Mariachi and a Beluga Whale

Title: Unkown Mariachi Tune 
Performers: Mariachi Connecticut 
Instrumentation: Guitar, Violin and Trumpet
Origin: Mexico

 I believe that this ensemble does an excellent job at the re-creation of "world music." While reading Campbell's book this week, there was mention that there were certain musics of certain cultures that American Secondary Schools have proven themselves to perform properly. High school students are at the stage where they feel somewhat proficient in musical analysis, as well as the technique in their own individual instruments. "Mexican Mariachi" was one of the few cultures that was mentioned specifically. 

I really admire this video because the men and women performing in this Mariachi band are not all from the nation of Mexico, yet are still able to re-create the music of another country. I think that the band pays a lot of attention to performance authenticity. They do not alter any of the instrumentation from the original tunes. Which shows they took the time to make sure that whatever they are playing sounds most like the original piece itself. They also try to dress the part by wearing outfits that are an accurate representation of the Mariachi culture. 

I think this video would be a perfect video to show a high school ensemble to get them excited to participate in a "non-traditional" ensemble outside of the classroom. For starters, the result of the dancing whale in this video is quite amusing to me. I know that if I showed this to any type of secondary ensemble, they would find this video just as funny as I do. This might inspire students to start a Mariachi ensemble of their own. This video is a perfect representation that you do not have to have organized concert performances to have a successful ensemble. This Mariachi band clearly just went to the aquarium one day, started playing and as a result had a rewarding musical experience in the process. Additionally the instruments of the Mariachi ensemble are not particularly hard to obtain. In fact, many of them are already primary instruments of those living in the United States. The only thing left that the ensemble would need is some outfits that complimented to Mariachi players of the Mexican culture. 

This is just one of the many cultures that could be studied in any type of music classroom. Campbell discussed making music into smaller units and breaking down the detail of one specific culture. A great project for the culture of Mariachi would be to have a small unit on the history and culture of Mariachi and then create your own Mariachi ensemble. The ensemble does not have to go perform in elite competitions to have an understanding of the Mexican Mariachi culture. That is the beauty of studying music for the culture, and not the concert. Once you create a small ensemble of your own, that's all the learning and you needed to do achieve some success. You may even get a whale to dance in the process.