Hailing from Guadalajara, Mexico, the Meza brothers joined forces with longtime associate Jorge Torres in the early 1990s to establish Los Inquietos del Norte. The ensemble began recording with Fonovisa in 1995, foregrounding unvarnished, street-rooted verses and an unpolished sonic aesthetic. Primary songwriters Felipe and José Meza have supplied the bulk of the material, moving fluidly among corridos, rancheras, boleros, and additional forms. In roughly ten years the group issued nearly ten albums while maintaining residences in Mexico and northern California north of San Francisco, thereby building a sizable audience on both sides of the border. Regular tours through California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Nevada, and Illinois, encompassing festivals and dancehalls, have rendered them familiar to U.S. listeners of Mexican music. Radio successes including “Sin Ti,” “La Angustia,” and “Ya No Puedo Vivir sin Ti” have cemented Los Inquietos del Norte as significant contributors to a swiftly expanding genre.
