Mariachi associated with the group died in 1985. That the group still considers itself the original group comes from the notion of passing on the music by generations of musicians, how the original son jaliscense was learned. The promotion of mariachi as representative of Mexico has led to the formation of mariachi groups in many countries such as Argentina, Aruba, Egypt, Chile, Cuba, Spain, Croatia, Guatemala, Uruguay, Sweden, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, with groups from these and more countries participating in Guadalajara’s International Mariachi and Charreria Conference. The music has a strong following in the US, with top groups
Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea a high-schooler, she was a victim of pranks and was told to give up trumpet because it was "too macho". In the early 1990s, Shea obtained a professional gig as trumpet player for an all-female mariachi band called Mariachi Las Alondras. When that band broke up in 1999, she formed another, calling the group Mariachi Divas. A big break for the new group came in September 2003, when they were discovered by Stan Freese, talent booking director for Disney Resorts, and became the official mariachi band of Disneyland Resort. They quickly became a fixture at Disney's California Adventure theme park