Regional Mexican

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and the its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity varies by region. Subgenres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico music, Norteño, 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 the regional Mexican genre are often characterized by their use of Western wear and denim clothing.[5] 

History

18th century - 20th century: Origins

Many different subgenres of regional Mexican have their origins in the 18th century. 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 that time.[7] The mariachi genre is distinguished by its use of the vihuela, guitarrón, trumpet, and violin. Other genres came later in 20th century, an example is ranchera. Ranchera is a traditional style of regional Mexican formed during the Mexican Revolution.[8] Today, it can be performed in the vast majority of regional Mexican subgenres in several different time signatures.

1940s-1970s: Rise of Mariachi and Popularity

The popularity of regional Mexican music, increased from the 1940s to 1960s with the addition of the many regional Mexican soundtracks used in films.[3] Regional Mexican boleros, specifically boleros accompanied with mariachi, were popular around this time.

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

In the 1970s, the mariachi genre began to increasingly spread into other regions including into the Unites States. Many popular mariachi singers during this time include Vicente Fernández and Antonio Aguilar. In the late 1970s, technobanda, a hybrid of Sinaloan banda and grupero music was developed in the Mexican state of Nayarit.

1980s

In the 1980s, the singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel popularized the mariachi ballad along with Angélica María. Many musical groups like Los Bravos del Norte, Los Cadetes de Linares, and Los Invasores de Nuevo León from the northeastern states of Mexico made music using northern styles and instruments such as the accordion and the bajo sexto.[9] The different, but similar genres were grouped under the term "regional Mexican" and grew in popularity in the United States in the 1980s, due to the higher concentration of Mexican population. In 1984, Billboard released a Regional Mexican Albums chart in their magazine.

1990s: Golden Age of Tejano

In the 1990s, various subgenres of regional Mexican music remained popular and gained popularity all over Mexico and the United States. A country en Español popularity boom reached the central regions of Mexico during the 1990s. In 1992, Chalino Sanchez, a Mexican singer who influenced the narcocorrido genre was murdered outside a nightclub. In the early 1990s, 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.[10] Popular bands in the genre included Los Bukis, Los Temerarios, Bronco and Los Caminantes. 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.[11] Selena's music led the genre's 1990s revival and made it marketable for the first time. 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.[12]

2000s and 2010s

In the 2000s, 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.[13] In the 2000s, some new regional Mexican groups were formed, including Banda MS.

In the 2010s, regional Mexican music continued to be pioneered, although it was less popular as it was decades before. Artists like Ariel Camacho led the sierreño style with Los Plebes del Rancho. He would go on to inspire many other later regional Mexican artists before and after his death in 2015.[3]

2020s: Global Resurgence

Peso Pluma at a concert in 2023.

In the early 2020s, the regional Mexican genre had a global resurgence topping charts and becoming more listened to. According to

corridos tumbados, or trap corridos. In 2023, artists of other Latin music genres including Bad Bunny, Becky G, and Shakira released songs and albums with regional Mexican music.[3][16]

Related formats

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

Within their respective genres, regional Mexican artists perform different styles of songs such as rancheras, corridos, cumbias, boleros, ballads, among others.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^
    Univision Radio. Archived from the original
    on March 14, 2011.
  2. 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. .
  9. ^ Flores, Griselda (October 3, 2022). "Hispanic Heritage Month: 37 Songs That Tell the Story of Regional Mexican". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  10. ^ "Diferencia entre ser ranchero y ser grupero". Soy Grupero: ¡Lo mejor del mundo grupero! Entérate ahora. April 12, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  11. ^ "A look back at the life of Selena". New York Daily News. March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  12. ^ devops (January 2, 2013). "Regional Mexican Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  13. ^ 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)
  14. ^ [email protected] (September 16, 2022). "A New Generation of Artists Is Reinventing Mexican Music and Captivating Listeners Around the World". Spotify. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  15. NY Times
    . June 6, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "Shakira explores regional Mexican music with her upcoming single 'El Jefe': What we know so far". HOLA. September 18, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "Genres · The Sounds of México · Cook Music Library Digital Exhibitions". collections.libraries.indiana.edu. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

External links