Mama loves Nortec

Last night I worked at Street Scene, a big musical festival in downtown.
I was really excited to see Nortec, a group of guys from Tijuana who mix the city's regional music with electronica. There's no other music that captures the feeling of growing up in a border town. Not even The Smiths.

It reminded me of all those weekends in Tijuana I would spend at my cousin Jacky's house and we'd drive around (or get driven around, to be more accurate). Outside we'd hear Norteno music with all its accordion-filled glory playing at the pharmacy. In our car we were listening to Depeche Mode. And somehow Nortec mashes those two sounds together, those two cultures together.

Last night's performance was definitely a highlight of the festival, and maybe even the year.



So in honor of the show and all the great old feelings it brought up, I decided to make tonight's dance party (with an extra preschool pal) a Nortec one.

It looks like the music speaks to this group of border kids, too.



(In case you want to hear it, this is the song that was making them run around like that:)