Mariachi is a traditional Mexican music and a fundamental element of Mexican culture. Traditional Mariachi groups, made up of two or more members, wear regional costumes adapted from the charro costume and interpret a broad repertoire of songs on stringed instruments.

The most important group in the history of mariachi music is Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, founded in 1898 by Gaspar Vargas in Tecalitlán, Jalisco. In the 1930s, its leadership was taken over by his son, Silvestre Vargas, considered the greatest mariachi organizer and visionary of all time.

The mariachi orchestra emerged in the late 1700s or early 1800s in west-central Mexico. The word mariachi may have come from the now-extinct language of the Coca Indians, but both the word's etymology and the early history of the form and its followers are unknown.

Mariachi music is unique in its ability to incorporate different musical traditions while remaining closely associated with mestizo Mexican identities. It has become one of the most salient symbols that people associate with Mexican culture.