They may tell of the Mexican Revolution, a bandit or a sheriff, or the struggle between church and state. In the 1900's, Mexican composers including Carlos Chavez and Silvestre Revueltas have used themes from corridos or ancient Indian music. Today, strolling musical groups called mariachis perform along streets and in restaurants. Mariachi groups include singers, and players of guitars, trumpets, and violins. Folk dances are important features of Mexican fiestas.
Folk dances celebrate the history and traditions of a particular ethnic or national group.
The famous Ballet Folklorico of Mexico is a highly trained company of professional dancers who perform colorful folk dances that reflect the Indian and Spanish roots of Mexican culture. Every Mexican city, town, and village also holds a yearly fiesta to honor its local patron saint. Most fiestas begin before daylight with a shower of rockets, loud explosions of fireworks, and ringing of bells. During the fiestas, the people pray and burn candles to their saints in churches decorated with flowers and colored tissue paper. They dance, gamble, hold parades, and buy refreshments in the crowded market-places and public square.