Best Regional Mexican Bands & Singers

This legendary trio, founded in 1944 by Mexicans Alfredo Gil and Chucho Navarro, and Puerto Rican Hernando Avilés in New York, achieved worldwide fame by integrating vocal harmonies and guitar, an instrument that became central to their sound. Los Panchos’ initial repertoire was based on Mexican ranchera songs, huapango and son huasteco. The group’s interpretive style quickly took the entire continent by storm and helped popularize the bolero internationally, with its fusion of classic bolero and Latin music influences. Los Panchos’ catalog consists of more than 200 albums, and the artists the trio collaborated with include Eydie Gormé, Julio Iglesias, Pedro Infante, Lucho Gatica, Johnny Albino and María Martha Serra Lima, becoming an emblem of the musical romanticism of that era in Mexico. — NATALIA CANO

One of the most potent voices in banda music, Lizárraga was part of regional Mexican powerhouses La Adictiva and La Original Banda El Limón before embarking on a solo career in 2005. His versatility and powerful vocal range has powered love songs that he performs with pathos, rancheras that reflect his love for horses and the rancho, and witty songs that he imbues with his distinctive good humor and mischievousness. — TERE AGUILERA

Priscila Camacho and her band burst onto the norteño music scene in the mid-1990s, captivating fans of the genre with the modern, fresh image projected by its vocalist and leader, who would eventually be dubbed “The Princess of the Accordion.” The product of a family of musicians — she and her siblings Tirzo and Úrsula Sol are the children of famous composer Tirzo Paiz — her style oscillated between Tex-Mex and pop norteño fusion. The band disbanded in 2011 after the singer married Gustavo Ángel, co-founder of Los Temerarios. The vocalist then took a new direction with her musical project, and now performs Catholic music. — N.C.

There’s no doubt that Ángela was born to perform. The daughter of Pepe Aguilar and granddaughter of the legendary Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre, the 21-year-old star oozes talent with her vibrant falsetto, which powers mariachi songs like “La Llorona,” “Qué Agonía” and “Ahí Donde Me Ven.” The youngest of the Aguilar dynasty, Ángela has already made a name for herself onstage — where she effortlessly sings while riding a horse (a nod to her grandparents) — and on the charts. So far, she’s landed three No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart and four top 10 hits on Latin Airplay, including her first No. 1 on that chart, “Por El Contrario,” with Leonardo Aguilar and Becky G. Her latest album, Nadie Se Va Como Llegó, saw Ángela take on the role of producer, committing to opening doors to other female producers in the genre. — GRISELDA FLORES

Led by the fierce Alicia Villarreal — a cultural icon whose loose braids underneath her tejana became a signature look adopted by Mexican girls in the 1990s — Límite ushered a new era for tejano music in Mexico and the U.S. With her polished and slightly raspy vocals at the center of the group’s songs, and her regia accent from Monterrey, Nuevo León powering lyrics of love and heartbreak, sonically Límite offered tejano with a pop-norteño twist, resonating with a fervid fanbase on both sides of the border. On the charts, the group scored 18 entries on the overall Latin Airplay chart — out of those, eight reached the top 10 — and seven top 10 entries on Top Latin Albums. After Límite, Villarreal went on to have a successful career, with her debut album Soy Lo Prohibido (2001) landing at No. 1 on Top Regional Mexican Albums, and peaking at No. 3 on Top Latin Albums. — G.F.

In the 1950s, Javier Solís (real name: Gabriel Siria Levario) became one of the pioneers of the then-new musical style known as bolero-ranchero, where he typically sang heartfelt boleros accompanied by mariachis. His timeless recordings include “Sombras Nada Más,” “Esclavo y Amo,” “Payaso,” “Media Vuelta” and “En Mi Viejo San Juan” — and the first of those five was recently performed by Shakira at GNP Seguros Stadium in Mexico as a tribute to her father, a nod to Solís enduring legacy. Solís, alongside Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante, were known as the “Three Mexican Roosters” for their contributions to the Latin music scene and to Mexico’s golden age of cinema. — JESSICA ROIZ

It is impossible to imagine norteño music without Los Cadetes de Linares. Homero Guerrero and Lupe Tijerina formed an iconic duo for regional Mexican music during the 1970s and 1980s. Linares, Nuevo León in Monterrey was the birthplace of these performers of traditional corridos, powered by a mighty accordion, who achieved a large number of hits, including norteño anthems “El Palomito” and “No Hay Novedad,” in a relatively short period of time, with their run sadly cut short by Guerrero’s death in a car accident in 1982. Today, the duo remains a major reference point for performers of the genre. — T.A.

