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Regional Mexican
Other namesMexican Regional
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsMexico and Southwestern U.S.
Subgenres
(See list)
Other topics
Latin music, country music, sertanejo music

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 varies by region. Subgenres include banda, duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico music, Norteño, Sierreño, Tejano, and Tierra Caliente.[1] It is among the most popular radio formats targeting Mexican Americans in the United States.[2][3][4]

Similarly to country and sertanejo music, artists of regional Mexican subgenres are often characterized by their use of Western wear and denim clothing.[5]

History[edit]

16th century - 20th century: Origins[edit]

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.[6] For example, mariachi originated in the state of Jalisco around the 18th century.[7] The mariachi genre is distinguished by its use of the vihuela, guitarrón, trumpet, and violin.[8]

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.[9] Today, it can be performed in the vast majority of regional Mexican subgenres in several different time signatures.

1940s - 1960s: Rise of Mariachi[edit]

The popularity of regional Mexican music, increased internationally from the 1940s to 1960s with the addition of the many regional Mexican soundtracks used in films.[3] Pedro Infante was one of many who helped popularize the genre in the 1950s during the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema.[10] 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[edit]

In the 1970s, the mariachi genre and ranchera style began to increasingly spread into the Unites States. Many popular mariachi singers during this time include Vicente Fernández and Antonio Aguilar.

Mariachi singer Vicente Fernández performing in 2013 at one of his last live concerts.

In the 1980s, the 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 help expand the popularity of norteño music.[11] The different, but similar genres were grouped under the term "regional Mexican"[12] and grew in popularity in the United States in the 1980s, due to higher concentrations of Mexican population. In 1984, Billboard 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: Golden Age of Tejano[edit]

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 Unites States. This was due to its unique use of electric guitars, keyboard, and drums.[13] Popular bands in the genre included Los Bukis, 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.[14] Selena's music led the genre's revival and made it marketable for the first time.

In 1992, Chalino Sanchez, a Mexican singer who influenced the narcocorrido genre was murdered outside a nightclub.[15] 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.[16] 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 in the 1990s with acts such as Banda Machos, 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 pop music and mariachi[17] in his Mexican pop songs.

2000s: Duranguense and Tierra Caliente sounds[edit]

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.[18][19] That same decade, some new regional Mexican groups were formed, including Sinaloan banda group Banda MS.

In the mid to late 2000s, duranguense was one of the most prevalent genres.[20] Duranguense was further evolved with its own "Chicago sound" as Mexican American artists from the area incorpated different rhythms and styles into the genre.[21] [22] 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[23] with acts such as La Dinastía de Tuzantla, Beto y sus Canarios, and Tierra Cali.

2010s: Heavy Sinaloan Influence[edit]

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, had its most successful run during the early to mid 2010s[24] 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.[3] In 2017, Mexican singer Christian Nodal charted on the Regional Mexican and Latin Billboard charts in the United States with his single "Adiós Amor".[25] Nodal is known for his fusion of mariachi and norteño music.[26] In 2019, norteño band Los Tucanes de Tijuana became Coachella's first norteño act.[27] 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.[28][29]

2020s: Global Resurgence[edit]

Peso Pluma at a concert in 2023.

In the early 2020s, the regional Mexican genre had a global resurgence steadily topping charts and becoming more listened to. According to Spotify, Mexican music streams more than doubled since 2019 to reach 5.6 billion.[30] Some of the most listened to regional Mexican artists in the 2020s include Peso Pluma, Natanael Cano, Junior H, Grupo Frontera, Banda MS, Ivan Cornejo, and Grupo Firme.[4] Many regional Mexican artists have reached millions of streams and high chart success including Peso Pluma[31] 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. Popular genres of these new artists include corridos tumbados, or trap corridos.[32][33] In 2023, artists of other Latin music genres including Bad Bunny, Becky G, and Shakira released songs and albums with regional Mexican music.[3][34]

Related formats[edit]

Uforia Audio Network owns a number of stations running the regional Mexican format.[1] 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[edit]

