Herencia de la Tierra Mía

The mariachi spectacle – much like the burrito and margarita – is all too easy to bastardise. Wandering spangle-suited musicians churning out droll tunes have ruined many a Mexican dinner. This Chicago-based ensemble offers a refreshingly different face of this 200-year-old art form: a non-profit music and education programme, it invites teenagers from working-class, immigrant households to rediscover their roots and strengthen their community in the barrios. Some of the songs have something of the Sesame Street/Coca Cola-ad optimism you can never fully suppress in American youth projects. But mariachi can take all the syrup and honey you can pour on it.

The lyrics are by turns self-referential, sensationally romantic and sickly sweet, through which burst keening horns, lilting string arrangements, gorgeous vocal harmonies and the ‘sobbing guitars’ alluded to in the title-track – plus the requisite whoops and ululations. This brand of mariachi smoothly switches mood from vivacious to vulnerable, earnest to ironic. Guests include Lila Downs and producer Javier Limón, but it's the kids who run this show. Nominated for a Latin Grammy for their debut last year, they should get one for this superb sequel.