Carnival and regional Mexican music. Let’s see the women
Like many other places, especially in the US city of New Orleans and the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, there is Carnival, a week-long celebration leading up to Ash Wednesday. In the Mexican state of Jalisco (and some others) this is accompanied by charreadas – roughly, Mexican rodeos – and daily concerts. The concerts almost always feature Banda and ranchero bands which are all men. That means a week of music without a single woman onstage.
How can this be? The hottest rock band in Mexico is The Warning, three sisters from Monterrey whose cumulative streaming numbers exceed 120 million and who just sold out the biggest arena in Mexico. Mexican women are 49% of the streaming market in Mexico and 56% of the consumers of regional music. Yet no women are on stage in Carnival where I live and in most Carnival concerts in municipalities around the country
A female friend told me that Banda and ranchero are what local Mexicans want because they can dance to it. And Banda and ranchero bands are male, so there are no women. That’s the way it works.
But it doesn’t have to. There are plenty of female regional Mexican bands, or bands with women or even led by women that you can dance to. If you don’t believe me, consider:
Horoscopos de Durango, fronted by sisters Vicky and Marisol Terrazas, this duranguense band (a brass-driven subgenre of Banda) has been a staple in regional Mexican music since the early 2000s and whose song DosLos has streamed 42 million and rows every day
Grupo Emperatriz A rising female-led Banda group whose bold interpretations of regional Mexican standards helped revitalized brass-heavy Banda traditions.
Mujer Latina One of Mexico’s foremost all-female mariachi bands, formed in 2004 in Guadalajara who also perform traditional ranchero. And they deliver dance music in spades.
Ely Quintero A Sinaloan singer-songwriter in corridos, a cornerstone of regional Mexican music. You can polka all night to her 2 million streamed Las Descompadas – complete with accordion and trumpets, just like the guys – only more fun.
Conexión Divina This all-female Mexican-American sierreño trio (Liz Trujillo, Sandra Calixto, and Ashlee Valenzuela) combines the melancholic requinto guitar melodies of corridos tumbados with danceable regional music.
Ivonne Galaz A rising star from Sonora, Galaz redefines corridos using women’s perspectives Her tracks bridging traditional and contemporary styles have earned over a million streams.
Michelle BI. Known for her “hot corridos”, Michelle Bojórquez infuses regional Mexican music with unapologetic sensuality.
Estilo Sin Limite Led by vocalist Dania Valenzuela, now signed with Rancho Humilde , Mexico’s premier record label that specializes in modernizing regional Mexican music, can rock a stage with danceable corridos tumbados.
And for people who just have to have 12 guys on stage, there is La Sonora Santanera who just added María Fernanda Alvo as a lead singer and who have toured with the insanely popular Ana Barbara.
And there are so many more: Majo Aquilar, eydrey, Belinda, Domenica, Fatima Campo, Lilli Zetina, Patricia Manterola, etc, etc. etc.
So, the next time one of the municipalities – especially the one I live in, Chapala – puts together a Carnival music lineup, there is no excuse not to have women on stage – lots of them. As you can see, they have plenty of female Banda and ranchero and corrido bands to choose from that can make people dance . And they might try a little rock , too, while they are at it.
P.S. If this sounds like last year’s complaint of no women, it is.
Banner: Groups Emperatriz
Patrick O’Heffernan
