The musicians looking for work at the city's famed Mariachi Plaza are singing a lot of ai-yai-yai's these days.
With the number of gigs plummeting by more than half over the past two years, competition has gotten so cut-throat at the square that fistfights and shouting matches have erupted as musicians underbid each other to land scarce jobs.
Now a group of veteran plaza musicians have banded together to form a type of mariachi labor union to stop what they call "mariachi pirates" from slashing prices to half the going rate.
"Mariachi is culture and it's the way we earn our living," said guitarist Arturo Ramirez, president of the United Mariachi Organization of Los Angeles. "We have to protect it. This is unfair competition."...
...For many Mexican-Americans, birthdays, christenings and weddings aren't complete without a traditional mariachi band, which usually comprises two types of guitars, trumpets and violins with five or six members forming a typical group. ... Read More
LA's Mariachis Form Union in Bid to Boost Prices | Billboard.biz
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