Within their respective genres, regional Mexican artists perform different styles of songs such as rancheras, corridos, cumbias, boleros, ballads, among others.[37][38]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Our Story, Our Content". Univision Radio. Archived from the original on March 14, 2011.
  2. ^ Ho, Rodney (November 29, 2006). "105.3 FM changed to Regional Mexican". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Aguilera, Tere (August 22, 2023). "Know the Difference Between Corridos, Norteño and Sierreño? Our Mexican Music Dictionary Breaks Down the Genre's Styles". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Regional Mexican music is crossing borders and going global. Here's how it happened". AP News. January 26, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  5. ^ "Los mejores accesorios del regional mexicano". Univision. March 2, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  6. ^ "Mexican Music History". themusichistory.com. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  7. ^ "Puro Mariachi - History". www.mariachi.org. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  8. ^ Cruz, Alejandro. "El Mariachi, inicios, evolución y exponentes de este género musical". laletrade.com (in Spanish). Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  9. ^ Brenner, Helmut; Stanford, Thomas (1996). Música ranchera: das mexikanische Äquivalent zur country and Western music aus historischer, musikalischer und kommerzieller Sicht. Musikethnologische Sammelbände. Tutzing: H. Schneider. ISBN 978-3-7952-0867-7.
  10. ^ Flores, Isabela Raygoza,Griselda; Raygoza, Isabela; Flores, Griselda (May 4, 2023). "La música regional mexicana no solo tiene su momento, es un movimiento". Billboard (in Spanish). Retrieved April 4, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Flores, Griselda (October 3, 2022). "Hispanic Heritage Month: 37 Songs That Tell the Story of Regional Mexican". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  12. ^ Flores, Griselda (February 3, 2022). "As Mexican Music Goes Global, There's Debate Over What to Call It". Billboard. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  13. ^ "Diferencia entre ser ranchero y ser grupero". Soy Grupero: ¡Lo mejor del mundo grupero! Entérate ahora. April 12, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  14. ^ "A look back at the life of Selena". New York Daily News. March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  15. ^ Flores, Griselda (July 7, 2022). "Chalino Sanchez's Legacy Continues to Be Celebrated, 30 Years After His Death". Billboard. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  16. ^ "Regional Mexican Airplay". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  17. ^ Lechner, Ernesto (November 12, 2002). "Vicente and Alejandro Fernandez". Variety. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  18. ^ Beauregard, Rodrigo Soriano, Luis Pablo (June 13, 2023). "A new chapter in the Latin boom: Mexican music takes over from reggaeton". EL PAÍS English. Retrieved March 23, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "Regional Mexican music at a glance". Orange County Register. February 19, 2006. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  20. ^ Mier, Tomás (March 20, 2024). "Can TikTok Bring Back This Forgotten Mexican Genre?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  21. ^ Giraud, Melissa (January 14, 2006). "Duranguense Mexico meets the Midwest". NPR. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  22. ^ Orozco, Gisela (January 27, 2022). "Duranguense: made in Chicago". Chicago Reader. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  23. ^ Cobo, Leila (July 19, 2008). ""Hot" Mexican musical genre picks up steam in U.S." Reuters. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  24. ^ Orth, Jesse (August 2015). Tubas on the Rise: the Tuba As a Signifier of 21st Century Mexican-American Music Culture in Southern California. Denton, Texas: University of North Texas.
  25. ^ Mendizabal, Amaya (February 16, 2017). "Christian Nodal Vaults Into Top 5 on Hot Latin Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  26. ^ Villa, Lucas (June 7, 2019). "Meet Christian Nodal: The Future of Regional Mexican Music". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  27. ^ Raygoza, Isabela (April 18, 2019). "Los Tucanes de Tijuana on Making History as Coachella's First Norteño Act". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  28. ^ Lopez, Julyssa (March 11, 2019). "Los Tigres del Norte Just Broke Cardi B's Houston Rodeo Attendance Record". Remezcla. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  29. ^ Acevedo, Angelica (March 11, 2019). "Los Tigres del Norte Break Cardi B's Attendance Record at Houston Rodeo". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  30. ^ Covert, Adrian (September 16, 2022). "A New Generation of Artists Is Reinventing Mexican Music and Captivating Listeners Around the World". Spotify. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  31. ^ "Regional Mexican Music Is Finding More Ears". NY Times. June 6, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  32. ^ Cano, Natalia (July 12, 2023). "Why Do Corridos Tumbados Generate Controversy?". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  33. ^ Cantú, Elda (December 5, 2023). "The World Loves Corridos Tumbados. In Mexico, It's Complicated". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  34. ^ "Shakira explores regional Mexican music with her upcoming single 'El Jefe': What we know so far". HOLA. September 18, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  35. ^ Flores, Griselda (February 9, 2021). "Sad Sierreño: Up-and-Coming Mexican Regional Acts Are Bringing a New Wave of Ballads to the Charts". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  36. ^ "Música de tambora, tamborazo zacatecano". Secretaría de Cultura/Sistema de Información Cultural (in Spanish). Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  37. ^ "Genres · The Sounds of México · Cook Music Library Digital Exhibitions". collections.libraries.indiana.edu. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  38. ^ Aparicio, Diego (April 26, 2016). "Cómo distinguir los distintos géneros de la música regional mexicana, la reina de la radio en…". Medium. Retrieved April 4, 2024.

External links[edit]

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Mexican