Grupo Frontera, the band that unites Mexico and the United States

In April 2022, six young people with Puebla hats, born on both sides of the Mexico-United States border, appeared on TikTok with a version of Morat's "No se va" stripped of its pop base and loaded with Mexican northern cumbia. The one who provided the vocals, Payo Solís, had just finished high school in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. His colleagues were involved in livestock, photography, finance, and managing a trucking company. Thus, Grupo Frontera was born.

In four years, following the viral success of "No se va," that sextet of twenty and thirty-year-olds has become one of the most solid groups in the Latin spectrum with their immersion in Mexican regional music. They have collaborated with Bad Bunny, Shakira, Maluma, Carín León, and Myke Towers. They have created their own record label, BorderTown Records, to launch new groups from the Valley. And now they are taking on Europe. "Triste Pero Bien C*brón" is their first tour on the continent, starting in Paris on June 25 and with four stops in Spain: Barcelona on June 26, Gran Canaria on July 4, Marbella on the 6th, and Madrid on the 9th.

"All of this started with the dream of getting together every weekend to play at quinceañera parties and weddings to earn a little more money for our families. 'No se va' exploded, and Julián [Peña, who plays the congas] was the one who took the first step to quit his job. Gradually, all of us left ours because they wanted us in Houston or California. When you put all your faith in God and trust, He has a plan for you," says Payo Solís, accompanied by Juan Javier Cantú, second voice and accordion player.

They did it even though none of the band members knew anything about the music industry, not even how to make their music available on digital platforms. "We knew nothing, literally nothing, about the industry, but it was a risk we had to take if we wanted to see our dreams come true. We didn't even know how to upload our music to platforms; we searched on Google and YouTube how to do it. Some of us didn't even know what TikTok was back then," insists the vocalist. Ironically, the Chinese social network was the one that laid the foundation for this career that begins in the United States but cannot be understood without Mexico and its folklore.

All members of Grupo Frontera have some connection to Mexico. They were either born there, spent part of their lives in its regions, or their families come from Mexico. Moreover, in all of their homes, northern cumbia - and other traditional genres like mariachi or tumbado - have played, which are now present in their songs, sometimes mixed with current urban genres.

"We have always been proud to be Latinos; the northern cumbia we make is what we grew up listening to at home. We have always tried to promote our music, our sound, our culture," says Solís. He continues, "We would love to think that the rest of the world is enjoying listening to the music we grew up with. In our latest EP, there is a bolero, 'Cuéntame,' that I remember listening to when I was eight or nine years old in the truck with my dad or at family barbecues. It's a pride that people are now listening to that as if it were something more urban."

We are border people. The criminalization of immigrants feels more personal to us. We have family, uncles, grandparents, and even partners who are trying to fix their immigration status, and from the beginning, we have always said that we are here to help people as much as possible, to represent Mexican culture. We donate to the consulates where we are from; we went to donate to the Monterrey consulate [in California] to those who are fixing their cases and do not have enough money to pay a lawyer. More than 20 families have resolved their cases with our help.

Payo Solís's grandparents and parents crossed the Mexico-United States border before he was born. Juan Javier Cantú was born in Monterrey. Beto Acosta, the band's bassist, lived most of his life in Reynosa, in the northern state of Tamaulipas. And the group's name says it all. They are children of that border crossing, living halfway between two cultures, like many other Americans, especially in the southern states.

"We feel the pain of seeing how they are treating our people. This hits home, personally. These are things we have experienced and seen firsthand. It hurts us to see that people are suffering the same way our parents and families suffered," explains Solís. And for the first time, Cantú adds, "This reinforces our idea of reclaiming Mexican culture because they will not silence Mexicans or Latinos. Now that we have more voice, we cannot remain silent. We all have to speak up and help; there is no other option."

In their desire to help in different areas, the members of Grupo Frontera have wanted to delve deeper since the beginning of their career. On their way to a concert in Houston, a father contacted them to sing "No se va" to his terminally ill son. They went there to fulfill the request of someone who wanted to bid farewell to his son with a song of heartbreak and pain. "Love and pain always come together; you cannot have love without knowing that there will be pain in the future. Singing about pain and love is basically singing about the same thing in any type of relationship."