With his imposing stature and strong personality, El Fantasma arrived with his signature ranchero style to teach new generations the value of traditional regional music. With country ballads and songs about overcoming adversity, he has earned the respect of audiences of all ages. Born Alexander García, El Fantasma writes and performs in the traditional banda style, but he also collaborates constantly with the new generation. All told, he’s scored eight No. 1s on Regional Mexican Airplay and nine career entries on Regional Mexican Albums. Because of his powerful vocals, he has been chosen by the family of José Alfredo Jiménez to perform several of his hits, as well as an unreleased song that will soon be released. — T.A.

El Shaka, as he was known, began his career in the late 1980s with the group Los Hermanos Vega, with whom he achieved significant success before becoming a solo artist. Throughout his two-decade career, he recorded more than 30 albums, accompanied by norteño and banda sinaloense genres that suited his voice very well. From corridos to romantic pieces, the Sonoran native became one of the great stars who, in a direct attack, was murdered at the age of 41, instantly becoming a legend. — T.A.

Considered Mexico’s most famous ranchera singer, Lucha Villa was born in Ciudad Camargo, Chihuahua, in the mid-1930s, under the name Luz Elena Bejarano, and it was television producer Luis Dillon who nicknamed her Lucha Villa, a contraction of Pancho Villa and the town in Chihuahua where she lived. Her biggest early hit was a cover of José Alfredo Jiménez’s classic “La Media Vuelta.” She then became a movie star when she appeared in the 1965 film El Gallo de Oro. She recorded tribute albums to Jiménez and Juan Gabriel, and was honored by the Divo de Juárez in Las Tres Señoras in 1996 alongside Lola Beltrán and Amalia Mendoza. — N.C.

The Mexican-American group, based in Chicago, first popularized duranguense music in the 1990s, a subgenre of traditional Mexican music that is a danceable mix of traditional banda with electronic instruments, a fusion of polka and ranchera. This fast-paced style was usually accompanied by distinctive fashion and a quickstep dance known as “el pasito duranguense.” Its founder, José Luis Terrazas, was a computer programmer, but driven by nostalgia for his native Durango and the demand for regional Mexican music, he began playing percussion. In 2024, the band unveiled its well-deserved star on the Las Vegas Walk of Fame. — N.C.

A benchmark of the pasito duranguense movement, the group continues the legacy of its founder José Ángel Medina, who died during the pandemic. His son Christian Medina has carried on the musical legacy, updating hits like “Qué Voy a Hacer?” and “Amor y Lágrimas” with modern sounds while preserving the essence of duranguense, which emerged in Chicago with musicians from Durango in the early 2000s, causing a phenomenon. It is currently enjoying a resurgence, bringing together the most representative artists on tours throughout Mexico and the United States. — T.A.

Although the group was formed five decades ago by Armando Terrazas, the arrival of his daughters Marisol and Vicky changed the concept with the pasito duranguense dance movement. The Terrazas sisters became the female face of this subgenre of regional Mexican music, which made its mark in the early 2000s. On the Billboard charts, Horóscopos entered 12 songs on Latin Airplay, three of those hitting the top 10, and three leaders on Regional Mexican Albums. Now, nostalgia has brought back this upbeat, rhythmic music — and Los Horóscopos de Durango, with a new tour in full swing, is proof of this new wave and its importance within Mexican music. — T.A.

K-Paz got its start in Chicago in the early 2000s, popularizing duranguense, a danceable, polka-sounding style, with roots in the Mexican state of Durango, that powered wistful and romantic songs alike. While a handful of groups are credited for ushering the duranguense movement, fusing technobanda and tamborazo, K-Paz was at the center of it all, with Sergio Gómez as its lead singer, known for his soft and melodic vocals. He was gunned down in Mexico at age 34 in 2007 after achieving much success with K-Paz. The group scored several hits in its four-year career, with two top 10 songs on Hot Latin Songs in 2005 — “Volveré” and “Mi Credo.” K-Paz’ other hits include 2006’s “Te Vas a Arrepentir” and “Y Aquí Estoy,” featuring Ana Gabriel. — G.F.

Miguel Angulo and Miguel Montoya, both from Sinaloa, wrote a very important chapter in the history of Mexican regional music in the 1980s by pioneering the use of the 12-string requinto, which gave rise to the sierreño sound, a style that would be taken up by the legendary Ariel Camacho and later by corridos tumbados artists like Natanel Cano. Corridos and songs of love and heartbreak are part of the important catalog of this iconic duo, admired by multiple generations. — T.A.