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How did military-style brass bands become part of Latin American town celebrations?

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ceramic flute — Latin American music Flute, slip-painted ceramic, Nopiloa, southern Veracruz, Mexico, 300–500 ce; in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 35.56 × 17.15 × 10.80 cm.

Military-style brass bands became a fixture of Latin American town celebrations during the 19th century. As European musical influences continued to permeate the region throughout the colonial period, these ensembles were introduced and subsequently evolved into the common town band, or banda del pueblo, which served as a staple for civic occasions.1

The adoption of these bands was facilitated by the broader integration of brass instruments and woodwinds into local musical practices. Over time, these instruments were incorporated into the traditional festivities of various mestizo and Indigenous communities—such as the fiestas of the Purépecha in Michoacán, Mexico—as well as into a wide array of urban popular dance music. This development mirrored the global spread of wind bands, which originated in 15th-century Germany as part of military life before expanding through Europe and eventually to the New World.12