At a large table in a conference room somewhere in the bowels of the Wynn Las Vegas, the members of Grupo Frontera looked tired.
The Tex-Mex quintet raced back and forth around Las Vegas for eight hours straight, conducting media interviews ahead of the Latin Grammys, which took place Nov. 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. They were nominated twice in the regional Mexican song category for their cumbia Norteña track “Me Jalo,” a collaboration with the rowdy Mexican-American group. Controlled forceand “Hecha Pa' Mí”, but will lose to “La Lotería” by Los Tigres del Norte.
Despite the fatigue, Grupo Frontera was glad to be back in Sin City, a testament to how far they had come in such a short period of time.
In 2022, shortly after forming, the South Texas group showed up at the final week of the Latin Grammys held in Las Vegas without being invited to any legitimate ceremony; It's a common move by young artists looking to make a name for themselves and perhaps rub shoulders with some of the biggest stars and producers in the Latin music world.
“We just did everything related to it, but not [Latin] “Grammy,” says lead vocalist Adelaido “Payo” Solis III. “I always think about the time when we had nothing behind us.”
Grupo Frontera is already making waves with its cover of No Se Va, a 2018 hit by Colombian pop group Morat. Their song norteño made it onto the Billboard Hot 100, despite the fact that the group had neither a major label deal nor a studio album of its own. Fame came to them quickly after they met another frontiersman, Edgar Barrera. The award-winning songwriter and producer (Madonna, Shakira, Karol G and The Weeknd) took the group under his wing after seeing them perform at the grand opening of a tire shop in McAllen, Texas.
In early 2023, Barrera teamed them up with Bad Bunny for the song “Un x100to”. Relying on accordion, a staple of border music for over a century, the modern love-struck cumbia about stalking an ex on Instagram and using the last remaining phone battery to apologize broke inhibitions, catapulting Grupo Frontera into the mainstream. A week after its release, Bad Bunny brought Solis on stage to perform it at Coachella.
Through collaborations with the biggest artist on the planet and under Barrera's tutelage, Grupo Frontera has quickly established itself as the Texan representative of the new wave of Mexican music, becoming one of the biggest players in a genre on the cusp of dominating the global streaming charts.
“The first year was one hundred percent filled with songs, lyrics and everything. [Barrera] told us,” Solis said. “We didn’t really know anything about the music industry, so in the beginning we just let him guide us and develop the sound that he wanted for us.”
The group called Barrera their Rick Rubin, referring to the Def Jam Records co-founder who produced albums for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slayer, Run-DMC, Lady Gaga and many other iconic acts.
Since then, Grupo Frontera has released three full-length albums and four EPs, while collecting three Latin Grammy Awards – they won for regional Mexican song in 2023 (“Un x100to”) and 2024 (“El Amor de su Vida” – a collaboration with Grupo Firme), and the Norteño album in 2023 for their debut studio album “El Comienzo”, which reached #34 on Billboard. 200.
Their latest album, “Lo Que Me Falta Por Llorar” (released October 23), is a mixture of classic cumbias norteñas (the bouncy, heartbreaking “Que Bueno Que Te Fueiste”), stunning Tejano songs (“Si me quiere”) and rousing huapango (“Quien la Manda”). It also draws on other popular Latin genres, with elements of reggaeton in “No Lo Ves” (featuring Ozuna) and trap flash in “Triste Pero Bien C—” (featuring rapper Mike Towers).
“It’s like Goldilocks and the Three Bears — the glory,” Solis said. “First [album] was too small, the second one was too big, and this one was just right.”
In November, Grupo Frontera received its first two Grammy nominations for their collaborative EP “Mala Mia” with Fuerza Regida and a solo EP entitled “Y Lo Que Viene”. The band was notified ahead of their performance at the Grand Ole Opry, marking another milestone as they became the first regional Mexican band to perform at the iconic Nashville venue.
There is a constant bet within the group: if Grupo Frontera wins American Grammy-winning Juan Javier Cantu, the band's accordionist and supporting vocalist, has a gramophone tattooed somewhere on him. This is a big deal given his concerns about body art.
