Mexican: Whats Mariachi and Banda?

Traditional Mexican music can often be defined by the types of ensembles or bands who perform it. Common traditional ensemble types include

Mariachi
Mariachi bands are perhaps the best known traditional ensemble. They are the international face of traditional Mexican music. Mariachi bands originated in the Mexican region of Jalisco in the mid-1800s and were originally, in essence, wedding bands. The popularity of Mariachi ensembles spread quickly throughout Mexico. In 1907, Mariachis began earning an international reputation when the Mexican government chose a Mariachi band to perform for the visiting US Secretary of State.

The golden age of Mariachi music was the 1950s, when the bands were featured in a number of movies. Though Mariachi has never again met those heights, the bands remain internationally popular. Mariachis typically play a number of different traditional genres, including ranchera, polka and corrido.

The video below is an example of mariachi music featuring the singer Luis Miguel, you'll see a huge amount of people behind playing, that's the Mariachi. 

Banda
Banda can refer to a type of ensemble and a genre of music. Bandas are brass band collectives featuring brass, percussion and woodwind instruments. Banda ensembles were once a regional phenomenon. They appeared in Sinaloa in the 1880s and were extremely popular with the influx of Germans who moved into the region during that time. In the early 1900s, however, Bandas' influence spread all over Mexico as well over the border into Texas. This is an example below: 

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