English

Members of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán (third generation, 1950)

Adjective

mariachi ‎(not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to a traditional form of Mexican music, either sung or purely instrumental.
2. Of or pertaining to a band playing such music, or to the singers of such songs.

Noun

mariachi ‎(plural mariachis)

1. A traditional form of Mexican music, either sung or purely instrumental.
2. A group that plays mariachi music.
   • 2002, Leonor Xóchitl Pérez, 8: Transgressing the Taboo: A Chicana's Voice in the Mariachi World, Norma Elia Cantú, Olga Nájera-Ramírez (editors), Chicana Traditions: Continuity and Change, page 151,

     At her first performance with an all-male mariachi, the oldest member said to the musical director, […] (No! I've never played with a woman; I'm not going to start now [my translation]).

   • 2004, "Mariachi," entry in Cordelia Candelaria, Peter J. García, Arturo J. Aldama (editors), Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture, Volume 2, page 520,

     Today Plaza Garibaldi near the center of Mexico City is considered the home of mariachis, where mariachi musicians congregate in the plaza, waiting for patrons and tourists to audition them and invite them to perform. […] Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán has been considered the premier Mexican mariachi for nearly a century.

3. A member of such a group.
   • 1959, Tom Lehrer (music), “In Old Mexico”:

     The mariachis would serenade / and they would not shut up till they were paid.

Spanish

Alternative forms

• mariache (rare)

Etymology

In Mexican Spanish, from French mariage ‎(“marriage”), because such bands performed at wedding celebrations.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈɾja.tʃi/

Noun

mariachi m ‎(plural mariachis)

1. A traditional form of music from the Mexican state of Jalisco.
2. A mariachi band.
3. A musician in such a band.
4. (by extension, Mexico) An instrumental ensemble accompanying other types of popular Mexican dance and song.

Descendants

• English: mariachi