Cirilo Marmolejo was a folk musician of guitarrón and vihuela

Mexican vihuela

Vihuela is the name of two different guitar-like string instruments: the historical vihuela of 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings, and the Mexican vihuela from 19th century Mexico with five strings and typically played in mariachi groups.-Mexican vihuela:While the Mexican vihuela...

, and pioneer in the development of the mariachi

Mariachi

Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...

 band. By the year 1918, he was invited to play at Guadalajara

Guadalajara

Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...

 city, and then at Mexico city

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

. From that time, the popularization of this type of band spread in the country. The Mariachi Coculense of Marmolejo was the first mariachi to tour and record in the United States, and to add a trumpet to the ensemble.