Mariachis in Quintana Roo Struggle as Tourist Numbers Drop

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The downturn in tourism has hit every sector in the state, and musicians are no exception. Mariachi bands that once found steady work at hotels are now struggling to land bookings, and they are finding few audiences along Quinta Avenida, the resort town’s landmark pedestrian strip.

Juan Carlos Masa, president of the organizing committee of the International Mariachi Festival in Quintana Roo, said his trade has survived this year mostly thanks to local residents.

“The reality is sad, with occupancy of 30 or 35 percent in the hotel zone, where several groups perform,” he said. “We don’t have the three or four days we used to have, and the groups that get one day at a hotel are few.”

If hotel work is scarce, he added, Quinta Avenida is worse — there are no longer enough tourists to make playing for tips worthwhile on the emblematic walkway.

A fourth-generation mariachi with 40 years in the profession, Masa said that amid this “tremendous crisis,” musicians are grateful to local residents for keeping their celebrations going and hiring live music for quinceañera parties, weddings, birthdays and serenades.

“That is how we survive, with the local population,” said the leader of Mariachi Santana, a group founded 125 years ago in Jalisco and now based in Playa del Carmen.

The most important date of the year for mariachis is approaching: Sept. 15, when hotels and restaurants reserve their services well in advance. Even in lean times, Masa said, the work will be there.

“After that, we’ll see how we survive,” he said.

The International Mariachi Festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Teatro de la Ciudad in Playa del Carmen, and on Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Teatro de la Ciudad in Cancún. Organizers describe the event as a counterpart to the festival held in Jalisco, featuring leading names in the genre, with the aim of promoting national identity.

“Mexican music may not be music for every day, but when there is an event about identity, everyone sings it, promotes it and asks for it,” Masa said.