machismo, itself, can be loosely translated as “the cult of the male.” In its essentials it is characterized by a display of sexual prowess, zest for action; including verbal action,daring, and, above all, absolute self-confidence.”(Basham 1976:127). Along with that came the inevitable dimension of mestizaje which is the “process of cross-cultural contact, and organizing opposition to ideologies of cultural and racial purity.”(Vivanco, 2018). It is part of human nature to be scared of the unknown. But it is proven that people who have experienced a wider cultural base tend to not feel threatened when they interact with someone from a different culture. This is the direction the people of Mexico started moving towards. This process was the catalysis which fueled the mixing of ideas between genders and cultures.

The idea of gender roles throughout cultures has always been in existence. Double standards, whether it is believing a man’s role is to financially provide to his family and that a woman’s role is stay home and raise the children, this idea has existed far before the inception of the United States. Maura Jennison-Obenshain, a master’s student at Arizona State University and a member of “Mariachi ASU”, shares her experience of how sexism is a factor that still continues to pledge the music industry. “As a trumpet player who also happens to be a woman, I have often experienced pushback from men, especially in competitive settings regarding such issues as chair placement.

I do recall one instance in college when a fellow trumpet player told me that as the first chair in the concert band, he thought I was not good enough to also play first part and “invited” me to move to second so his friend could play first with him.” (Jennison-Obenshain,2013). As for myself, being a male and being in the orchestra and concert band setting, I can recall instances of where I have been seen as the “alpha male”, regardless of my playing abilities. Furthermore, since the 1980s, orchestras have been taking a stand on the institutionalized sexism of the hiring process.

“To overcome possible biases in hiring, most orchestras revised their audition policies. A major change involved the use of blind’ auditions with a screen’ to conceal the identity of the candidate from the jury.”(Claudia Goldin & Cecilia Rouse, 1997). From this we can see the growing acceptance of women in music field is also linked to the growing number of women in Mariachi, but also linked to the growing number of women in other music professions. For too long, there has been a hierarchy that doesn’t take into account knowledge or ability but rather gender. In words of Gary Barker, “the international director of Promundo, an organization that engages men…on issues of gender equality… “You walk out the door in the morning with a penis and your income is 20 percent higher on average for nothing that you did.”(Weingarten, 2015). However, it is great to see that as a society, we are moving towards being more progressive by leveling the playing field among everyone.

But how did Mariachi make its way from Mexico to the United States? “Starting in the 1990s … the inclusion of women, even if only in passing, has been part of many, but not all discussions of Mariachi.” (Sheehy, 2006). These talks about Mariachi was mostly in part of the increasing of public schools offering Mariachi as an elective. “Hundreds of school districts across the United States…started offering some form of mariachi education program, according to mariachi expert Daniel Sheehy, director of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings in Washington, D.C.”(Sullivan, 2008).

But how was Mariachi able to succeed in an American culture that usually favors the traditional concert band and orchestra? ‘A huge number of the students in the mariachi program are young people who would not participate in band or orchestra or even sports,’ Trujillo says. ‘We appeal to a segment of the student population nobody else is reaching.'(Sullivan, 2008). As a result, Mariachi programs were able to flourish. It goes without saying that it wasn’t only the Mexican population that these Mariachi music programs were able to influence. America is commonly known as a “melting pot” which refers to the ability for the fusion of nationalities and cultures to occur. An example of this can be seen in the all-female Mariachi group “Flor De Toloache”, which has member from all nationalities including “a half cuban singer from Cuba, a half Italian and black flutist raised in Venezuela, and a guitarist from Argentina.”(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNdhCPQNQxI).

As beautifully stated by Mireya Ramos, a member of “Flor De Toloache” “If we all stayed in our lane all the time, [new ideas] wouldn’t come together and create something new. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlc23aWPRPc).

Interview

To more fully understand how a native-Mexican citizen sees Mariachi music, I decided to interview my own mother, Silvia Garcia. My mother was born in Zapata which is located in Veracruz, Mexico. She moved to the US at the age of 30. Sadly, because of her legal status, she has not been back to Mexico for over 20 years. As for myself, I have always felt out of place because I do not really identify as apart of American culture as well as felt a disconnection from my Mexican roots. This is where the saying “Ni De Aqui, Ni De Alla” (Neither Here nor There) applies so accurately for my life.

“Coming to the United States without knowing a single word of English was a especially hard and took a toll on both your dad and I. A part of me wanted you and your brother to be fully assimilated into the American culture. It was a different time back then and I do regret doing that. But at the end of the day, I just wanted to protect you and your brother. But now I think to myself and wonder if it’s too late to show you what I know about Mariachi.”(Garcia, 2018). By no means do I blame my mom because I do in fact see her reasoning. The United States has had a record of not welcoming immigrants, especially ones who did not fully speak English. After finishing the interview I reminisced about the time at the time I saw Mariachi Reyna De Los Angeles perform. And as a result, I plan research more about my roots as well as have more discussions with my family.

Seeing my mom’s perspective I wanted to see if she had an connections with Mariachi or even women in Mariachi. It came as a surprise to me when I found out that she in fact did since our family has always kept to ourselves. “Of course, it’s our music! In my little town of Zapata we did not have much access to Mariachi music, so every summer my family and I would have trips to Jalisco and seeing a Mariachi group would always be on our list. I will continue to cherish these moments because I shared these times with some people who are no longer here on this Earth. To me, Mariachi music does represent very happy times in my life.”(Garcia,2018). Through the phone I heard my mother’s voice light up.

Although this moment was a bit bittersweet after remembering that she had left everything behind in order to ensure that my brother and I would have a bright future ahead of us. This reminded me to appreciate every single thing that I have in my life, especially family. “When I was on a family trip in Jalisco. I was surprised to see there were women in Mariachi. I had always thought that it was a five men group. But seeing that woman play alongside with the men made me realize that I could do anything that I set my mind to.”(Garcia,2018). At a young age my mother had figured out empowerment which is commonly why I consider her my hero. But in a society where women are constantly being put down, it is no wonder why my mother decided to leave. “Even today, women are expected to stay in the kitchen. It wasn’t until I moved to the US that I got away from those attacks from people.”(Garcia,2018).

Conclusion

Women playing mariachi music was anything but the norm and as a result, challenged the status quo of machismo. Since the emergence of the feminist movement, there has been a slow but everlasting changes in how not only communities but how the whole world now sees Mariachi music. “Female mariachis situate themselves in the national landscape … by entering the mostnational of spaces, the performance of mariachi.” (Mulholland 2013:370). I find it interesting that an all-female group truly represents the assimilation into popular American culture. But the choice of them being a Mariachi group represents a connect to Mexico. Women are truly magical and powerful beings because they were able to not only challenge male privilege in Mariachi groups, but also were able to be mothers and the foundation for every family. This is why I admire groups such as Mariachi Reyna De Los Angeles. Because they are able to bring attention to this genre of music that is at times stereotyped to sound all the same. With their graceful yet robust voices, they are able to indicate that every aspect of Mariachi is worthy of high admiration and respect.

The mission of these all-female groups is to exonerate the character of women in Mariachi but also the genre as a whole. Furthermore, a growing number of women in a male-dominated profession also proves that they are more than able to not only make a decent living but also perform at a higher standard than men. This fact coincides and way well be a factor of the Women’s Suffrage movement and the modern feminist movement. Both the female charro and the modern Mexican woman, like my mother, are able to main their feminine all well competing with people who have oppressed them for years. This truly shows how women should be appreciated a lot more. I am grateful for this class because if it wasn’t for this, I may have never learned so much about my culture and roots.