Grupera, also called Grupero or Onda Grupera, is a type of regional Mexican music. It became most popular in the 1990s, especially in rural areas. Grupera music started from rock groups in the 1960s but has changed a lot over time. Usually, this music is played by groups of four or more musicians. The instruments used include electric guitars, electronic keyboards, and drums. Grupera music became very popular in the 1980s, which helped it become commercially successful and gain a place in Latin music. Today, this genre is recognized in important Latin music awards like the Lo Nuestro Awards and the Latin Grammy Awards. This shows its lasting influence and importance in Latin America and other regions. Grupera music is a unique Mexican style that mixes traditional ranchera songs with sounds from norteño and other regional styles, such as corridos, cumbias, charangas, ballads, boleros, and huapangos.

Some well-known groups and artists in the grupera genre are Los Bukis, Los Temerarios, Bronco, Los Yonic's, and Grupo Bryndis. Grupera music is very popular in Mexico and other parts of Latin America. It remains an important part of Mexican music culture.

History

Mexican rock bands first began by performing Spanish versions of popular English rock songs. Later, these bands added traditional songs like rancheras, cumbias, and ballads to their performances. In the 1970s, many grupera bands emerged. These bands specialized in romantic ballads and songs that had previously been performed only by mariachi groups.

The term "grupera" comes from the word "grupo," which means "group" in Spanish. Many of these bands originated from rural areas and had previously played rock music. According to Madrid, as noted by Rivera Godina, the grupero movement was most popular in the 1970s. Famous artists, including those labeled as tropical music performers like Mike Laure, Rigo Tovar, Chico Che, and others from Mexico and other countries, blended romantic ballads with more danceable rhythms. Examples of these groups include Los Baby's, Los Freddy's, Los Corazones Solitarios, Los Pasteles Verdes, Los Barón de Apodaca, and Los Caminantes. As the music and film industries grew, the most famous norteño bands became closely linked to grupera music.

In the 1990s, the term "grupero" and its variations became part of Mexico's music industry and received media attention. This included bands such as Los Temerarios, Los Bukis, Los Tigres del Norte, Bronco, La Mafia, La Industria del Amor, Conjunto Primavera, Ana Bárbara, Grupo Bryndis, Los Acosta, Liberación, Grupo Mandigo, Mi Bande El Mexicano, Banda Machos, and Selena, the first American artist to gain popularity on both sides of the border. The media industry promoted grupera music by creating products like the radio station XEQR-FM, which used the slogan "Salvajemente grupera" (savagely grupero), and magazines like Furia Musical and cable channels like Bandamax. Companies like Televisa included grupera bands such as Bronco in telenovelas like Dos mujeres, un camino. Later, tropical cumbia artists like Celso Piña, Margarita la Diosa de la Cumbia, and Los Ángeles Azules were also grouped under the term "grupera."

A major change in grupera music came with the rise of banda sinaloense groups, especially through bands like Banda el Recodo, La Original Banda El Limón, and La Arrolladora Banda El Limón.

In the early 2000s, the term "Regional Mexican" began to be used in Mexico. This term had already been used in the United States for years to describe different types of rural Mexican music and to avoid including tropical music artists under the same label. Meanwhile, "grupera" came to describe bands and solo artists who used electric guitars, basses, electronic keyboards, and drums to perform ballads, cumbias, rancheras, corridos, boleros, and huapangos. Grupera music is one of many styles included under the broader category of Regional Mexican music.