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Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and its derivatives from the
Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by regions. Subgenres include banda, country en Español, Duranguense, grupero,
mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...
, New Mexico music, Norteño, Sierreño,
Tejano Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent. Etymology The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead ...
, and Tierra Caliente. It is among the most popular
radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
s targeting Mexican Americans in the United States. Similarly to
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, ...
and sertanejo music, artists of regional Mexican subgenres are often characterized by their use of Western wear and
denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more Warp (weaving), warp threads. This twill weave produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. Denim, as it is recognized today, was f ...
clothing.


History


16th–20th century: Origins

Many different subgenres of regional Mexican have their origins in the 16th to 18th centuries. Indigenous, African, and Spanish instruments and styles mixed together to create these genres of music. For example,
mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...
originated in the state of
Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
around the 18th century. The mariachi genre is distinguished by its use of the
vihuela The vihuela () is a 15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar (figure-of-eight form offering strength and portability) but tuned like a lute. It was used in 15th- and 16th-century Spain as the equivalent of t ...
, guitarrón,
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
, and
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
. Other genres developed later in the 20th century. An example being the ranchera. Ranchera is a traditional style of regional Mexican formed during the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...
. Today, it can be performed in the vast majority of regional Mexican subgenres in several different
time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
s.


1940s–1960s: Rise of mariachi

The popularity of regional Mexican music, increased internationally from the 1940s to 1960s with the addition of the many regional Mexican
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
s used in films. Pedro Infante was one of many who helped popularize the genre in the 1950s during the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. Regional Mexican boleros, specifically boleros accompanied with mariachi, were also popular around this time. Beginning in the 1940s, regional Mexican music gained popularity in Chile through the use of radio and television.


1970s–1980s: Popularity of mariachi

In the 1970s, the mariachi genre and ranchera style began to increasingly spread into the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Many popular mariachi singers during this time include
Vicente Fernández Vicente Fernández Gómez (17 February 1940 – 12 December 2021) was a Mexican mariachi singer, actor and film producer. Nicknamed "Chente" (short for Vicente), "El Charro de Huentitán" (The Charro from Huentitán), "El Ídolo de México" (Th ...
and Antonio Aguilar. In the 1980s, Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel popularized the mariachi ballad along with Angélica María. Musical groups like Ramón Ayala y Los Bravos del Norte, Los Cadetes de Linares, and Los Invasores de Nuevo León from the northeastern states of Mexico helped expand the popularity of norteño music. During the 1980s, the different but similar genres of music were grouped under the term "regional Mexican" and grew in popularity in the United States, due to higher concentrations of Mexican population. In 1984, ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' released a Regional Mexican Albums chart in their magazine. Vicente Fernández's album '' Por Tu Maldito Amor'' (1989) became the longest running number one regional Mexican album of the decade in the United States.


1990s: Rise of several subgenres

In the 1990s, various subgenres of regional Mexican music remained popular and gained popularity all over Mexico and the United States. The grupero genre became one of the most popular regional Mexican genres in the United States due to its unique use of
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...
s, keyboard, and drums. Popular bands in the genre included
Los Bukis Los Bukis (English: the Bukis; ''buki'' meaning "kid" in the Purépecha language) are a Mexican Grupera, grupero band. Formed in Ario de Rosales, Michoacán in 1973, the band's current lineup consists of singer and songwriter Marco Antonio Solís, ...
, Los Temerarios, and Bronco. Other regional Mexican acts like American singer Selena were known for fusing the style with Tejano music. Tejano music soon became the most prominent in the genre and one of the fastest-growing music genres in the United States. The "Golden Age of Tejano" is considered to have ended March 31, 1995, when Selena was shot and killed. Selena's music led to the genre's revival and made it marketable in the U.S. for the first time. In 1992, Chalino Sanchez, a Mexican singer who influenced the
narcocorrido A narcocorrido (, "narco-corrido" or ''drug ballad'') is a subgenre of the Regional Mexican corrido (narrative ballad) genre, from which several other genres have evolved. This type of music is heard and produced on both sides of the Mexico–U ...
genre was murdered outside a nightclub. In 1994 in the U.S., the Billboard chart for Regional Mexican music was created and mostly included technocumbias and grupero ballads. "La Niña Fresa" by Banda Zeta was the first number-one song included on the chart. The decade also saw the rise in popularity of Sinaloan banda with groups such as Banda El Recodo, La Arrolladora Banda El Limón, and Banda Los Recoditos. Technobanda, a hybrid of Sinaloan banda and grupero which was developed in the late 1970s in the Mexican state of Nayarit, had its heyday with acts such as
Banda Machos Banda Machos is a regional Mexican band from Villa Corona, Jalisco. The band specializes in the Banda music#Technobanda, technobanda genre. They are best known for popularizing the quebradita dancing style that became popular in the 1990s in Me ...
, Banda Maguey, and Banda Arkángel R-15. Bands such as Conjunto Primavera, Los Rieleros del Norte, and Polo Urías y su Máquina Norteña helped spread the popularity of the norteño with sax sound. A country en Español popularity boom, led by the band Caballo Dorado, reached the central regions of Mexico during the 1990s. In the late 1990s, Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández was known for mixing elements of
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...
and mariachi in his Mexican pop songs. In 1999, Nortec was developed from Norteño and Techno in the Mexican city of
Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...
.


