A nameless traveling mariachi player (Carlos Gallardo) wanders into a small Mexican town looking for work, where he is mistaken for another man who also travels with a guitar case, but for a very different reason. The local mob boss thinks the mariachi player is a killer with a guitar case full of weapons, who must be looking for him, and sets his henchmen out to kill him first. El Mariachi swears his innocence and continues trying to find work as a simple musician, until he is ultimately forced to fight back. He invites several associates to join him, and they take on the mob directly.