Prior to the 16th century, mariachi music was completely music of the people, according to Puro Mariachi. Groups played horns made from conch shells, clay and reed flutes, rattles and drums. The native Mexicans played these instruments not only for celebrations, but also for religious activities.
Explorer Hernando Cortes reached Mexico sometime in 1521, according to The Web Chronology Project. According to Puro Mariachi, once Cortes arrived in Mexico, the instruments available to Mexican musicians changed. Mariachi players used instruments such as the harp, guitar and violins in their groups, who played and sang primarily in Spanish theaters where dance was popular.
According to Puro Mariachi and MexConnect, mariachi began in the state of Jalisco, probably in Cocula. Groups from this area played and sang theater music, particularly son and jarabe. Because mariachi was folk music, however, each mariachi group developed individually outside of this region and thus had a slightly different arrangement and style until the early 20th century. Mariachi singers and players essentially were freelance workmen, so they wore the traditional workmen's clothes of a waist-length jacket, tight wool pants, straw hat and riding boots. They often embroidered these clothes elaborately and colorfully. Up to this point, most mariachi singers were men, according to New Mexico State University.
Puro Mariachi and MexConnect explain that, around 1930, mariachi music took a turn for the better when the group Mariachi Vargas went to Mexico City to play at the inauguration of President La Zaro Cardenas. Cardenas supported folk music, and as a result, mariachi music had more support than it had had previously. Mariachi singing and playing became more popular, and Mariachi Vargas served as an example by which other groups measured themselves. By the 1950s, changes in technology and film made it easier for mariachi music to spread, and mariachi groups started to sing with trumpets, a classical guitar and more violins.
As of 2010, mariachi singers and bands still perform at religious ceremonies, according to Puro Mariachi, MexConnect and New Mexico State University. They are popular at birthdays and festivals, and people even use them in courtships to woo their love interests. Mariachi groups have accepted women as vocalists, according to New Mexico State University, so contemporary groups have a larger repertoire than they did when men alone handled the singing. MexConnect reports that mariachi is still so popular that the Mexican people celebrate its origins in Jalisco every September.