Mariachi bands are an integral part of any celebration in El Salvador. Hundreds of groups, like bands of minstrels from the middle ages, wander the streets in every city there in search of paying customers. These bands range from talented groups of highly skilled musicians to ragamuffin ensembles whose rough-tuned violins grate on the ear of any but the most elementary string player. Owning an instrument guarantees a place in the band, whether you can play it or not.

When touting for custom, a band will approach diners in a restaurant and play a few notes of a song. Prospective customers will either studiously ignore them, in which case they move on, or a price is agreed and the patron is regaled with the band's repertoire. El Salvadorians take their pleasures seriously and a family outing to a restaurant will often involve employing a mariachi band to enhance the festive atmosphere; so there are usually plenty of takers. Unfortunately territory is not sacred to these strolling players and it is not unusual to experience as many as four different groups playing in the same restaurant, each trying to outdo the other.

El Salvador is a traditional, family-orientated country and the young people carry on the customs of their parents. It is not uncommon for a young man to hire a mariachi band to play outside the house of a girl in whom he is interested. A rose is offered to the intended sweetheart while declarations of love are sung. If she accepts the rose it means that she agrees to go out with him; if she refuses he has no recourse but to try elsewhere.

Mariachi bands evolved in Mexico as a result of various cultural forces. During the 1600s the people of the region of Coccula, under the tutelage of Jesuit priests, combined the instruments of the Spanish conquerors - harp, violin and guitar - with their indigenous instruments such as the chirimia and wooden drum, and the mixing of these two cultures has survived until today.

The modern mariachi group began to develop around the middle of the 19th century and by the end of the 1800s had evolved a more sophisticated sound compared with the rustic music of yore. The original groups had consisted of a harp, two violins, a guitar, drums and flutes. The harp was gradually replaced with the guitarron, a very large guitar-like instrument with a bulbous belly in the back; more violins were added, and, by the turn of the century, a trumpet was usually included. Gradually the groups became larger so that they were more like strolling orchestras capable of playing all types of music, although today everything is underpinned by that irresistible rhythm of the Salsa or Meringue.

The best mariachi bands wear a traditional uniform, that of the horsemen from the region of Jalisco in Mexico, which is worn with a wide, decorated sombrero. The suit has a short jacket, snug trousers and a wide belt and is adorned with butonadura, ornamental buttons that are sewn down the sides of the trousers and on the sleeves. The suit is worn with short cowboy boots, a dress shirt and a large bow tie. In El Salvador such groups will only be seen in the best restaurants and at private parties where they are usually hired to play for the whole evening by the proprietor. The more commonly seen mariachi bands tend to wear a rather muted form of this uniform or just ordinary street clothes.

If you have the opportunity to dine out in El Salvador make sure you treat yourself to at least one mariachi band experience, especially if you are a woman: no matter how old and world weary you are, the band will serenade you as if you are a great beauty in the first flush of youth; an exhilarating and ego-building experience, definitely not to be missed. That's one occasion when machismo is considered acceptable - but not by the envious husband/boyfriend.