The Mexican Invasion
Illustration by Victor Chambers
The summer when Mexican Regional Music took the U.S. by storm.
If the summer of 2023 taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. Spain won the women’s world cup, and then one of their stars was kissed, against her will, in front of the whole world. Hollywood went on strike, and Barbenheimer (or Oppenarbie, depending on who you ask) brought crowds back to theaters in droves.
However, if you pay attention to music, you probably know that the true star of the summer wasn’t soccer or cinema. It was regional Mexican music. And rather than having a few breakout hits, this summer was a breakout season for the genre.
For those who aren’t familiar with regional Mexican music, this “genre” is really a catch-all label for styles that originate from the folkloric music traditions of both rural Mexico and the Southwestern U.S. Composed of a number of different sub-genres, from banda, grupero, and Norteño to the newer Corridos Tumbados, the term loosely defines the influential styles of Latin music that are popular throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
When asked about his favorite genre, SMC student Angel Mendoza said, “ Probably Corridos. You know, they're really interesting to listen to. And if you do understand Spanish, you probably relate to the lyrics.”
While these genres, especially corrido, can be traced back through the centuries of Mexico’s folk traditions, the recent explosion of interest in these artists and their work is largely due to social media. Bandas, like Grupo Firme and Grupo Frontera, and artists like Peso Pluma, have been extremely tech-savvy.
Through their label MUSIC VIP, the Tijuana-based Grupo Firme has produced almost 90 music videos, one for each of their singles, demonstrating how crucial they view YouTube as a means of reaching their audience. Both Grupo Firme and Grupo Frontera have massive followings on TikTok, with 5.3 and 1.9 million followers respectively, which they have leveraged to expand their reach to younger audiences.
The groups teased their joint music video for the single “El Amor de su Vida” on TikTok at the same time, and Grupo Frontera has taken an especially collaborative approach. Eight of their nine tracks on the Billboard Hot 100 have been features or have featured other artists.
The undeniable champion of the regional Mexican music scene this summer was Peso Pluma, real name Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija, hailing from Zapopan, Jalisco. Of the 23 Latin songs to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 this summer, Laija wrote or co-wrote 13. His trademark is the “corrido tumbado”, which is a newer, more highly produced version of the “corrido”, poetic ballads that Mexican musicians have been belting out for centuries.
“It's like incorporating corridos with modern day Latino music. It's becoming a lot more open-minded. A lot of Mexican artists are coming out now, their music is becoming a lot different than it was before,” said SMC Student Omar Villeda.
Just a few years ago, no one could have seen this sudden rise in the broad appeal of regional Mexican music. For the first five decades of the Billboard Hot 100 ranking, there were only 10 songs that made it onto the list. In the two decades before 2020, there were 117 Latin releases that made the Hot 100, with 2 taking the top spot. Since 2020, over 150 Latin tracks have made the list, with 53 breaking into the top 100 in 2023 alone, as of September.
A few years ago, American artists faced very little competition from international or non-English artists. At the time of publication, one in seven tracks on the top 100 are Latin. This summer has proved to American listeners, and music fans around the world, that the regional Mexican artist is not just “regional”. They can become global superstars, and they can compete with English-language tracks for listens, and critical acclaim.
