Mariachi Cascabel

Mariachi Cascabel is a group of musicians in south Texas.

It was founded on Mother's Day 1989 by Joseph Figarelli and Armando Botello. The group has been home to many professional musicians gathered from all corners of South Texas, including Joseph A. Figarelli, Elizabeth Soliz, Joe Ely El Mariachi Loco Carrales, Joe "Joey" Handy, Antonio Moreno, Antonio "Tony" De la Rosa, Armando Botello, Humberto Saenz and Pete Suarez.

The group was formed when college friends Joseph Figarelli and Armando Botello gathered an informal group to do serenades for Mother's Day. The original group's instrumentation was made up of two trumpets, two flutes, guitar, vihuela and guitarron. Violins were added in 1990 and Mariachi Cascabel morphed into a mariachi orchestra at one time numbering 16 players.

The group has made many transitions down over years, the most notable being the schism between Figarelli and Botello during the fall of 1998 in which Botello and half of the group formed Mariachi Fuego.

The group has entertained many well known stars including George Strait, Ray Price, Gov. George W. Bush, Nolan Ryan, Larry Hagman and Paul Rodriguez. They have also competed in many competitions including the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Laredo Borderfest Competition, the Kingsville Cinco de Mayo competition and the Alice, Texas "Bullarama".

The popularity of Mariachi Cascabel grew enormously in the mid-1990s, culminating with the release of their first CD, El Gusto Del Cascabel in 1995. A brief association was made with Hacienda Records which ended in 1997 and was briefly rekindled in 2002. This association allowed for a release of Mariachi Cascabel tracks in European markets.

In 2003, Mariachi Cascabel relocated from Kingsville, Texas to Harlingen, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley region of southernmost Texas where they continued to play in one form or another until February 2006.

Mariachi Cascabel served as a training ground for many of the mariachi musicians in South Texas leaving a legacy in groups that branched out from this organization.^{[citation needed]}