9 Interesting Mexican Sports You Probably Don’t Know
The popular imagination that runs through everyone’s mind when they hear about Mexican sports is soccer or futbol. As a popular sport, it is the
Almost two years ago, I interviewed one of the famous Mexican singers, Leonardo Prieto, to understand the influence of Mexican folklore in his rock music. During the interview, the topic of colonial influence on Mexican music also came up, and he gave a fascinating perspective.
Another interesting fact is that Leonardo Prieto moved to the Netherlands in 2016 to pursue a music degree at Codarts Conservatory in Rotterdam.
It’s interesting because recently, I have seen a trend where European bands mix music from cultures across the globe. Now, I wonder how Leonardo Prieto’s time in the Netherlands must have influenced his music.
As I reread his interview, I also went through his Mexican music recommendations. This post results from his famous singers Mexico recommendations and some of my Mexican friends.
So, let’s discuss the top 10 famous singers of Mexico and how they have brought Mexican music to a global audience.
Natalia Lafourcade is one of the best Mexican singers who performs pop-rock, jazz, and folk music. She was born in 1984 in Mexico City and began her music career in the early 2000s.
Since the release of her self-titled album in 2002, she has been one of the top female Mexican singers in Latin America and the United States.
So far, she has released 10 albums, with the latest album, De Todas las Flores, coming in as recent as 2022.
However, her 2015 album, Hasta la Raíz, was the album on which she turned to her Mexican roots, including sounds like bolero and ranchera.
Un Canto por México is one of her critically acclaimed albums. It is a tribute to Mexican folk music, and she did this album as a fundraiser for the reconstruction of a cultural centre in Veracruz.
Lafourcade remains one of the famous Mexican singers for her continued experimentation with contemporary pop and traditional Mexican music. To date, she has won 17 Latin Grammys and 4 Grammy Awards.
Siddhartha is an exception to our famous Mexican singers list because his work is quite experimental and different. As one of the biggest Mexican indie rock musicians, he creates atmospheric sound and takes a cinematic approach to music.
Before launching his solo career, he was the drummer for the popular Mexican rock band Zoé. After leaving Zoé, he pursued a solo career, releasing his debut album, Why You? in 2008.
And it is in Why You? Where his music is quite experimental. He blends indie rock with electronic elements to create a dreamy sound for fans of alternative and experimental genres.
His next 2 albums, El Vuelo del Pez and Únicos, have made him one of the top music artists from Mexico. With a growing fan base across Latin America, Siddhartha continues to push boundaries in the indie music scene.
Luis Miguel is one of the best Mexican singers famous for popularising the bolero genre and Latin pop. He was born to an Italian mother and a Spanish father in Puerto Rico. However, he grew up in Mexico, amusingly known as El Sol de Mexico (The Sun of Mexico).
Luis Miguel is also credited with reviving the bolero genre in his 1991 album Romance, bringing classic Latin love songs into the spotlight. Bolero is a slow form of Spanish dance that originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century and became popular in Latin America with time.
So, it’s no surprise that his album sold millions of copies not just in Mexico but across Latin America and among Spanish-speaking people. It also won him a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album.
Apart from bolero, Luis also plays pop, mariachi, and ballads while infusing bolero roots. Netflix also released a biography series on Luis Miguel’s life. You can stream Luis Miguel – The Series on Netflix.
Vicente Fernández is considered the “King of Ranchera Music,” a traditional Mexican music. His career spanned over five decades, during which time he played traditional ranchera music and brought it to a global audience. In those five decades, he recorded more than 50 albums.
Vicente Fernández remains one of the most famous Mexican singers of all time. In 2023, Rolling Stone included him as the greatest Mexican singer of all time. His awards over the decades testify to his legacy, as he won four Grammys and nine Latin Grammy Awards.
Two of his songs, “Volver, Volver” and “El Rey,” became anthems of Mexican culture and identity. Both songs are in the ranchera genre, and their popularity shows how music can transcend borders.
Apart from music, Fernández was also an actor and producer. He mainly worked in charro films, like Matar o Morir and La ley del monte, which solidified his image as the charro (Mexican cowboy).
He starred in over 30 films during the late 20th century. You can explore more about Mexican cinema in the best Mexican movies. His son Alejandro Fernández is also one of the famous singers from Mexico who has sold over 20 million records worldwide.
Juan Gabriel was/is another Mexican music artist and icon of Latin American music. He was known as “El Divo de Juárez,”. It is because he rose to prominence from poverty in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez.
His unique voice, flamboyant stage presence, and passionate performances make him one of the top famous singers of Mexico. His music career also expanded to nearly five decades.
During those decades, he composed over 1,800 songs and sold over 100 million records worldwide. He sang songs in all traditional Mexican genres, such as ranchera, ballads, pop, and mariachi.
However, his emotional ballads about love, heartbreak, and life made him a cultural icon in Mexico and one of the best Mexican music artists throughout Latin America. Some of his most famous emotional ballads include “Amor Eterno,” “Querida,” and “Hasta Que Te Conocí”.
