Los Rieleros del Norte

Since the '80s, los Rieleros del Norte have been one of the top bands in traditional Mexican music. Their specialty is norteño, an exuberant, often sentimental style that is also known as conjunto or Tex-Mex. Norteño is the Spanish word for "northern" and Mexicans refer to norteño/conjunto as "musica del norte" (music of the north) because it was created north of the Mexican border -- Texas, to be exact. Those who aren't into Mexican music may not be familiar with terms like norteño, conjunto, or ranchero, but anyone who has spent time in Texas, California, Arizona, or any other place that has a large Mexican population has no doubt heard the distinctive, instantly recognizable Tex-Mex sound (which is known for its polka beat and use of the accordion). All over Mexico and the southwestern United States, norteño, conjunto, and ranchero music is extremely popular, and those places are where los Rieleros del Norte has the largest fan base. While mariachi was created south of the Mexican border, norteño is very much a product of the Mexican-American experience. When German immigrants moved to southern Texas in the 20th century, they brought their polka beat with them -- and when Mexican-Americans combined that beat with Mexican influences (especially the ranchero music of Northern Mexico), the hybrid Tex-Mex sound was born. It was a sound that owed something to the dance music of Berlin and Munich, as well as traditional Mexican ranchero standards like "Alla en el Rancho Grande." In the '40s and '50s, norteño's popularity spread all over the southwestern U.S. and Mexico; the Tex-Mex beat became as popular in Acapulco, Guadalajara, Tijuana, and Mexico City as it became in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. By the time bassist Manolo Morales founded los Rieleros del Norte...