All of the other band members, including conga guitarist Julian Peña Jr., bajo quinto player Alberto “Beto” Acosta and drummer Carlos Guerrero, already have a gramophone tattoo symbolizing their Latin Grammy wins. “It's an expensive habit,” Solis said, pointing to Acosta, whose neck and arms were covered in ink, as evidence.
“I think Beto’s body is worth more than his watch,” he said.
“He’s useless,” Cantu interjected. Confused, I asked if he meant “priceless.”
“No, he meant useless,” Guerrero chimes in jokingly, causing the group to burst into loud laughter. Beyond the teasing, there is a clear sense of respect and appreciation for each other. Throughout the interview, the band members argued with each other, occasionally throwing in “Te amo, compadre!”
“We want to always be the five of us, no matter how long the group lasts,” said Cantu, who admits he is the most sentimental of them all. “We had our disagreements, but there was never a moment when anyone wanted to leave. [the band]”
The latest album comes at a pivotal time for the Texas band, which will embark on an international “Triste Pero Bien C—” tour next year. Not everything about their meteoric rise was rosy.
Earlier this year, in a now-deleted TikTok video, Grupo Frontera danced to the villagers' “YMCA,” a song associated with Donald Trump rallies With at least 2020. Other videos Solis's grandparents dance to the song while holding voting stickers distributed online, prompting many viewers to question whether the participants were Trump supporters.
“No way, I don't think people are going to believe this! This didn't happen,” Solis told himself for the first time when he saw the rumors starting to spread online.
“It's like when you're a little kid and your mom asks you, 'Who did this?' You know you didn’t do anything, but they blame you for it, but your mom knows you didn’t do it,” Solis added. “That’s pretty much what we felt at that moment.”
Shortly after the social media frenzy, Grupo Frontera was named the headliner of the Sueños music festival in Chicago, causing a backlash among many attendees. One person online created a petition to remove him from the lineup. change.org.
The growing onslaught of criticism prompted the group to respond by posting messages on its social media platforms on February 7 and 22, saying that Grupo Frontera “has no affiliation or any alliance with any political party that is anti-immigrant and anti-Latino.”
The statements come at a difficult political moment for many in the Latino community. Trump, who has violently targeted immigrant groups, had just been sworn in for his second term and promised to pursue “the largest mass deportation in US history.” Many political experts also pointed out Hispanic vote leans toward Trump.
“Our music is about making love, connecting people at the border, not the other way around,” Cantu said. “Why would we get involved in something that seriously harms families?”
Solis hoped to clear the air on this topic once and for all and put an end to the rumors on social media.
“We do not support any person who opposes our people and harms our people, not only our Mexican community, but all Latinos,” he said. “Not just the president, but anyone.”
The band members say they learned several key lessons from the experience. First, they continue to show up where they believe they matter most, in the communities they care about. In March, when flash floods hit Reynosa, Mexico, a border city across the river in the Rio Grande Valley, the team delivered aid support for victims. The group also sacrificed A portion of all proceeds from the surprise EP “Y Lo Que Viene” went to frontline organizations following immigration raids in Los Angeles that have been ongoing since June.
“When it comes from the heart, people feel it and know it,” Cantu said.
“That’s how this dream began for the five of us: we wanted to create music that was different from what people heard. [music] it made sense and that everyone in their homes could come together in song,” Cantu said.[We want to hear ] the child says, “I want to listen to “No Capea,” and so does his grandpa!”
One would expect that such online rumors would take a toll on each member's mental health, perhaps unnecessarily upsetting them, but the band was resigned to the idea that some people would continue to question the band's intentions.
“But we understand people who are frustrated and want to take their anger out on someone, no one wants to see that. [their favorite artist] supporting those who are against society,” Cantu said. “But we are with you.”
Although Peña remained largely silent throughout the interview, he, who often says the band's slogan at the end of each song (“Y esto es Grupo Frontera!”), lifted his sleepy gaze from his desk to make his final statement of the day: “There's a saying: What you shouldn't, you're not afraid of.”
