Why is it that some musicians have such synergy together? Belanova describes the fusión that is created when each distinct musical personality comes together, and how this unique “fusion” has brought them from after-class practice to stadium-filled tours.

Bienvenido al sueño is the first solo effort by the artist formerly known as Rubén Albarrán—of Café Tacuba / Café Tacvba fame. (‘Tacuba’ became ‘Tacvba’ after a lawsuit, according to this Wikipedia entry.) Check out Sizu’s wild video to the album’s title track. Nice hats, no?

Bella Belanova singer Denisse Guerrero studied fashion in Mexico before she became a rock sensation. We wonder if the supersized collar she’s sporting in this video for "Me Pregunto" was an extra-credit project from back in her university days.

Yes, Belanova may be a shill for Pizza Hut Mexico, but we are not going to hold that against this fine synth-pop dance trio who came together in 2000 in Guadalajara. How did the band create the name Belanova? An entrevista en español in Enkidu magazine tells all.

If there was an entry for “trippy” in the English-Spanish dictionary we think there would be a photo of Liquits sitting there next to it. Lyrically, this neat little tune is not as simple as it at first sounds, and is loaded with double meanings and word plays—we’ve tried to point out a few! Have fun (you know you like to sing)—vocab quiz on naked stork firefly poppies first thing Monday.

Joselo Rangel is a native of Minatitlan, Puerto de Veracruz. He went to university, however, in Mexico City, at UAM (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana). It was there that he teamed up with Ruben Albarran to create the legendary Café Tacuba. “Sobriedad” is from his recent solo effort, Lejos.

In English “forever” is a really long time, it’s also, you’ll notice, written as a single word. In Spanish “for ever” is expressed as “for always,” also a long time, and is written as two distinct words, para siempre. Zurdok has been infecting Mexico, and the world, with its catchy tunes since 1994.

Café Tacuba is often compared to British rock luminary Radiohead, and the LA Times has gone so far as to proclaim this fab cuatro "The Mexican Beatles." "Eres", sung by keyboardist Emmanuel de Real, is from the album Cuatro Caminos, which critics have called one of the definitive rock albums of the decade (in any language).

Feeling like you aren’t yourself lately? Perhaps even get the idea you are no longer of this world? Molotov knows all about this feeling and have hired a team of scientists to create a special dance to go along with it!

Chido, is Mexican for “cool” (and we don’t mean leaning towards cold). As is typical, a precise definition can vary with context. Liquits, representative of Mexico City’s young and playful, enjoy riffing and aren’t afraid to mix languages (and cultural references) with abandon.

An apostador is anyone who makes a wager. Control Machete’s "El Apostador" comes off their album Uno, Dos. This exquisitely animated video backs up the song’s tale of have and have not. It must be your lucky day, because we’re betting that you are going to learn something!

Medio signifies “half,” and so of course mediodía comes around at 12 o’clock noon (“half day”). Café Tacuba’s Rubén Albarrán ponders another perfect sunshine midday and wonders why he is has no one with whom to share it. Live concert video! (See Rubén’s guest appearance in Inspector’s video for the tune "Amnesia".)

So what is it with this Latin American love of ska, a Jamaican genre from the early 60’s that’s had a second coming amongst British and American bands since the early 80’s? Lucky for us, ska is almost always sung very clearly, in short, catchy, easy to understand phrases. Liquits hails from Mexico City, but this award winning group has been hopping continents to record and play for a growing audience since 1993. The animation is ¡padrisimo!

Molotov brings us another inspired video that doubles as a lesson in modern Mexico: PAN, PRI, PRD, and el bono sexenal! By the way, do you know why Rudy Giuliani’s image appears so often in Molotov videos?

La Gusana Ciega is one of our favorite bands! Excellent writing plus deep hooks equals beautiful pop. This live recording of "Tornasol", a big hit for the band, may just leave you hungry for more.

The worm might be blind but these guys can certainly see their way around a good hook. "Giroscopio" is a classic style video reminiscent of early MTV that fits well with this “power pop” tune. Yabla loves this band, you will too!

Hailing from Monterrey, Inspector has got to be one of the most inspired ska bands south of the Rio Grande! This tune features guest artists Rubén Albarrán (a.k.a. “Rita Cantalagua”) of Café Tacuba and Roco of Maldita Vecindad.

With Amargo Adios, Inspector mixes up border sounds and border iconography in this paean to unrequited love.

The trio Fase is hailed as a pioneer in “tropical electronica”. The wonderfully sweet voice of Alma Velasco helped make this plaintive song a favorite among pop fans on both hemispheres. Excellent electro-pop with simple and very clear lyrics that repeat many key words, super for beginners.