Performing nationalism: mariachi, media and the transformation of a tradition (1920-1942)

This dissertation focuses on the development of mariachi as an ensemble and a repertory between 1920 and 1942 with particular attention to relationships with the Mexican and U.S. radio, recording and film industries. Mariachi, a music and dance tradition from Mexico’s western region was transformed during this period from a rural mestizo cultural expression to an international visual and sound symbol of national identity. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, the competing ideologies of hispanismo and indigenismo infused Mexican sociopolitical and cultural discourses with concepts of identity that reflected Spanish and Indigenous influences. In the postrevolutionary period, the government promoted a version of national identity based on the concept of mestizaje located within rural expressive culture. As regional musical traditions became central elements in the project of cultural nationalism, mariachi emerged as a marker of national identity and symbol of mexicanidad. With the movement of large populations to Mexico City in the mid 1920s, mariachi was integrated into urban social and cultural life. The activities of U.S. transnational record companies surged in the late 1920s and early 30s through alliances with radio stations and the creation of networks. Radio stations XEB and XEW were the main sources for broadcasting of Mexican popular music and radio shows were designed for the purpose of advertising U.S. consumer products. The creation of radio networks and increased record distribution effectively absorbed mariachi into processes for the media production of culture and “split” the ensemble from its traditional contexts and practices of performance. With the success of the comedia ranchera film genre in the late 1930s and early 40s, mariachi reached unimaginable heights of popularity. The singing charro, a symbol of machismo and virility, was embodied in the figures and voices of Tito Guízar and Jorge Negrete - icons of the genre. As a vehicle for the canción ranchera, the films of the “golden age” projected the image and sound of mexicanidad through processes of musical commodification associated with the contexts and conditions of the Mexican and U.S. transnational media industries.