Norteño (music)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Norteño (literally meaning "northern" in Spanish; also known as conjunto) is a genre of Mexican music. The accordion and the bajo sexto are norteño's most characteristic instruments. This genre of music is extremely popular in both the United States and Mexico among the Mexican community. Though originating from rural areas, norteño is highly popular in urban as well as rural areas. Many norteño bands will have either "Los...del Norte," "Los...de (Sinaloa, Michoacán, etc.)," or "Conjunto" as part of their name. Examples include Los Tigres del Norte and Conjunto Primavera.

Some of the most popular norteño artists include Los Tigres del Norte, Ramón Ayala y sus Bravos del Norte, Esteban Jordan, Los Gavilanes, Carlos y Jose, Los Alegres de Terán, Los Huracanes del Norte, and Los Tucanes De Tijuana. Thanks to the popularity of radio stations playing regional Mexican music, many norteño artists have become widely popular among the Mexican-American community. Local radio stations have continued to be a major influence in popularizing norteño.

1 History
2 Features
3 The sound of norteño
- 3.1 Sound samples
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

Norteño originated slightly north of the Rio Grande in the Texas-Mexico borderlands in the early 20th century. Mariachi and guitar bands in southern Texas gradually developed a unique style. Traditionally, norteño bands played corridos, polkas, and rancheras.

Polka, which originated from Bohemia, has also had a significant influence on norteño. Compared side-by-side, some styles of American polka may bear striking resemblance to norteño music. The polka beat is characteristic of norteño. At the turn of the 20th century, Bohemian immigrants flowed into Sinaloa, Mexico to farm the land and mine coal. Along with them, they brought the accordion and the polka beat. Soon, local bands adopted these elements, and a unique style gradually resulted from a blend with the original Mexican mariachi and ranchera styles. This new style soon became a unique norteño genre, thus named because it was founded north of the Mexican border.

In the 1950s, the heavy influence of Norteño on the traditional music of Mexican-Americans in southern Texas gave rise to a new form of popular music, called Tejano or "Tex-Mex", which is often influenced by American rock and swing [1]. Tejano music often includes English and may sound much more like American rock and country music, but is a broad genre of music incorporating many different styles, all having origin in traditional Texas Mexican music. Because traditional Norteño is perhaps the most popular subgenre of the Tejano musical category, the two are often confused to be one and the same. Though Norteño came first, Tejano music is the broader genre which may include Norteño (e.g., Bobby Pulido is typical of Tejano music, while Ramón Ayala is typical of norteño music. The difference can be easily heard.)

Modern norteño has also diverged significantly from "oldie" norteño. Since the 1970s and 1980s, Norteño has seen the addition of electric bass guitars and modern percussion. The traditional guitar-and-accordion style of Los Alegres de Teran and Antonio Aguilar transformed into the modern style typical to that of Los Tigres del Norte, Chalino Sanchez, and Oro Norteño. In the past, norteño bands consisted of an accordion as the lead instrument, with the bajo sextos (a type of 12-string Mexican guitar) serving as the roots of the music. Today, a typical norteño band usually includes a drum set, and a saxophone or electronic keyboard may also be included. Click here to hear what a typical norteño song sounds like. (Un Puño de Tierra by Ramon Ayala y sus Bravos del Norte)

Norteño became even more popular in the 1990s and 2000s in the United States as the Latino-American community increased rapidly. Norteño continues to be one of the most popular types of modern Mexican music today.

[edit] Features

Distinguishable features of norteño include use of the button accordion and bajo sexto. The rhythm is usually steady and can be middle or fast tempo. Norteño is a style of Mexican country music and thus has a more rural sound. Some artists like Ramón Ayala may sound older and more traditional, while others such as Oro Norteño and Los Dueto Voces del Rancho have a rowdier style and stronger beat.

Genres similar to norteño include banda and duranguense. Banda and duranguense bands have almost entirely brass instruments instead of accordions and guitars. However, banda and duranguense often play the same songs that norteño bands play, and they have the same steady beat of norteño. Lyrics and artist names are also similar. Because these bands often display their place of origin in their band names, norteño, banda, duranguense, and other similar genres can be classified into a category known as "regional Mexican music," thereby including Norteño as both a north of the border and south of the border type of "regional" music.

[edit] The sound of norteño

See also: Regional styles of Mexican music

Norteño has many different regional styles. Norteño in Texas, for example, is very likely to be influenced by American music, while norteña from Tijuana and Tamaulipas may sometimes have influences from the Caribbean. Durango and Sinaloa have also produced norteña bands, even though the two states are more closely associtated with the musical style of banda (or duranguense). Chihuahua and Zacatecas norteño often incorporates the saxophone into their bands, creating a saxophone-accordion duet. Additionally, norteña music from Guanajuato and Chiapas sometimes employs synthetic marimbas in their music instead of the usual accordion.

Each norteño band also has its own unique adorno (music which interrupt the lyrical lines in between). For example, one of Los Tigres del Norte's adornos is a series of flutters, while Los Rieleros del Norte's adornos are characterized by descending scales.