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No. Desperado has many things in common with El Mariachi structurally, but it is a sequel, not a remake. Just after the title sequence, a dream scene replays the ending of the first film (though a reshot version, with Antonio Banderas replacing Carlos Gallardo), recapping the death of Domino and the wounding of Mariachi's hand. In the first film, the titular character was an actual mariachi, only inheriting the guitar case full of weapons from the killer known as Azul at the end of the film. Desperado picks up an unspecified length of time later, with the Mariachi having become something of a local legend in the interim.
Robert Rodriguez has stated that coming from a background in comic books, he has always had a bit of comic book fantasy in his films. In the town Mariachi finds himself in, there are no police. It is run by gangs, and gangs only.
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