All-Female Mariachi Band Flor De Toloache Comes To Winston-Salem

You know mariachi when you hear it; the Mexican musical tradition is vibrant and festive. 

Mireya Ramos is the co-founder of Flor de Toloache. She says mariachi started over a century ago with community ensembles playing the harp, violin, and guitar. Trumpets and other instrumentation were added later.

“It's a mix of the native melodies and culture that were already in Mexico with the European instruments that were brought,” she says. 

Flor de Toloache is a New York City-based group that has grown to include women from all over the world — including Egypt, India, Korea, and Italy. 

Ramos says this is reflective of the diversity of New York and that all the women bring unique interpretations to the music.

“The way that we express our music and when we improvise or the way we phrase something musically is very different from somebody that just comes from a mariachi tradition,” says Ramos.

In 2017, the group was the first all-women mariachi band to win Best Ranchero album at the Latin Grammys.

Ramos says that recognition opened doors for new collaborations with artists like John Legend and Miguel, featured on their latest album, Indestructible.

Flor de Toloache performs Saturday at Fiesta and at the Stevens Center in Winston-Salem.