Ranchera (pronounced: [ranˈtʃeɾa]) is a genre of the traditional music of Mexico originally sung by only one performer with a guitar. It dates to the years of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. It later became closely associated with the mariachi groups which evolved in Jalisco. Ranchera today is also played by norteño (or Conjunto) or banda. Drawing on rural traditional folk music, ranchera developed as a symbol of a new national consciousness in reaction to the aristocratic tastes of the period. The greatest exponents of ranchera are Antonio Aguilar, Flor Silvestre, Amalia Mendoza, Lucha Villa, Cuco Sanchez, Rocío Dúrcal, José Alfredo Jiménez, Lola Beltrán, Vicente Fernández, Pedro Infante, Jorge Negrete, and Javier Solís.

Traditional rancheras are about love, patriotism or nature. Rhythms can be in 3/4, 2/4 or 4/4, reflecting the tempo of, respectively, the waltz, the polka, and the bolero. Songs are usually in a major key, and consist of an instrumental introduction, verse and refrain, instrumental section repeating the verse, and another verse and refrain, with a tag ending. Instrumentation may include guitars, strings, trumpets, and/or accordions, depending on the type of ensemble being utilised. Besides the typical instrumentation, ranchera music, as well as many other forms of traditional Mexican music, is also noted for the grito mexicano, a yell that is done at musical interludes within a song, either by the musicians and/or the listening audience.

Ana Gabriel (born on December 10, 1955) is a Mexican singer and composer.

Ana Gabriel was born as María Guadalupe Araujo Yong, in Santiago de Comanito, Sinaloa, Mexico. She first sang on the stage at age six, singing "Regalo A Dios" by José Alfredo Jiménez. She moved to Tijuana, Baja California and studied accounting. At age 21, in 1977, she recorded her first song, titled "Compréndeme". During her long career, she has hits in three different genres of music: rock en español, Latin Pop, and rancheras. In 2006 she received the Lo Nuestro award's "Premio a la Excelencia" (Excellence Award).

In 1988 Gabriel released her first album, Tierra de Nadie, followed by Pecado Original in 1989, which met with some chart success. Her 1990 album Quien Como Tu made her a force within the Mexican music industry. Eight months later, her live album En Vivo showcased her powerful stage act and scored several hits: "Hice Bien Quererte", "Propuesta", and "Solamente una Vez".

Throughout the 1990s Gabriel released an album almost every year. A versatile singer, she showcased her talent as an interpreter of many different musical styles, from lambada to mariachi and romantic ballads to pop music. She also honed her skills as a songwriter and a producer, releasing Mi Mexico, a ranchera-influenced, mariachi-backed pop album, in 1991. This unique blend of styles was also reflected in the songs, all written by Gabriel. Her lyrics described strong, active women involved in their love lives, counter to their passive, traditional depiction in older songs. The album also included a tribute to Mexico's most popular singer-songwriter, Juan Gabriel (no relation).

Sin Bandera ("Flagless") was a Latin pop duo based in Mexico that consisted of Leonel García, and Noel Schajris. They became one of the most popular artists after their debut album "Sin Bandera" was released in 2001.

Leonel Garcia (from Mexico) had the idea to be soloist, he showed dexterity with the guitar and the voice, but his project remained frozen at the record companies. At the same time, Noel Schajris (from Argentina, now a nationalized Mexican) was preparing another solo album after making his debut in 1999. Both being musicians, composers and singers, they discovered the ideal formula to unite their talents and personalities in 2000.

There was immediate chemistry: they spoke about their favorite music, of the albums they bought, and about the singer-songwriters they were most interested in... and coincided in everything. The two wanted to sing, but Noel preferred the piano, and Leonel, the guitar, for which at no time there was collision of interests, but an integration of musical inclinations.

Alberto Aguilera Valadez (Spanish pronunciation: [alˈβeɾto aɣiˈleɾa βalaˈðes]) (born January 7, 1950), better known by his stage name Juan Gabriel (pronounced: [ˈxwaŋ ɡaˈβɾjel]), is a Mexican singer, songwriter, recording artist, and performer.

Born on 7 January 1950, on Cinco de Mayo street (now known as Juan Gabriel Street) in the small town of Parácuaro, Michoacán, to father Gabriel Aguilera Rodríguez and mother Victoria Valadez Rojas, he is the youngest of 10 siblings: Rosa who died shortly after birth, Virginia, José Guadalupe, Gabriel, Pablo, Miguel (died) and three brothers named Rafael who all three have also died.

Around the age of three months, Alberto's father, Gabriel, being an agricultural field worker, intended to clear a piece of land by setting fire to the field. Due to windy conditions, sadly he lost control of the fire which began to spread to neighboring properties and homes. Deeply disturbed and worried over the consequences he brought onto his family, Gabriel knew not what to do and threw himself into a river. Badly injured from the fall, Gabriel was hospitalized and committed to La Castañeda psychiatric ward in México City. What happened to Gabriel after the psychiatric ward is unknown. One tale is that he died while in La Castañeda for their alleged patient mistreatment, while others say that Gabriel escaped from the mental ward to unknown whereabouts. Either way, Alberto and his family never heard from their father again. These accounts would later be Alberto's inspiration for the song titled "De Sol a Sol (A Mis Padres)" - English translation, "From Sun Up to Sun Down (To My Parents)".