2000s: Duranguense and Tierra Caliente sounds

In the 2000s, established regional Mexican artists continued to release music including California-based norteño band Los Tigres de Norte, a band that has released music since the 1970s. That same decade, some new regional Mexican groups were formed, including Sinaloan banda group Banda MS.
Valentín Elizalde Valentín Elizalde Valencia (; 1 February 1979 – 25 November 2006) was a regional Mexican singer. Nicknamed "El Gallo de Oro" (The Golden Rooster), he was known for his off-key style. His biggest hits included: "Vete Ya," "Ebrio de Amor", an ...
, a regional Mexican artist who made corridos was shot after a performance in Mexico in 2006. In the mid to late 2000s, duranguense was one of the most prevalent genres. Duranguense was further evolved with its own " Chicago sound" as Mexican American artists from the area incorporated different rhythms and styles into the genre. Duranguense bands include Grupo Montéz de Durango, K-Paz de la Sierra, and Patrulla 81. The decade also saw some mainstream exposure for Tierra Caliente music with acts such as La Dinastía de Tuzantla, Beto y sus Canarios, and Tierra Cali.


2010s: Heavy Sinaloan influence

In the 2010s, regional Mexican music continued to be pioneered, although it remained less popular than decades before. Norteño-Banda, also known as norteño with
tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...
, had its most successful run during the early to mid 2010s with artists such as Larry Hernández, Gerardo Ortíz, Calibre 50, and Voz de Mando. Mexican singer-songwriter Ariel Camacho led the sierreño style with Los Plebes del Rancho. Camacho would go on to inspire many other later regional Mexican artists before and after his death in 2015. In 2017, Mexican singer Christian Nodal charted on the Regional Mexican and Latin
Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...
in the United States with his single " Adiós Amor". Nodal is known for his fusion of mariachi and norteño music. In 2019, norteño band Los Tucanes de Tijuana became Coachella's first norteño act. Another norteño band, Los Tigres de Norte broke the record of paid attendance for a Rodeo Houston show on March 10, 2019, with 75,586 concert tickets sold.


2020s: Global resurgence

In the early 2020s, the regional Mexican genre had a global resurgence steadily topping charts and becoming more listened to. According to
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
in 2022, Mexican music streams more than doubled since 2019 to reach 5.6 billion. The format had 150 U.S. radio stations. Some of the most listened to regional Mexican artists in the 2020s include Peso Pluma, Natanael Cano, Junior H, Grupo Frontera, Banda MS, Iván Cornejo, and Grupo Firme. Many regional Mexican artists reached millions of streams and high chart success including Peso Pluma whose song with Eslabon Armando titled " Ella Baila Sola" reached No. 4 on the U.S.'s Billboard's mainstream pop chart, the Hot 100. In 2023, Peso Pluma had 24 songs enter the Hot 100. Popular genres of these new artists include corridos tumbados, or trap corridos. In 2022, Yahritza Martinez of Yahritza y su Esencia, became the youngest Latin artist to enter the Hot 100 at the age of 15. In 2023, artists of other
Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...
genres including Bad Bunny,
Becky G Rebbeca Marie Gomez (born March 2, 1997), known professionally as Becky G, is an American singer and actress. Born and raised in Inglewood, California, she first gained recognition in 2011 for her cover version, cover versions of popular song ...
, and
Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...
released songs and albums with regional Mexican music. In February 2024, Carín León, who is known to incorporate country music influence into several of his songs, became the first regional Mexican artist to perform in one of country music's most prestigious venues, the
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
. Later, in April of that year, he became the first regional Mexican artist to perform in both the Coachella and
Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
music festivals within the same year.


Mass media

Uforia Audio Network owns a number of stations running the regional Mexican format. Television channels Bandamax and Video Rola are dedicated to transmitting programming relating mainly to the regional Mexican genre. In Mexico, there are many radio stations solely dedicated to regional Mexican music and some with certain subgenres. Regional Mexican stations are available in the U.S. mostly targeting the Mexican American population.


Subgenres


See also

* Grammy Award for Best Regional Mexican Music Album (including Tejano) * Latin Grammy Award for Best Regional Mexican Song * Mexican music in Chile * Monitor Latino, a music chart which provides regional Mexican music charts for Mexico, the United States and Guatemala * ''Billboard'' regional Mexican charts, music charts by ''Billboard''


References


External links


Radioandrecords.com: Regional Mexican Airplay Charts
(archived) — ''from Radio & Records, based on Regional Mexican Airplay panel data'' {{Music of Mexico, state=expanded 01 Radio formats Radio in Mexico Spanish-language radio in the United States Music of Mexico Mexican-American culture