Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlan

Few musical projects have a history as long and deep as Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, a Mexican mariachi group that first formed back in 1897 and continued playing music through the decades with a revolving roster of members. It was formed by Don Gaspar Vargas and Manuel Mendoza in Tecalitlan, Mexico. In 1931, Gaspar Vargas gave leadership of the group to his son Silvestre. In 1934, the band won a music competition in Mexico City, attracting the attention of President Lázaro Cárdenas who hired them as the official mariachi of the Mexico City Police Department. Through the following decades, the group appeared in over 200 films, released dozens of records, and collaborated with Linda Ronstadt on a Grammy-winning album Canciones de Mi Padre. Now in its fifth generation and under the musical leadership of Carlos Martínez Arreguín, the group has continued spreading the sound of mariachi music through widely acclaimed tours all around the world. In 2021, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán collaborated with Sinaloan singer and guitarist Danny Félix on the single “Mariachi Tumbado,” which brought together the tumbado music style with mariachi.