Grupo Firme

Grupo Firme, a seven-piece musica mexicana ensemble based in Tijuana, blends banda and norteño elements into a contemporary hybrid sound. Their polished videos and streaming interpretations of other Latin artists’ material quickly built a broad following. Although the group’s 2017 debut album El Barco earned solid radio and streaming traction, their 2019 cover of Calibre 50’s “El Amor No Fue Pa’ Mi” achieved roughly 200 million YouTube views and reached listeners on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Also in 2019, the collaboration “Cada Vez Te Extrano Mas” with El Yaki Luis Alfonso Partida entered the Mexican Regional airplay chart. Since that breakthrough, the septet has placed ten singles on the chart, three of which reached number one in 2021: the live version of “Ya Superame,” “El Toxico” featuring Carin Leon, and “Cada Quien” featuring Maluma. Their second studio album, 2020’s Nos Divertimos Logrando Lo Imposible, likewise performed strongly on streaming platforms. Between 2021 and 2024 the band issued an unusually high total of 72 singles. The live recording Desde Mazatlán, Sinaloa arrived in August 2024.

The group has never conformed to typical regional Mexican formats. Whereas most bandas originate in Mazatlán and field twelve to sixteen musicians, this Tijuana outfit comes from Baja California; additionally, the majority of norteño acts perform as five-piece units.

Eduin Cazares formed the ensemble as Grupo Fuerza in 2013 alongside guitarist Joaquín Ruiz, singer Jhonny Cazarez, harmony vocalist Abraham Hernández, bassist Christian Téllez, accordionist Dylan Camacho, and drummer Fito Rubio. At that stage they operated as an underground norteño act, delivering improvised and traditional corridos in casual venues. Their unpolished energy and live spontaneity generated viral clips for “Juro por Dios,” “Ni El Dinero, Ni Nada,” and “Pideme.” In 2014 the members adopted the name Grupo Firme.

They continued releasing informally captured videos for several years while cultivating a reputation for explosive stage shows. In 2017, Music VIP CEO Isael Gutierrez saw footage of the band and then attended a Tijuana performance; impressed, he encouraged them to move beyond raw corridos toward a broader hybrid of Mexican Regional music. That year they released the studio album El Barco, which received respectable streaming numbers and regional airplay. While touring in 2018 they issued the live set En Vivo Desde Medellín Colombia.

The 2019 single “Cada Vez Te Extrano Mas” with El Yaki Luis Alfonso Partida peaked at number eight. In October the live collaboration with Banda Coloso covering Calibre 50’s “El Amor No Fue Pa’ Mi” reached number 17. February 2020 brought two further hits: the number-one single “Yo Ya No Vuelvo Contigo” with Lenin Ramirez and the number-six track “En Honor a Ti” with La Maquinaria Norteña. In August they scored a number-four hit, “No Estoy Perdiendo Nada,” alongside Enigma Norteño.

Subsequent releases included the live album En Vivo Desde Anaheim, CA and the revue-style Viva Mexico project with Luis Angel, “El Mimoso” Luis Antonio Lopez, and Grupo Codiciado. Their productive year closed with the second studio album Nos Divertimos Logrando Lo Imposible, a twelve-song collection featuring guest appearances by Espinoza Paz, Max Peraza, and Horacio Palencia. A live rendition of Karol G’s “Tusa” also appeared, its video surpassing one hundred million views. Although regular touring halted in 2020, the group maintained a rapid release schedule, issuing more than one hundred singles between 2020 and 2024.

They resumed road work in mid-2021 and promptly delivered new material. The May single “El Toxico” featuring Carin Leon topped the chart. In September, Lenin Ramirez guested on the number-eleven track “En Tu Perra Vida.” December’s collaboration with Maluma, “Cada Quien,” also reached number one. In April 2022 the band joined Karol G and Anitta for a Coachella performance. Later that year they collected five awards at the Latin industry’s Premio Lo Nuestro ceremony.

The 2023 output remained steady, yielding charting singles such as “Que Onda Perdida” and “Otra Noche.” In 2024 the pace continued with releases including the live track “Falsas Amistades” alongside Grupo H and the single “El Beneficio De La Duda.” August brought the live album Desde Mazatlán, Sinaloa.