José José was one of the most famous Mexican singers known as “El Príncipe de la Canción” (The Prince of Song). He rose to fame in the 1970s and became one of Latin America’s most successful ballad singers.
Throughout his career, which spanned over 4 decades, he recorded 32 studio albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide. He was particularly famous for his romantic ballads, with hits like “El Triste,” “40 y 20,” and “Gavilán o Paloma,” which are now classics of Latin pop music.
As it often happens, some pop and rock stars struggle with tremendous success, and José’s life was no different. His battle with alcoholism and health issues was well-documented. Despite these challenges, he continued to perform and release music.
Café Tacvba is of the pioneering and highly influential Mexican alternative/Latin rock band formed in Mexico City in 1989. Café Tacvba are quite famous for innovative sound blends using various genres, including rock, electronic, punk, and traditional Mexican music.
The band members include Rubén Albarrán, Emmanuel del Real, Enrique Rangel, and Joselo Rangel. These guys are widely attributed to shape the rock en español movement.
Café Tacvba released their debut self-titled album in 1992, which sold over 40,000 copies in just two weeks. This marked their international breakthrough, followed by performances at prestigious festivals worldwide.
It’s the Re, the band’s 1994 album, which is quite an experimental work. It mixes Mexican folk music with modern rock, making it one of the most brilliant works in the Latin American music scene.
Over the years, Café Tacvba has won multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards. Their ability to fuse tradition with innovation makes them one of the top music artists from Mexico.
Julieta Venegas is one of the top famous Mexican singers who has deeply influenced Latin American pop-rock indie music since the late 1990s. Although she was born in the United States but grew up in Tijuana, Mexico, where she learned to fuse alternative rock and traditional Mexican sounds.
She, however, has to wait for a decade for mainstream success. And, that breakthrough came with the release of Sí (2003), which included hits like “Andar Conmigo,”. This album has a more accessible pop sound while retaining the lyrical depth and instrumental experimentation that characterized her earlier work.
She solidified her ascent with the album Limón y Sal, which made her a Latin pop icon. She also won a Grammy Award for this album in the Best Latin Pop Album category.
As a songwriter, she writes on the themes of love, identity, and social issues that resonate with audiences across Latin America. Her album Los Momentos is more introspective, as it addresses issues like drug violence in Latin America.
Drug violence is an issue which is also the subject of some Latin American movies. I have covered some of the movies on this subject in Colombian movies, Argentinian movies and best Mexican movies.
Alejandro Fernández is one of the top Mexican famous singers who is also known as “El Potrillo”. Just like Julieta Venegas, he also masterfully blends traditional Mexican music with contemporary pop. He is the son of the legendary Vicente Fernández (which I have discussed above).
Just like his father, he is also rooted in ranchera and mariachi but his embracing of modern genres made him one of the best Mexican singers. He released his first self-titled debut album in the early 1990s.
It was not until the late 1990s when his career took a notable turn when he turned to Latin pop. His ability to navigate between rancheras and more mainstream genres, such as pop and bolero, has expanded his fan base globally.
Over the years, he has collaborated with international artists like Beyoncé and Christina Aguilera. These notable collaborations and mixture of Latin pop with traditional Mexican music makes him one of the most famous singers of Mexico.
Armando Manzanero was/is one of the top Mexican music artists and composers. He is famous as the “King of Romantic Music,”. He composed over 400 songs and recorded over 30 albums throughout his seven-decade career.
Manzanero’s impact reached far beyond Mexico, as many of his compositions were translated and performed by international stars like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett.
This global recognition made him a bridge between Latin music and the rest of the world. For his contributions to Latin and world music, he was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
Some of his most famous compositions include “Somos Novios” (It’s Impossible), “Esta Tarde Vi Llover” (Yesterday I Heard the Rain), and “Adoro.”
He was also a dedicated mentor to young artists and served as the president of the Mexican Society of Authors and Composers (SACM) for many years, advocating for the rights of songwriters and musicians.
The best thing about famous Mexican singers is that they continue to captivate audiences by perfectly blending traditional Mexican music with modern music. And, this experimentation is everywhere when it comes to considering famous singers of Mexico.
This innovative approach has helped Mexican music and best Mexican singers create a cultural significance that appeals to global listeners. The impact of these top Mexican music artists extends beyond music, often reflecting the Mexican cultural identity.
Speaking of the unique Mexican cultural identity, tequila is another thing for which Mexico is quite famous. After all, you should know what is the best tequila in Mexico, if you plan to visit soon.
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2 Responses
Mi mejor cantante el charro cantor que fue un gran gremialista lucho por los artistas para que tuvieran un sindicato .y ahora ya lo olvidaron Mucha ingratitu
Muchas gracias por tu comentario! Que suerte que lo incluí. Pedí ayuda de mis amigos mexicanos para tener artistas como él que son muy buenos pero tal vez no tan conocidos.