''El Comienzo'' (English: The Beginning) is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American

regional Mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...

music band

Grupo Frontera Grupo Frontera is an American regional Mexican band from Edinburg, Texas. The band currently consists of vocalist and bajo quinto player Adelaido "Payo" Solís III, accordionist and fellow vocalist Juan Javier Cantú, congas player Julian Peña Jr ...

. It was released on August 3, 2023 through VHR Music. In 2024, the album won the

Latin Grammy Award for Best Norteño Album The Latin Grammy Award for Best Norteño Album is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists in t ...

, while its single, " El Amor de Su Vida" won the

Latin Grammy Award for Best Regional Mexican Song The Latin Grammy Award for Best Regional Mexican Song is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists ...

Background and release

Grupo Frontera was formed in 2019 and they created their

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel in 2022, where they released their debut single "La Plata" in April. That same month, they released their second single "

No Se Va "No Se Va" () is a song by Colombian band Morat. It was released on 7 March 2019 as the sixth single from their album '' Balas perdidas'' (2018). Its official music video was released on the same day. Though it did not chart by its release, it ...

"; a cover of Morat's original song, which eventually became a hit for the band, and their first hit single. After their rise in popularity, they kept releasing other singles, usually with other artists. At the end of July 2023, the Grupo Frontera announced that their debut album, along with the cover would be released on August 3, 2023. On August 1, the track listing was revealed, with a total of 12 songs. On October 19, 2023, Grupo Frontera was announced to be the next artist featured in the ''

Apple Music Up Next ''Apple Music: Up Next'' is a monthly program published by Apple Music aimed at identifying, showcasing and elevating rising star talent. Each month, Apple Music's editorial team selects an artist to promote in order to raise global awareness o ...

'' series. This was accompanied by the release of the Apple Music Edition of the album, which features the additional single "Amor Propio". The song would be released on other platforms as a standalone single.

Composition

An album of 12 songs, it has collaborations with

Bad Bunny Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (; born March 10, 1994), better known by his stage name Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. Known as the " King of Latin Trap", Bad Bunny is credited with helping Spanish-language rap music achieve m ...

Junior H Antonio Herrera Pérez (born 23 April 2001), known professionally as Junior H, is a Mexican singer-songwriter. He is considered a major artist of the corridos tumbados movement, having popularized the genre with his earlier studio albums. Early ...

Yahritza y Su Esencia Yahritza y su Esencia (Yahritza and Her Essence) is an American trio from Washington state's Yakima Valley who specialize in regional Mexican music; specifically the urban sierreño subgenre. The band are three siblings: Yahritza Martínez (vocal ...

Manuel Turizo Manuel Turizo Zapata (; born 12 April 2000) is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Montería, he started making music at 13. He first became popular with his song "Una Lady Como Tú" (2016). He made his debut album ''ADN'' on ...

Grupo Firme Grupo Firme is a regional Mexican band based in Tijuana, Baja California, that specializes in Sinaloan music. Formed in 2014, they have received nominations for a variety of awards that include Latin Grammy, Premios Juventud and Premio Lo Nuest ...

Carín León Óscar Armando Díaz de León Huez, known professionally as Carín León, (born 26 July 1989) is a Mexican singer-songwriter who specializes in regional Mexican music. Career León began playing the guitar at the age of 15. His first band was ...

, and Ke Personajes. Although there are 12 songs in the album, the sixth track it had no song and it wasn't until three weeks after the album's release that the song was revealed.

Songs

''El Comienzo'' begins with its first track "

", the first major success that Grupo Frontera had achieved during 2022. The song itself is a norteño

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

. The norteño cumbia sound continues on the second track " Un x100to" with Puerto Rican singer

, which was a major hit single in 2023. The third track "En Altavoz", a collaboration with urban sierreño artist

, is a

ranchera Ranchera () or canción ranchera is a genre of traditional music of Mexico. It dates to before the years of the Mexican Revolution. Rancheras today are played in the vast majority of regional Mexican music styles. Drawing on rural traditional fo ...

with

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

bajo quinto The Bajo quinto (Spanish: "fifth bass") is a Mexican string instrument from the guitar family with 10 strings in five double courses. It is played in a similar manner to the guitar, with the left hand changing the pitch with the frets on a finge ...

tololoche The tololoche is a traditional musical instrument from southern Mexico. Its name comes from "tolo loch", from the Mayan language: tolo (bull) and loch (embraced), which would later become tololoche. It is a variant of the European double bass, ...

, and

alto horn The Tenor horn (British English; Alto horn in American English, Althorn in Germany; occasionally referred to as E horn) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flu ...

s; this last instrument giving the song a

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

-style sound instead of Grupo Frontera's

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

style. On the fourth track "Cansado de Sufrir", Grupo Frontera returns to the sound of norteño cumbia. The fifth track "Las Flores" with the band

Yahritza y su Esencia Yahritza y su Esencia (Yahritza and Her Essence) is an American trio from Washington state's Yakima Valley who specialize in regional Mexican music; specifically the urban sierreño subgenre. The band are three siblings: Yahritza Martínez (vocal ...

, is a grupero

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

, in which the band had stated that it is their favorite song on the album. The sixth track "De Lunes a Lunes" with the Colombian singer

, is also a norteño cumbia and is about heartbreak. On the seventh track "Me Gustas", Grupo Frontera once again performs a ranchera with accordion, bajo quinto, tololoche, and alto horns. The eighth track " El Amor de Su Vida" features the band

, where they also return to the norteño cumbia genre. Grupo Frontera performs a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

-style

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

with the ninth track on the album "Cuídala". They then return to a norteño cumbia on the tenth track " Que Vuelvas" with

. Said song was released at the end of 2022 and achieved major success in 2023. The eleventh track "Le Va Doler" is another norteño cumbia and the twelfth and final track "Ojitos Rojos" featuring the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

ensemble Ke Personajes, is a villera cumbia.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comienzo, El Grupo Frontera albums 2023 debut albums 2020s Spanish-language albums