Mexican Popular Music: Norteno, Tejano, Banda

If you live anywhere there's a reasonably-sized hispanic population (especially the Southwestern U.S.), Mexican popular music is all around you. Walk into a record store and you'll probably find a large section labelled "Mexican Regional Music". So - what kind of music is it? What about all the different buzzwords: tejano, norteno, grupero, narcocorrido, mariachi, bolero, etc., etc.

Mexican regional music has never quite gotten the acceptance in the international community that some of its fellow Latin genres have, but that's changing with great groups like Los Kumbia Kings and Conjunto Primavera. This profile covers only a few of the diverse musical forms - if you like the more traditional Mexican sound, be sure to check out Mariachi and Ranchera music.