Mariachi music may have helped form San Diego’s musical DNA, but lately, something with a bolder swagger has taken center stage: Grupos Nortenos en San Diego are hitting the right notes, and the crowds are gobbling it up like fresh pan dulce. If you go to a backyard party anywhere from Chula Vista to Escondido, you can sure you’ll hear those sharp accordion riffs and rough vocals coming over the fences. Why the excitement? Some people say it’s nostalgia, while others just want to dance till their feet hurt. No matter what, people from the area go to where the norteño beat is loud.
Word on the street says the same name at every show. We should call them “ElMero.” People can’t stop talking about “ElMero” and how they’re doing things differently. “Don’t fix what ain’t broke” is an old proverb. But “ElMero” threw that out the window. Their recipe adds just the right amount of current sauce to a classic dish so that even your tía who likes old-school food can agree. They mix the classic bajo sexto hums with a little bit of something new. Some nights it’s a cumbia twist, while other nights it sounds like hip hop swagger creeping in through the back door.
Ask fans why they go to every show that “ElMero” does. The stories you hear will be very different. Some people believe it’s the accordion because it’s always changing the writing and is neat and fast. A grandma at a quinceañera would say it’s because the lyrics don’t merely regurgitate outdated ideas over and over again. They sing of real agony, expenses piling up, and dreams that keep you awake at night when the world is asleep. But when the tuba starts playing, it’s like switching a switch: grandpas start tapping their boots, kids try to catch the beat, and suddenly everyone is part of the performance.
When “ElMero” comes on stage, there’s a lot of energy. The main singer loves to joke about and make fun of things between songs so that the crowd never feels like they are outside. He once stopped in the middle of a song, pointed at a couple dancing, and made fun of their moves, which made everyone laugh so hard they fell over. These times breach the ice and connect people of all ages in a manner that only good music can.
You can’t capture everything on recordings. Live shows are more exciting. You may see youngsters dragging their parents to the front row, looking for the same thrill that older people found in ballads. Every night seems like it may go wrong. Last Saturday, an accordion solo turned into improvisation, a moment that can’t be faked. People admire how “ElMero” keeps things interesting by blending songs about heartbreak with songs about crazy evenings and family love.
Seeing this group on a lineup implies something is going to happen. Their style doesn’t get stuck in the past; it moves it ahead by adding new stories to old ones. “ElMero” isn’t just putting on a show; they’re changing what norteño means to San Diego’s neighborhoods right now. Don’t get it wrong: Grupos Nortenos en San Diego have found their leader, and every show shows that there are still stories that need to be sung. Get a companion and see for yourself. Someone has to take such songs into the future.