The Story
Mariachi El Bronx began with a refusal. In 2006, Los Angeles punk band The Bronx were asked to play an acoustic 'unplugged' version of one of their songs for television — and instead of strumming softly, they arranged it as mariachi. The joke lasted about one rehearsal; the love was real.
The same musicians — Matt Caughthran's voice out front, with vihuela, requinto, guitarrón, trumpets and violin replacing the amps — released Mariachi El Bronx (I) in 2009 and have kept both bands running in parallel ever since, four mariachi albums deep.
The project earned its respect the honest way: NPR sessions and a Tiny Desk Concert, festival stages from Bonnaroo to Punk Rock Bowling, and a collaboration with The Killers on the 2009 single '¡Happy Birthday Guadalupe!'.
Mariachi El Bronx (IV) arrived in February 2026 — seventeen years into a dare that became a discography — with the Live in Tijuana EP close behind. Two bands, one crew, zero irony.
