Mariachi Tierra Mia is bringing Morrissey's gloom to the Cahuenga Pass. The Los Angeles-based ensemble will perform a night blending traditional mariachi music with covers of songs by The Smiths at The Ford on Sunday, September 27, with the show starting at 7:30 p.m.
The group, directed by Maira Solis, includes musicians Ivan Cruz, Tony Zuniga, Solis, Luis Morales and Ivan Peña, according to LAist. The show, called Mariachi Meets The Smiths, is produced in partnership with Mariachi Tierra Mia, per theford.com, and is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. The venue's listing describes the evening as a night of Smiths favorites from across the band's discography, interpreted by some of the best mariachi artists in Los Angeles.
From a Lucha Libre Christmas Party to The Ford
The pairing traces back to a Lucha Libre-themed Christmas party in December 2024, where Mariachi Tierra Mia was performing, LAist reports. A client at that party asked whether the group knew any songs by The Smiths, and guitarist and singer Ivan Peña performed “Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now” on the spot. The performance went viral on social media, and the band soon began fielding requests to include Smiths songs in its traditional sets, per the same account.
Solis, who designed the Mariachi Meets The Smiths crossover show, told the outlet the pairing was not intentional. She got her start young, performing her first backyard mariachi gig at about age 14, after learning violin in middle school, the article notes.
What The Ford Show Will Include
The September 27 program will feature Mariachi Tierra Mia and The Last Line of Defense performing a mariachi set followed by Smiths covers, blending genres across a single night. Mariachi music traditionally spans boleros, huapangos, sones and rancheras, and organizers are folding Smiths songs into that same instrumental language.
The Smiths were an English band formed in Manchester in the 1980s, led by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. Event materials from laphil.com describe the band's melodic and melancholic albums, including Meat Is Murder and The Queen Is Dead, as making them one of the most fiercely adored acts of the post-punk era. That listing also states that the group's music remains hugely popular decades after its breakup, particularly in Mexico. The Ford's own event page goes further, noting that nowhere have The Smiths had a bigger and more lasting effect than in Mexico.
Part of a Wider Mariachi-Rock Crossover Trend
Mariachi Tierra Mia is not alone in reworking rock staples for horns and strings. Mariachi Rock-O has performed a mariachi version of Radiohead's “No Surprises,” while Mariachi Cabos has tackled Pink Floyd's “Another Brick in the Wall,” according to matadornetwork.com. Mariachi Flor de Toloache has taken on songs by Usher, Gotye and Adele, the site notes, underscoring how mariachi arrangements have found an audience well beyond traditional rancheras.
The Ford show is set for 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East in Los Angeles, with doors opening ahead of the 7:30 p.m. start. For fans who have followed the story since that 2024 holiday party, the September 27 performance marks the biggest stage yet for a crossover nobody in the group set out to create.
