Cuarteto Coculense

The first mariachi band to record, Cuarteto Coculense hailed from Cocula, Jalisco, and recorded about 60 sides for Columbia, Edison, and Victor in Mexico City in 1908 and 1909. Led by Justo Villa, their repertoire consisted of sones abajenos, or rural songs from the Bajio region of Jalisco, delivered on fiddles and guitars, and joyfully sung with harmony vocals. For unknown reasons, they performed an almost identical selection of material for each of the three labels that recorded them; nothing is known of what became of the group after the discs were released. ~ Richie Unterberger