4x13 - Mariachi Mania

April 7, 2006

Rick heads for Jalisco, the place where mariachi music originated, to investigate the history and mystery of this “national soundtrack” of Mexico—and to answer the question, “what’s the perfect food to go with mariachi music?” At a stall in the Guadalajara market, he checks out all kinds of mouthwatering snack-food specialties, settling on a beautiful tostada as a band of mariachis strolls by playing their anthem “Guadalajara.” Back in his Chicago kitchen, he shows us his take on Tostadas, then it’s back to Mexico where his search for the roots of mariachi takes him to a beautiful 19th-Century hacienda. At a colorful restaurant in Tlaquepaque, he enjoys a soft cheese in green sauce speciality—Panela en Salsa Verde, which he shows us how to make at home. And finally, he brings us to the epicenter of mariachi mania, Plaza Garibaldi in Mexico City, where Mariachis gather by the hundreds, all day and all night, to meet, greet, compete, and serenade the world.