Los Tucanes de Tijuana are pioneers of contemporary norteño music, molding the sound into what it is today and contributing to its astronomic rise. The Sinaloa-born ensemble led by Mario Quintero Lara have become one of the groups that best embody the sound of Tijuana, a place that boasts the likes of Carlos Santana, Julieta Venegas, and Nortec Collective as notable alumni of its diverse music scene. Los Tucanes’ arrival in Tijuana in the late ‘80s parallels the invasion of Sinaloense culture that would dominate the border city in subsequent years. Championing a modern style of norteño and corridos characteristic of northern Mexico, the band were keen enough to capitalize on the burgeoning popularity of onda grupera and the quebradita craze that swept dance floors all over the Americas in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Anthems like 1995’s “La Chona” and 1997’s “El Tucanazo” became ubiquitous, thanks to their criminally infectious hooks, which continue to act as instant magnets for dancers at weddings, quinceañeras, and barbecues to this day. Meanwhile, songs like 1995’s “Mis Tres Animales” paved the way for drug-themed narcocorridos reaching mainstream popularity. The group’s knack for perpetuating the urban lore of the criminal underworld would ultimately get them banned from performing in their hometown, though this did little to curb their popularity. More recently, Los Tucanes de Tijuana have crossed over beyond their working-class fanbase to reach younger Latinx audiences; and in 2019, they became the first norteño act to appear at Coachella.