Elevating La Raza: Rancho Humilde At The Forefront of Música Mexicana Revolution

History is on the verge of repeating itself for Southern California-based record label and management company Rancho Humilde. Fourteen months removed from setting a venue record at BMO Stadium with a sold-out show from Fuerza Regida, which was one of the most successful showings from the uber-popular regional Mexican band, another artist from the company’s impressive roster will likely have a historic night at the venue in October.

Junior H sold out a night at the stadium that a second date was added, a far cry from the shows Jimmy Humilde, CEO and co-founder of Rancho Humilde, booked a handful of years ago.

“Just imagine that coming from his management that started doing local events all over LA in South Central and downtown and then bumping into BMO Stadium. What a big difference,” Humilde says, reminiscing of his journey in pushing forward the modern Mexican corrido. “It’s just an experience for us, a lovable one for us because it didn’t happen overnight.”

Cultural movements rarely do. Humilde is one of several figures to thank for the shift we have witnessed since the pandemic during which Mexico’s musicians have become mainstays on charts around the globe and influenced the entire live industry.

He can’t take credit for corridos, folk ballads about Mexican life, but he was essential to the evolution of the subgenre that spun off from it called corridos tumbado, which is heavily influenced by hip-hop and reggaeton. He took a chance and built up artists like Natanael Cano and Fuerza Regida and making them successful touring acts across Mexico and the U.S. Cano made history last month by shattering an attendance record in Mexico, drawing more than 310,000 fans to Feria Nacional Potosina in San Luís Potosí.

“We put in all of our effort to continue the growth, slowly but surely,” says Humilde, whose label was established in 2011 along with co-founders José “JB” Becerra and Roque “Rocky” Venegas. “We weren’t a company that was the best when it was born, but it was the best when [the Mexican music movement] happened when it really got to shine. We were blessed to be behind a lot of companies that were very successful at the time and gave us a lot of opportunity to grow and learn from the ins and outs, what they did right and what they did wrong.”

The patience paid off for Rancho Humilde as Latin music surged post-pandemic. According to a year-end report from Luminate, a company that gathers data and provides insight on trends in the entertainment industry, Latin music is among the fastest-growing genres in the U.S. based on streaming figures with an increase of 24.1%.

As a SoCal native, Humilde grew up admiring artists like Chalino Sanchez, Los Tucanes de Tijuana and Antonio Aguilar while also embracing West Coast hip-hop. He was a modern Chicano proud of his Mexican American heritage and wanted to find a way to keep it alive through music.

“I had a strategy behind it because our culture here in the U.S. was growing enormously,” he says. “Mexican American culture was growing and at some point, we saw the culture was getting away from us. And the dream of mine and my partners, JB and Rocky, was to not let it go. We were able to find a lot of artists here in LA, where we were able to communicate with them and have them write music about [LA life].

“And now, whether you’re born in Mexico, Argentina, Chile or LA, you’re writing about the same thing, which is the Mexican American lifestyle and culture with the Jordans, the fashion, the shoes, the jewelry and the cars, following the trend.”

That wasn’t even the most gratifying part for Humilde. He says that hearing third- and fourth-generation Mexican Americans speaking Spanish because of the music his artists have produced and inspired has made all the hard work worth it.

“It’s amazing when I bump into some kids, and I’m taking a picture with a small crowd that has Asian, American and Mexican kids together, and they’re like, ‘Man, we listen to the music!’ That is my pride and joy,” Humilde says, “because that was our dream. That was Rancho Humilde’s dream, to create a culture and develop it so it wouldn’t be forgotten.”

He’s making sure it won’t be forgotten, even to those who don’t listen to the music. Humilde exclusively told Pollstar that he’s developed two documentaries about the corrido culture, especially among Mexican Americans. Anything Humilde touches should be experienced, according to Jorge García, the Live Nation global touring promoter who has worked on tours with Rancho Humilde artists.

“He’s the ultimate creator of the culture, and he’s proven to be a great partner to us because he has the eye to see who’s an emerging talent, who’s going to be something special, who we should pay attention to,” García says.