Duranguense

(image by Señor Codo via flickr)

The hottest Mexican music today isn't even from México – not really. Duranguense ("doo-ron-ghen-say") may be named after the Mexican state of Durango, but it originated in the city of Chicago, in the American state of Illinois.

Popularized by artists like Móntez de Durango, Diana Reyes, Alacranes Musical, Ponzoña Musical, Los Horoscopos de Durango and K-Paz De La Sierra, duranguense is a stripped-down, electronic take on Banda, the horn-heavy traditional Mexican music most Americans associate with burritos and car washes. Substituting tubas and clarinets with keyboards and vocoders, duranguense bangers often exceed 150 beats per minute, driven by a thumping kick and frenetic, syncopated snare rolls or tamborazos. Many acts feature MCs and dancers to drive the audience into a dancing frenzy during live performances.

And what a dance it is. From the waist down, the pasito duranguense looks like many a traditional Mexican dance but a very different party is happening upstairs. Shoulders and elbows lock, pop and roll. Couples dance in tandem but not always arm in arm. It's a subtly forward style that extends off the dance floor where the emphasis falls on accessories like airbrushed cowboy hats and oversized belt buckles.

Like hip hop before it, duranguense is all about the remix. Most tracks are covers of well-known regional Mexican hits and even of straight-up pop like the Diana Reyes cover of Angels by Robbie Williams, Los Horoscopos de Durango updating Pandora's 1985 hit ¿Cómo te va? or Ponzoña Musical's take on "La Loca," originally a mid-70's hit for the Spanish answer to ABBA, Mocedades.

By now, Duranguense has made its way back to México, where it's both hot and hated but its future remains in the hands of Americans who know there's no going back.