El Mariachi Flores: Brothers in Harmony

With El Mariachi Flores, mariachi folk music is as traditional as it gets for the Philadelphia area.

"I'm the youngest, and we all came together little by little," said Ernesto Flores, of Douglassville, on Friday during a break from the family band performance at Lansdale First Friday. "We are all brothers, so we've been together for the last 25 years. I've been doing it for longer."

The sextet El Mariachi Flores , complete with vihuela and guitarron, singing tunes in many styles, from bolero (romantic) to son jaliscense (aggressive).

While the brothers' roots are in Mexico City, Mexico, they now live locally in towns like Wyndmoor, Upper Darby and Media. At least one brother lives in New Jersey, Flores said.  

"We do what people ask us for," said Flores. "We'll walk around. We don't mind. We usually don't need microphones to play."  

Mariachi, Flores said, comes in many versions. The most well known mariachi version came from a time when poor Mexicans would play and sing for the rich upper class at events like weddings, Flores said.

"Little by little, it got bigger and bigger," he said. 

Musical styles also run the gamut for El Mariachi Flores.

"It's musica ranchera," Flores said. "As mariachi, we play everything: romantic music, classical, we play for women, for men, salsa, merengue. It's becoming an international music."

No matter what it's called, its tune is always the same—happy.

"We have to be happy," laughed Flores. "You have to love what you do. We are Mexicans, but even the people that don't know how to sing (in Spanish) enjoy the music."

Check out El Mariachi Flores online at its MySpace music page.