If you’re a big fan of Mariachi music, you may be looking to find and hire one for a party, event, or ongoing restaurant gig. Here are a few tips regarding the process that will help your refine your process and make it happen.
- Search Locally and Online
You have a few options for seeking out mariachi bands locally, but they are mostly limited to Latinx cultural centers, Mexican restaurants, and festivals. Their presence is also largely dependent on your geographic area and the population that lives there. The most efficient option is to search online. While your search can be as simple as using a search engine like Google or Bing, you can also use alternative search methods. These would include scanning social media hashtags, looking on youtube, and looking into entertainment hiring apps. Pop bands like Mariachis Miami list themselves on apps like this, and hiring becomes streamlined for both the entertainers and the talent booker.
- Make Sure the Band is Authentic
One of the most important things about hiring a band playing a culturally significant style of music is to hire one that is approaching the art with research, respect, and authenticity. Mariachi has deep roots in Mexican culture. The style dates back to the 18th-century Mexican countryside and spread into metropolitan areas in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some techniques and styles that fall within the genre include rancheras, corridos, cumbias, and boleros.
Contemporary mariachi groups usually include up to eight violins, two trumpets, one guitar, a harp, a vihuela, a guitarrón, and the expectation that every member of the band can sing. The number of band members varies from group to group. There are companies dedicated solely to creating and selling clothing in the Mariachi style, and do so at a range of prices. Part of the effort of respecting Mariachi and Latinx culture is paying attention to the sartorial side of things and embodying them with grace and respect.
- Negotiations
Once you’ve found the mariachi band that you want to hire for the big event, the next step is to have either an online or in-person conversation to break down the terms of the agreement. You’ll want to make sure that the venue you’ve rented has all the required technical specs that the band needs to perform, and that they’ll have the equipment necessary to make the performance happen. You’ll also want a solid and contractual agreement about the expectations of the event. That is, how long they are to perform for, and the exact amount of payment. Be wary of vagueness when it comes to agreements and never rely on verbal contracts. Have everything ironed out before drawing up the contract.
Planning events and hiring talent can be a daunting task, especially in the post-Covid world when so many musicians are just setting their feet back into the waters of the performance world. Despite the complexities of hiring live talent, the time has never been better to hire a mariachi band. Everyone is eager to come out and celebrate. What better way to do that than by encouraging multiculturalism in music?