Music of Mexico

I like Mexican music, having acquired a taste for it listening to Juarez-based stations during my years in El Paso, Texas.

But now, living in Washington state, that music is a lot harder to find.

The answer:

Pandora Radio, an awesome online music service that's free. You simply register, then enter the name of a favorite artist, and Pandora will create a "radio station" that gives you music from that artist, plus other music that's similar. With a click of the mouse you can get more info on the artist or on the specific recording being played, and of course, you can also link to sites that let you purchase the music.

For Mexican music, I have Pandora stations based on Flaco Jimenez, for an accordion-based "norteno" sound (Jimenez was from south Texas) and Lola Beltran. On the Beltran channel you'll hear Mariachi Vargas, Vicente Fernandez, Pedro Infante and others in a mariachi "ranchera" style. Both excellent accompaniments to a good Mexican dinner.

I also have channels based on Elmore James, Art Pepper, Don Cherry, Coleman Hawkins, Gene Autry, Son House...It's pretty addictive, if you have a lot of odd musical tastes that aren't indulged by your local radio stations and you don't feel like shelling out money for a satellite radio subscription.