Octavio Cuadras is making musica Mexicana more upbeat with ‘Corridos Felices’

Periodically, the Latinx Files will feature a guest writer. This week, we’ve asked De Los spring reporting intern Cerys Davies to fill in.

In recent years, the recording industry has begun using the term “musica Mexicana” instead of “Mexican regional” to refer to music by artists of Mexican descent. The main argument for the shift is that the genre has grown so much that its reach is now global.

Leading that growth is a new wave of young artists who are taking traditional Mexican music and making it their own in all kinds of ways. There are musicians like Natanael Cano, who is credited with popularizing corridos tumbados, which incorporate elements of hip-hop in songs about the fast life. Similarly, there are artists like Danny Lux and Eslabon Armando, who draw listeners in with their sad sierreños — a subgenre consisting of melodic guitars and heartbreaking lyrics.

And now, thanks to Octavio Cuadras, a 23-year-old from Sinaloa, there’s corridos felices. In a crowded field, Cuadras has distinguished himself from other acts by staying away from the melancholic ballads and trap beats that audiences have gravitated toward. With an upbeat guitar and a joyful demeanor, he concentrates on vivacious sounds that can turn a listener’s mood around. On May 3, he released his first EP, titled “Corridos Felices.”

I recently sat down with Cuadras at the La Monarca Bakery on Western Avenue. He walked in with a posse, one member with a large camera in hand, and greeted me with a wide smile. As he took a seat, he placed his several iPhones on the table, his diamond-encrusted watch glistening in the cafe lighting.

“I feel that people come to a point where they get tired of the same thing. This [corridos felices] is something new and people are accepting it,” said Cuadras in Spanish. “I make the tune happier so people get hooked on the upbeat sounds.”

But creating this new subgenre wasn’t always his intention.

(Lorena Endara/For De Los)

Cuadras first received a lot of attention on TikTok after posting a short clip of a song titled “CLN.” The video, which now has 2.2 million views, caught the attention of Fonovisa, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, which ended up signing him. He experimented with various styles as he worked to develop his own sound, testing the waters with corridos tumbados and even an electronic-influenced corrido. With “Bling Bling,” Cuadras had inadvertently given life to corridos felices.

“My friends and I were in the living room one day playing [the video game] ‘Mario Kart.’ When you grab coins, it makes the sound ‘bling bling,’” he said. “We went out to the patio and started to play the guitar and ‘Bling Bling’ was born in 15 minutes.”

In true Gen Z fashion, Cuadras once again turned to TikTok to find out if he had something. The clip shows him standing in front of a piano, singing along about his jewelry and how great his life is before scatting along to the guitar. “Puros corridos felices,” reads the caption.

The video went viral — it now has over 9 million views — and even caught the attention of Fidel Castro, the lead singer of Grupo Marca Registrada, who immediately wanted to hop on the track.

“I am a super fan of them,” he said. “I had a lot of mixed emotions. It was something incredible. When I was recording in the studio with [Castro], memories of listening to his music came back to me.”

The single, released in November, is undeniably chirpy. The lyrics are braggadocian and somewhat bellicose. They’re not singing about puppies and rainbows. It’s still about the Benjamins and the rocket launchers. but with a jazzy rhythm.

(Lorena Endara/For De Los)

“I make the rhythm happier so people get hooked on the happy sounds and they don’t pay attention to the lyrics,” said Cuadras. “Sometimes I will spice it up a little bit, but people don’t notice it because they’re all into the beat that’s making them happy,”

“Bling Bling” took off, and pretty soon even Colombian rapper Maluma wanted in on the infectious musica Mexicana song. In February, the trio of acts put out yet another version of the song, which doubled down on the jazz. In less than a year, Cuadras went from being a featured artist on a song to now featuring two of Latin music’s biggest artists on his song.

“Corridos Felices” is a more expansive take on his subgenre. On “Belicontento,” the album’s most listened-to track according to Spotify, he and El Padrinito Toys sing about pretty girls, designer boots and their Glocks. “Miami” is all about celebrating his success in the popular South Florida playground. The EP is full of songs about the spoils of the fast life, with a pep to their step.

It’s too soon to tell whether corridos felices will stick. Regardless, Cuadras feels right at home in the subgenre.

“Singing corridos felices wasn’t intentional, but I do feel true to myself,” he said.

(Jackie Rivera / For The Times; Martina Ibáñez-Baldor / Los Angeles Times)

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