How La Chona Took Over The World - La Chona by Los Tucanes de Tijuana
In 1995, Los Tucanes de Tijuana released their album “Me Robaste El Corazon” (You Stole My Heart) which had the single “La Chona.”
Who are Los Tucanes de Tijuana?
Los Tucanes de Tijuana is a group from you guessed it, Tijuana Mexico. They formed in 1987. They are a norteño group which is a magical genre with blends of polka, bolero, and more subgenres of music.
What or WHOMST is la chona
To answer this question, I went to one of the most trusted sources on the internet.
Urban Dictionary.
If you read the lyrics, it matches the definition. La Chona is LIT! She’s unmatched and is the life of the party. Might stir up controversy, might get yelled at, but does she care? NAH! A true feminist icon if you ask me.
While this song is their biggest hit, it wasn’t until summer 2018 when the song made its way into the headlines.
Picture this, it’s summer 2018, Black Panther is out in theaters. Drake released his mega album “Scorpion” and his single “In my Feelings” aka Kiki?? Do you love me?? becomes a challenge on social media (the SUPER early days of TikTok) where one person drives a car while their passenger, opens the door to get out and starts getting jiggy wit it.
Pretty soon, #MexicanTwitter swapped “In My Feelings” for “La Chona” and put their own twist on the challenge. It blew up so fast that Los Tucanes de Tijuana had to issue a disclaimer that it was dangerous.
They said “the fun stops here plebes”
Fast forward to early 2019 and Los Tucanes are on the Coachella lineup right next to BLACKPINK and Childish Gambino.
This was a BIG deal because it was the first time a norteño band was invited to play the festival.
“We knew of the Coachella festival, and we also knew that there wasn’t an opportunity for us to play there because of our genre, and the type of event that it is. It was always on our mind and a part of our goals. It arrived a lot sooner than we thought. When we got that call, saying “Oye, you are confirmed to play Coachella!”
We couldn’t believe it, we were so nervous.”
Last Note
One of the most interesting findings while working on the blog was the fact that they were banned from their hometown???
And they still are. While they can’t perform in their hood, their recent success shows that their music lives beyond their region. Norteño music is now a global genre.