MARIACHI MUSIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR CULTURE

Thousands of parade goers paying homage to Rex, King of the Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras had a polarizing focus in New Orleans and Mobile they say in New Orleans: ‘‘Laissez les bon temps rouler.’’ Let the due to its segregation and class participation. From the beginning, good times roll. anyone could stand along the parade route, shout ‘‘throw me some- thing mister,’’ and gather doubloons (those prized aluminum disks —Sue Walker with the insignia of the krewe etched upon one side and the theme on FURTHER READING: the other) or ‘‘moon pies,’’ the marshmallow cookies frequently tossed from floats in Mobile. However, a distinction exists between Bagert, Brod and Charlie Smith. Thros Me Somethin’ Mistuh: The those who ride the floats and those who lead the balls, between the Mardi Gras Book. New Orleans, Juliahouse, 1995. King, Queen, maids, and dukes who dispense the trinkets and those Barnes, Judy, J. O. Lane Edwards, Caroline Lee Goodloe, and Laurel who stand on the streets waiting to catch the ‘‘throws’’—the beads, Wilson. Coasting Through Mardi Gras. Point Clear, Alabama, plastic cups, doubloons, and toys. Coasting, 1995. It may be said that the conservatism associated with Mardi Gras Schindler, Henri. Mardi Gras: New Orleans. Paris, New York, 1997. has been detrimental to progress. The expense of time, money, and energy involved in partying and revelry might be spent in more constructive ways, in spite of the fact that Carnival promotes the tourist industry and thus the local economy. Mariachi Music In fact, Mardi Gras has created the ultimate anti-establishment irony, in which a King of Mirth becomes elevated to the establishment Since its beginnings, mariachi music has been the music of the whereby the eligible daughters of upper society leaders are presented countryside and its inhabitants—a much-loved local and regional at a coming-out ceremony. In spite of such pseudo—royal shenani- musical genre. But by the late twentieth century this changed, as gans, Mardi Gras actualizes a shared experience of joy. It brings mariachi music became a significant force in U.S. popular culture. It people together to experience a time of mystery and magic—and that influenced the Tejano music that arose in the United States and helped is perhaps why it has become one of the greatest parties on earth. As to solidify the latter as a serious contender in the American music

270 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR CULTURE MARIACHI MUSIC scene. Mariachi music infiltrated into American ceremonies and to having European connections. Nevertheless, European instruments rituals such as weddings, masses, birthdays, and other festive events were adopted by the natives, and despite the ambiguity of the origins that celebrate a rite of passage. Numerous American women of of mariachi music, one thing is clear—it was a brand of music that Hispanic descent have joined mariachi groups, in effect keeping alive was created by and for the people of the rural areas of Mexico. this Mexican tradition in the United States. As a result, Americans The mariachi group as it has been known in the mid- to late- have become aware of Mexican cultural identities and rural traditions twentieth century, then, began in Jalisco in the nineteenth century. that mesh with those indigenous to the United States. Mariachi music But the genre came into its own and penetrated into American popular conveys stories with which people readily identify. It highlights great culture during the 1950s, when mariachi groups became a kind of moments in peoples’ lives through songs dealing with the rites of musical orchestra with their own recordings and films. These groups courtship, rural life and its people, animals, plants, and other acquired new musical tastes and styles while, at the same time, interesting themes. retaining their traditional base of support—though they gained new Popular folk belief has it that mariachi music originated in ones in the process, especially in the United States. Tejano music Mexico in the nineteenth century. Specifically, people have argued became very popular in the United States in the late twentieth century, that it was born in the Mexican state of Jalisco during the ill-fated and the music of the mariachi had much to do with that success. reign of the Emperor Maximilian, a Frenchman, in the 1860s. There Popular Tejano singers, like Selena, utilized the beautiful harmony of has always been some dispute regarding the origin of the word mariachi music. Mariachis also influenced the Catholic Church in the mariachi. According to legend mariachi is a variation of the French United States, specifically the Sunday Mass. Many Spanish masses in word ‘‘mariage,’’ which means ‘‘wedding.’’ This was how many the United States have incorporated mariachis into their Sunday people believe the tradition of mariachis playing at weddings began. rituals, lending a new musical taste to the way Mass is conducted in This line of thinking insists that mariachi was a term coined by the the American Catholic Church. French themselves after watching the musicians perform at weddings. A parallel development has been the number of American A more accurate scholarly argument maintains that the word mariachi women involved in mariachi music. American women of Hispanic and the music associated with it has roots in Mexico itself as opposed descent have increasingly become a part of mariachi groups since the

The Colombian Mariachi group Juvenil Mexico play Mexican folk music in Guadalajara, Mexico, 1998.

