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MCXICO'S NASHVILLE

B Y S E R G I O M A R T T N E Z

Ano uY to Indepundencia (1910, Alfred Giles).

MY MOTHER Ttus me that my grandfather In the 'NOs, radio programmers began Ezequiel liked parties and sharing good offering Mexicans music in their own times with his friends. We're talking language. Suddenly, norteno commanded about the If >0s, the young adulthood ot the eyes and ears ol all Mexico — and my grandparents, the childhood of my also of fans in the United States. Dances mother, a Monterrey of possibly 100,000 ireally concerts) drew up to 150,000 inhabitants. Almost every weekend, my people. To accommodate the crowds, grandparents converted their house into a norteno events were held in parks and kind of party hall. They butchered a even soccer stadiums. sheep or kid goat, or maybe a call if the Bronco's lead singer, Lupe Esparza, party was very big, and they arranged a opened his own recording studio in big pit barbecue. Or it they had a pig, Monterrey, and l.os Jemararios and other there was a little festival of chicharrones, I groups soon followed sun. Monterrey carnitas, and other delicacies of the became Mexico's Nashville, its country- Mexican country kitchen. music capital. Music wasn't lacking. It was norteno, Norteno's popularity favored an inter- the regional music of northeastern Mexico change between Mexico and the United — a rural, working-class music, the coun- States — not just a commercial inter- try music of Mexico. All the musk oi change, but a cultural one as well. In Nuevo Leon comes from the farms {at lexas, accordion-driven music had sur- least the imisn. that has Listed), but its vived as Tejano, norteno's American rela- root-, are surprisingly cosmopolitan. They tive. As Tejano interbred with norteno lie in central Kurope, in the Austro- and grupera, the norteno accordion resur f lungarian I'.mpire, in the salon dances faced, reclaiming some of the ground it IIIHII the middle of the 1 *>rh century. The had lost to the keyboard. Record sales in ftm Country oil mmo polka, the dedova, the schottische, the both genres soared. mazurka, the contradan/a, the wait/ — Tejano superstar Selena paved the

all are from central Kurope. And all have The ijloboliied qdoidion: Priiiili y tut Balm de Plain. way for norteno's first wildly popular made their way to northeastern Mexico. female singer, (irupo l.imire's Alicia The exceptions are the kuapangp and Villarreal, of Monterrey. Villarreal was in the corrido, subgenres with Mexican mes- turn followed by the genre's lirst popular tizo origins. Spanish influence declares female accordionist, Priscil.i I .un.icho, of itself in the guapango's rhythm and the and ol course, serenades for girlfriends, stars of Mexican cinema — Pedro Priscila y sus Balas de Plata. Camacho, corrido's words. Perhaps the corndo, or mothers, and lovers. Any local person can Infante, Jorge Negrete, Antonio Aguilar who lives and records her light, pop- Stor) song, is descended from the romaii- contract a duet or trio in the street, in a — favored other regions' music. Only I I influenced songs in Monterrey, has said za, the medium through which one village place called II Axco, which is a small I'iporro, a campy comedian, sang norteno that as a child she was inspired to learn sang the news to another. Hut now. monument in the middle of a principal in the movies. the accordion after watching a perfor- Instead ol talking about tragk lovers, avenue ot Monterrey. As American and P.uropcan pop and mance by uorteiio accordion king Ramon fights caused by women, and stories from Ever since the days of my grandfather, rock conquered Mexico, norteno — con- \yala. Ayal.i hw s in VIM A m, the Revolution, modern corridos tell sto- HI Arco was the meeting place for musi- sidered a hick music — went underground. In this way, Texas and northern ries of drug runners. cians, not only for the regional musicians It's not that norteno disappeared, just that Mexico reclaimed their unity Music Speaking of corridos, my mother — each group with an accordion and it didn't belong to ihe dominant culture. ignored1 the border. • tells me m y grandfather, like everyone ha jo sexto, a bass with six double strings When it appeared on TV, it was local TV. else, was honored by a corrido that — but also for the manachis and the Norteno wasn't played much on radio; u Since 1985, Sergio Martinez ami his wife, described his qualifies and good humor, romantic trios, groups whose roots lie in lived mainly through live performances. Dolores, hair performed as Mtisica lie probably paid to have it written for other regions ot Mexico. Potential In the _0s, norteno musicians lx-gan Maestro, an educational group that links him; I don't believe he was always in a employers stand on the avenue to audi- substituting electronic keyboard instru- Mexico's musk to the country's history. good humor. tion the groups, who are picked up by- ments for the accordion. At first they used passing cars and taken to the party. a kind of electronic organ: later, synthesiz- Translated from Spanish by David Theis, I u i i today, the Monterrey region's ers. A new genre was born: grupera music. groups continue to perform at parties, In the I l M0s, norteno was heard only In grupera, there are no soloists — only drinking sprees, weddings and baptisms, rarelv outside northeastern Mexico. The groups, such as bronco or I a Matia.