Mariachi Plaza Mariachi Plaza Mariachi Plaza is located in the Boyle Heights district of the city of Los Angeles, east of downtown. Since the 1930s, mariachi musicians have gathered in hopes of being hired by visitors who are looking for a full band, trio or solo singer. The plaza resembles Mexico's famed Plaza Garibaldi in both form and function and draws people from all over Los Angeles. This plaza is also an historic gateway to the neighborhood. Day or night, one can find many musicians waiting around the plaza and hotel - now an affordable living complex - across the street to
Mariachi schools. In areas with large Mexican-American populations, mariachis are being hired for events outside this ethnic group as well. Outside of schools, the most important venue for the music in the United States is mariachi festivals with the longest running festivals in Tucson and Fresno. The Tucson International Mariachi Conference began in 1982. It originally was held in the downtown but in 2012 moved to the Casino Del Sol. It showcases over 500 elementary, middle, and high schools and college mariachi players. The Las Vegas International Mariachi Festival, established in 1991, is televised on Telemundo and PBS and has headlined