271 MARICHAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR CULTURE mid-twentieth century. Women are considered to be on the same Marichal, Juan. A Pitcher’s Story. Garden City, New York, Doubleday musical footing with men with regard to their playing, singing, and Publishers, 1967. dancing, and in their overall dedication to express Mexican and American folk traditions through the medium of music. Mariachis have performed at many American festive occasions, including weddings, masses, concerts with symphony orchestras, fiestas (par- Marie, Rose (1923—) ties), and even funerals. The musical interests of the mariachis have expanded to include both classical and popular music. Singer and actress Rose Marie has entered the canon of popular Because of the growth of mariachi music Americans have grown entertainers as something of a cultural phenomenon. She flourished in both aware and appreciative of it and its themes. The stories told by two distinct, widely separated bursts of national popularity, but what the mariachis in their music have encouraged Americans of both set her apart was the sheer longevity of a professional career that Hispanic and non-Hispanic descent to look at the simpler things in life began in earliest childhood. Born Rose Marie Mazetta in New York and enjoy them while they last. Indeed, the music of the mariachi has City on August 15, 1923, she began performing on radio when she had a positive impact not only on the musical arena of the United was three years old, billed as ‘‘Baby Rose Marie,’’ singer of current States, but also the religious and social arena as well. The music and popular songs. She sang and danced in a number of film shorts, lyrics are simple but contain clear-cut depictions of rural life and all including Baby Rose Marie, the Child Wonder, in 1929, and contin- the symbols, pleasures, trials, and tribulations that come with that ued on her popular radio show into the early 1930s. Later, she lifestyle. Perhaps it is those themes that best reflect what both appeared occasionally in Broadway revues, which included Top Mexicans and Americans long to have—an understanding of the land, Banana with Phil Silvers in 1951. She did some guest shots on nature, and most importantly, love. All these themes will continue to television in the 1940s and 1950s, and was featured in the television program My Sister Eileen in 1960. From 1961 to 1966 she starred on be represented as long as the mariachi remains dedicated to represent- the Dick Van Dyke Show as Sally Rogers; this beloved character was a ing Mexico’s fascinating cultural heritage and sharing it with, and in wisecracking, husband-hunting comedy writer, loosely based on the the process enriching, America’s popular culture. real-life, caustically witty comedy writer Selma Diamond. The role —David Trevino garnered three Emmy Award nominations for Rose Marie, who went on to play Myrna Gibbons on the Doris Day Show from 1969-1971, and appeared regularly on the Hollywood Squares game show for FURTHER READING: several years in the 1970s. Harpole, Patricia W., and Mark Fogelquist. Los Mariachis!: An Introduction to Mexican Mariachi Music. Danbury, Connecticut, —James R. Belpedio World Music Press, 1989. FURTHER READING: Jauregui, Jesus. El Mariachi: Simbolo Musical de Mexico. Mexico, Banpais, 1990. Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present. 6th Ed. New Rafael, Hermes. Origen y Historia del Mariachi. Mexico, Katun, 1983. York, Ballantine Books, 1995.

Marichal, Juan (1937—) Marijuana

Known for his unorthodox pitching motion and his immaculate Historically used as a renewable resource and a treatment for control, Juan Marichal won more baseball games in the 1960s (191) both minor and terminal illnesses, cannabis (variously called mari- than any other pitcher. The ‘‘Dominican Dandy’’ spent 14 of his 16 huana, marijuana, or hemp) was the harbinger of a contradictory seasons with the San Francisco Giants, accumulating six 20 win attitude in the United States toward controlled substances. This seasons and throwing a no-hitter in 1963. Despite his efforts, he never pervasive weed can be smoked or eaten as a mild intoxicant, and has won a Cy Young award. Marichal’s success did, however, clear the become the third most popular recreational drug after alcohol and path into major league baseball for other Latin American players and tobacco. Marijuana was once an integral part of early American he remains influential in Dominican Republic baseball in the late agrarian society, but advances in synthetic manufacturing eliminated 1990s. Marichal was also the all-time leader in wins by a Latin its industrial applications and threatened its highly-debated medicinal American pitcher (243) until Dennis Martinez eclipsed his record in use as well. Modern physicians are intrigued by marijuana’s efficacy, 1998. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. but a wave of drug hysteria that started in the 1930s effectively negated the drug’s positive reputation. Despite their checkered histo- —Nathan R. Meyer ry, hemp and marijuana remain important aspects of American popular culture. Cannabis generally grows in two forms: hemp and marijuana, FURTHER READING: the former producing more oil and fiber, the latter producing more of Devaney, John. Juan Marichal, Mister Strike. New York, Putnam the intoxicating resin whose active ingredient (among 460 other Publishers, 1970. compounds) is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. One of the oldest

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