«We’re taking the reins.» With their guitarrones and embroidered dresses, women mariachis are gaining ground in this iconic Mexican music tradition—one long dominated by men.
Mariachi music, recognized by UNESCO in 2011 as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is typically performed by male bands dressed in charro suits and wide-brimmed hats. These groups play classics like Cielito Lindo and Volver, Volver.
But for some time now, more all-women mariachi groups have been emerging, determined to show their passion for the music and break longstanding gender stereotypes.
At the Women Mariachi Festival of Europe, held this weekend in Paris, four female groups took the stage: Mexico’s Flor de Agave (Guadalajara) and Cielito Lindo (Durango), the UK’s Las Adelitas, and France’s Arrieras Somos.
“I feel there are very few women on stage, and I believed I needed to create a space for women in this genre,” said Alicia Leos, explaining why she founded Arrieras Somos in 2020, for which she is also the lead vocalist.
The Mexican entrepreneur, who has lived in Paris for two decades, is the organizer of the festival—the first of its kind in Europe, now in its second edition.
The British group Las Adelitas was created in 2013 by Anna Csergo who, like many female mariachis, previously performed in male bands.
“Sometimes it was difficult to have my own voice in those groups. I felt more like decoration than an actual voice,” recalls the Italian-Hungarian musician who lived in Mexico. That led her to found her own group—a pioneer in Europe.
“We Inspire”
Women mariachis, with their music and striking embroidered suits, “show that we’re taking the reins… that we have the strength,” says Csergo. “We inspire women by showing that you really can do whatever you want in life.”
According to Csergo, an all-female mariachi group works differently than male ensembles. “We make decisions more collectively; everyone is heard. If someone has an idea, a proposal, or a problem, it is taken into account.”
For sisters Esmeralda and Rubí Corona, both trumpeters, founding Flor de Agave in 2019 meant creating “a group entirely made up of women, led by women, guided only by women”—handling everything from artistic decisions to administrative tasks.
Musically, these groups adapt tonalities to female voices, perform classic mariachi repertoire, and also create their own original songs. In some cases, they rewrite lyrics to reflect feminist themes.
This is the case with the classic “Yo Soy el Aventurero,” originally about a carefree womanizer who warns parents to guard their daughters. Alicia Leos rewrote it to declare: “I am the ‘aventuarriera,’ and to the patriarchy I say: stop touching our daughters or I promise I will respond.”
She also transformed the traditional “sí, señor”—a frequent mariachi phrase—into “sí, señora.”
Although the boom in female mariachi groups may seem recent, it actually isn’t. Women mariachis existed as early as the early 20th century in Mexico City, explains Cándida Jáquez, ethnomusicology professor at Scripps College and collaborator in gender studies at Claremont University (California).
By mid-century, the first all-women groups such as Las Coronelas and Estrellas de México had already formed.
“What we know is that much of the history of female mariachi was completely erased—both in the U.S. and Mexico—and their stories were not told,” says Jáquez.
Fortunately, she adds, many researchers are now bringing this history to light through archival work and interviews. “That history is resurfacing, but it is still sometimes overlooked.”