Mexican-American singer-songwriter Régulo Caro told EFE that “regional Mexican music is the new pop,” a boom that has also presented him with the challenge of adapting and diversifying his income, as shown in an image that went viral of him delivering Amazon packages.
“I have brought this theory that regional Mexican music is not so much regional anymore. Mexican music right now is pop music, just like that, it’s pop music these days”, says Caro in an interview in Miami on the occasion of his latest album ‘Carpe Diem (Full Experience)’.
The artist, with a 15-year career, is one of the creators of the progressive corridos, which combine this traditional Mexican genre with rock and urban rhythms, and which precedes the corridos tumbados, popularized by figures such as Natanael Cano, now at the top of the music charts.
Regional Mexican became the most listened to Latin subgenre in the United States in 2024, where it was the main driver of a 15.4% growth in Latin music playback, with Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida and Junior H as the most listened to Hispanic artists after Bad Bunny, according to Luminate.
“The genre has expanded so much, and we, that it is now accepted worldwide, that’s great (very good), breaking those barriers that used to limit us for everything and now being part of that, obviously I’m not in the new generation, but I think we are all a link and we are pushing the next one,” says Caro.
The performer, born in California but raised in Sonora, a state on Mexico’s northern border, confesses that he “does try to adapt to the new in the production of sound”, although he assures that he remains “faithful” to his style and how he started, but “with slight touches of something fresh, new”.
Régulo Caro: An Amazon delivery singer?
Caro, with more than 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, went viral in September for uploading videos on social media in which he delivers Amazon packages with the caption “chamba es chamba” (work is work).
The singer clarifies that he is part of a program called ‘Amazon Hub Delivery’, in which local business owners earn income by delivering packages on a route in their area, so he wanted to experience what his workers go through and understands the importance of artists diversifying their income.
“I published it because I am not ashamed. It is foolish for an artist to put all his eggs in one basket. Then I had already had plans to do something, I also have my clothing brand (Caro Brand), at one time I was also in ‘real estate’ (real estate), making some houses in Arizona,” he explains.
With a track record of nearly 20 albums and Latin Grammy and Billboard nominations, Caro says it took him three years to produce ‘Carpe Diem (Full Experience)’, his album released in August with the philosophy of “making the most of life”.
The songs contain “very, very deep” lyrics that reflect the “maturity” of his career, says Caro, although they also have “that bravura” for “people who like a little bit heavy corridos”.
Caro became last Saturday the first Latin artist to be invited to the Deftones Day, a rock festival in San Diego, in addition to having a U.S. tour with Noel Torres called ‘La revancha tour’, which on November 15 will be in Anaheim, California, and on November 28 in Glendale, Arizona.
The artist says he “always needs to stay active,” but accepts that now he is “trying to calm down a little bit” because of “the situation that Latinos are going through” with the immigration raids.
“It is difficult, to tell the truth, I have traveled all over the United States, there are many cities, many towns where Latinos predominate, and going to those places and not seeing so many people outside is worrying,” he said, reported Agencia EFE.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
