Various - Mariachi Tapatio

jos marmolejo was called "el hombre de la eterna sonrisa"(the man with the eternal smile). he was well liked and was considered by many the ideal group leader. under jos mariachi tapato became mexico's premiere mariachi from the mid-1930's to the mid-1940's and one of the most popular groups in the history of mariachi music.jos marmolejo ramrez was born in tecolotlan, jalisco, in 1908, son of cosme marmolejo and mara del carmen ramrez. jos's father played trombone and other brass instruments; his uncle, cirilo, played vihuela and guitarron. in 1922, jos journeyed from tecolotln to the nation's capital in search of his uncle, who took him under his wing. in 1933 mariachi coculense performed at the chicago worlds fair. after this trip jos left his uncle's group to organize his own ensemble which would be know as "mariachi tapato de jos marmolejo". a tapato is a person from the state of jalisco. many of the groups early recordings bear the slogan "el autntico".during the 1920 and 1030s mariachi groups had a very difficult time making a living. this is where patrons came into the picture. tapato's patron was eusebio acosta velazco the wealthy owner of the autobuses de occidente bus line. when the group would play in the patron's home town of molango, hidalgo he would not ask them how much they charged, he would just hand them a giant roll of bills.many mariachi musicians still remember jos marmolejo's single-story tenement at 39 manuel doblado street about 10 blocks east of mexico city's plaza garibaldi, where the group rehearsed daily during the 1930s and '40s. great future singers could be seen rehearsing with the group: jorge negrete, pedro infante and vicente fernndez.musically, the group was far ahead of its time. in the early years it was very difficult to find mariachi musicians that had any formal training what so ever. but, mariachi tapato had many performers that read music and two of the members were accomplished maestros who knew music theory.there are many controversies as to when the trumpet became a part of the mariachi band. but, mariachi tapato featured trumpet from its inception. jess salazar was the greatest of the early mariachi trumpet players and can be called the "father" of the mariachi trumpet.it was jos's laid back attitude that was the downfall of this early beacon of mariachi music. he did not discipline his members for missing rehearsals or chambas.in 1958 jos marmolejo died. a series of tapato members continued the group for the next few years. in 1968 the group disbanded permanently.