Greeting cards and flowers are always nice. But for many Hispanic families, the best way to say "Happy Mother's Day" is to sing it – with a serenading, guitar-strumming band of mariachis.

In North Texas, mariachi groups ran music marathons Sunday, traveling from homes to churches – and even to a cemetery – to show North Texas mothers how much someone loves them.

"It's something beautiful. It comes from our hearts, from our souls, from our feelings, from our culture," said Hector Murillo, who plays trumpet with Dallas group Mariachi Jalisciense (as in Jalisco, the Mexican state that's at the heart of mariachi music).

"The day seems long, but it's really very short because we're going from job to job to job and before you know it, the sun goes down and we're still playing."

That's no exaggeration. The eight-man Mariachi Jalisciense played its first gig at 7 a.m. Saturday – when Mother's Day was celebrated in Mexico – until 3 a.m. Sunday. After a couple hours of sleep, the group met up again at 8 a.m. Sunday. They were booked solid through the day, until almost midnight. Today, most of the men, who range from age 20 to 76, head right back to their regular day jobs.

Mariachi Los Gavilanes started its weekend run at 5 a.m. Saturday with plans to keep playing well through Sunday.

"All you have to do is go down to Oak Cliff, or up and down Jefferson Boulevard, and you'll be able to hear it," said Felix Garay, the group's director.

For Mariachi Jalisciense, Sunday's first stop was a home in Irving, where friends Juan Rodriguez and Josue Zuniga had planned surprise serenades for their mothers.

Mr. Zuniga, who was born in the Mexican city of San Luis Potosi, said his mother isn't the only mariachi fan in the family. He, too, loves the music and culture it represents.

"It just reminds me of my hometown," he said.

CHERYL DIAZ MEYER/DMN

Mayra Rodriguez's boyfriend hired Mariachi Jalisciense to play in celebration of Mother's Day and the couple's one-year anniversary.

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Band members – two trumpeters, two violinists and three guitarists – wore white, hand-embroidered sombreros and silver-studded black suits. Maria Zuniga held back tears as she listened to their ballads and waltzes. A few neighbors came over to check out the impromptu concert, and in one driveway, three little girls twirled and laughed.

Next, Mariachi Jalisciense played at a church in Arlington. Then it was back to Irving, this time to help a family honor a mother who died three years ago.

Two dozen relatives and friends of Ernestina Hernandez formed a semicircle around her grave. They listened, smiled and wept as the mariachis played songs like "Madrecita Querida," or "Dearest Mother."

Mrs. Hernandez died of liver cancer. Mariachi music used to keep her going, said Connie Hernandez, one of her three daughters.

For the Hernandez family, Mother's Day is spent at the cemetery, then going out to eat, then going back to the cemetery.

"We pray and we laugh and we talk to her," Connie said.

Mr. Murillo, the trumpeter, said band members are honored to be a part of family moments, be they happy or sad, or a little of both.

The only major downside to playing every Mother's Day? They never get to see their own mothers.

"But we celebrate in our own way, because we're playing and we're working and we're merrymaking," Mr. Murillo said.

He said the best thing about the job is, well, it's not really a job. It's a joy.

Then, Mr. Murillo took his trumpet and headed back to the band's SUV. It was time to leave the cemetery. Another gig was calling.

Staff writer Ana Barrera Waggoner contributed to this report.