When it comes to making an album called “Mariachi Classics,” it helps to be a classic mariachi group. Mariachi Real de San Diego have set standards for musicianship and professionalism here for over 30 years, and the “workhorse mariachi” have become highly prominent in the process.

“We’ve played for presidents, we’ve played for dignitaries. Not too many people stand where a mariachi stands,” Mariachi Real leader Pedro Gonzalez said.

He could have added that his six-piece group also appeared at the Republican National Convention, two Super Bowls, a baseball World Series and All-Star Game, numerous Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Old Town and, just maybe, your daughter’s wedding.

Founded in 1978, Mariachi Real draw from an extensive repertoire (Gonzalez once estimated he knew 3,000 songs) for “Mariachi Classics.” Released this week on Mardi Gras Records, the 16-track follow-up to “Ultimate Mariachi” offers literally a cradle-to-the-grave survey of the traditional Mexican music.

“The first one, that’s played at a birthday party — we walk in playing ‘Las Mañanitas.’ ‘Las Golondrinas’ (”The Swallows”), which is the last song, is played when someone’s leaving, when he dies,” Gonzalez said. “So people would like the record because of those two songs. And then the rest of the songs are old songs that, normally, you would have to look very hard to find them and buy them. We try to keep some romantic in there, and some folk. I try to put some happy, upbeat tunes in there, and some polkas. It has a variety.”

The new album includes songs as familiar as Jorge Negrete’s “Mexico Querido y Lindo” and the kid-friendly, clap-happy “Las Chiapanecas,” as well as “Solamente Una Vez,” which previously was covered by no less than the Three Tenors. But thanks to the knowledge of Gonzalez and the vinyl-bin scouring of his son Mauricio, the album also features rarities like “San Diego” and “Bala Perdida,” “a song I used to hear as a kid,” Gonzalez said.

“When you hear a song, you have to think someone sat down and was inspired by something that happened. His wife left him or his girlfriend left him, somebody died, his horse died,” Gonzalez explained.

“That’s how they compose a song in Mexico. There are a lot of songs about horses and women. There’s a lot about la revolución. Back then, a lot of the polkas were inspired by incidents that occurred during those times. They have dates on some of them, there are generals’ names on others. A lot of Pancho Villa stuff is out there. And they’re out there, polkas, but not too many groups play them. And I try to play most of them, or as many as I can. That’s one of my trademarks, that I play a lot of polkas and a lot of the fast songs called sones.”

Mariachi dates to the time of French rule in Mexico, when aristocrats would hire peasant musicians to play at weddings (”mariachi” might be taken from the French “mariages”). The modern era was largely initiated by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, founded in 1897, when they added trumpets (in Mariachi Real, played by Ramon Arvizu and Miguel Rosales) to a lineup that typically would include violins (Alfredo Ramos and Ramon Parra), a high-pitched, five-string guitar called a vihuela (Gonzalez) and the bass-like guitarrón (Mauricio Gonzalez). The enduring Mariachi Vargas, which backed Linda Ronstadt on her acclaimed 1987 album “Canciones de mi Padre,” are represented on “Mariachi Classics” by the standard “Canción Mixteca” and the obscure “Jugueteando.”

As was the case with that classic group, Gonzalez said, “My parents and my grandparents are from the state of Jalisco, which is the birthplace of mariachi. When I was a kid, I never thought I ever would play this music, because none of my ancestors that I know of were mariachi. But I started singing in a church choir, with kind of like a mariachi band. And I started hanging out with these guys and I was admiring them. I started wanting to learn more and more.”

Initially, Gonzalez wasn’t the leader of Mariachi Real, but he assumed the role due to his background

“I’m an ex-Marine, so to me you have to be squared away. I make sure that they have haircuts, they shave and they all look good. Amazingly, people really check you out when you’re performing — especially the women, believe me,” Gonzalez said, adding, “Some of the groups will show up late and they don’t care. Me, I have to be on time. We used to say in the Marine Corps, ‘Hurry up and get ready to wait.’ But when you arrive, you arrive on time.”

Mauricio Gonzalez, who grew up (he’s now 32) playing “Beatles and rock ‘n’ roll music” on the Fender guitar Dad (just turned 60) got him, made a less-than-timely arrival in Mariachi Real. He was attending the University of Southern California when, for culture day, he decided to do a presentation on mariachi music.

“So he went on the Internet and started looking at the roots of where mariachi was born and all the history. And then he said, ‘I’d like to take a video of you guys playing, but I’d like to be in it.’ OK. So I got him a suit from one of the guys and he put it on. And he got a guitar, a six-string guitar,” Gonzalez recalled.

“And when we finished doing the video presentation, he said, ‘You know, Dad, this is something I’ve wanted to do all my life: standing on the stage. It’s just something that I’d like to do.’ And I said, ‘Why didn’t you ever tell me, son?’”