Regional Mexican Music Is Going Global, And It’s Been A Long Time Coming

Growing up in the United States, a country that likes to tell itself stories about it being the center of the world, I cannot say that I grew up listening to Mexican regional music. Part of this is purely circumstantial and cultural; my own background is Jewish, so, when they weren't spinning Tom Petty and Carole King CDs, my parents filled our home with klezmer CDs and songs performed in Hebrew. My best shot at hearing popular regional Mexican music would've been through Selena Quintanilla. I was still a little young for Selena, being about eight when she was tragically killed. Otherwise, I might have heard a little Joan Baez -- but that would be it.