Mariachi Lyrics Archive

Canción Del Mariachi (Pistolero • Desperado)

The mariachi and the gunslinger — always the same man, arriving without warning. Canción Del Mariachi is Desperado's most iconic moment made immortal.

About the Song

Canción Del Mariachi is the iconic theme from Robert Rodriguez's 1995 film Desperado, performed by Los Lobos. The song fuses traditional mariachi instrumentation with rock energy, creating one of cinema's most memorable musical moments — Antonio Banderas's guitar case-wielding mariachi-as-gunslinger entrance. Mariachi Nuevo Real's recording honors both the cinematic legacy and the deeper tradition it drew on: the mariachi as wandering troubadour, arriving unannounced with music as his only weapon. The pistolero and the mariachi have always been the same archetype.

Meaning of the Song

Canción Del Mariachi understands that the mariachi and the gunslinger are the same man. Both arrive without warning. Both carry their instrument like a weapon. Both move through town on their own terms and on nobody else's schedule. Robert Rodriguez knew this when he made Desperado, and Mariachi Nuevo Real knows it here — the guitar case and the guitar are interchangeable symbols of a man who answers to no one but the song.

Lyrics / Letra

Soy un hombre muy honrado
Que me gusta lo mejor
Las mujeres no me faltan
Ni el dinero, ni el amor
Jineteando en mi caballo
Por la sierra yo me voy
Las estrellas y la luna
Ellas me dicen donde voy
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Ay, ay mi amor
Ay, mi morena
De mi corazón
Me gusta tocar guitarra
Me gusta cantar el son
Mariachi me acompaña
Cuando canto mi canción
Me gusta tomar mis copas
Aguardiente es lo mejor
También el tequila blanco
Con su sal le da sabor
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Ay, ay mi amor
Ay, mi morena
De mi corazón
Me gusta tocar guitarra
Me gusta cantar el son
El mariachi me acompaña
Cuando canto mi canción
Me gusta tomar mis copas
Aguardiente es lo mejor
También el tequila blanco
Con su sal le da sabor
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Ay, ay mi amor
Ay, mi morena
De mi corazón
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Ay, ay mi amor
Ay, mi morena
De mi corazón

English Translation

I am the mariachi of your town
don't look for me where I live
because you won't find me

I am the man of destiny
with my guitar on the road
always ready to love

I am a gunslinger
I am the mariachi
I am the one who arrives without warning

Song of the mariachi
song of love
singing in the night
seeking warmth

I am the man who calls you
from afar with his soul
with my song of love