Fuerza Regida
Pero No Te Enamores Tour
Toyota Center
July 13, 2024
Like every good Houstonian, cruising around the city to a killer soundtrack is one of my favorite activities. Back in 2018, my homie Julian Estrada was behind the wheel, and between listening to Young Dolph and Future, the song “Radicamos En South Central” by a band named Fuerza Regida was next on the playlist. We must have listened to that track a thousand times, inspired by its lyrics of working the streets, flying in private jets, and popping bottles of champagne.
The bajo sexto and sousaphone serves as a base for the corrido tumbado genre, blending traditional Mexican storytelling with elements of urban Hip-Hop and trap rap. Fuerza Regida leans heavily on these motifs, creating wildly popular tunes with tales from the hood, from the cartel heavy states of Mexico to the wild and dangerous barrios from San Bernardino to H-Town and beyond.
On Saturday evening, every seat at the Toyota Center was filled with Fuerza fans, anxiously awaiting to get the party started. DJ Malechin warmed up the crowd with a diverse set ranging from trap to mariachi to Regional Mexican. As the house lights dimmed, Fuerza Regida appeared at the far end of the stage, which overtook the center of the basketball arena.
Leading the band is Jesus Ortiz Paz, known to his fans by his initials JOP, a wildly charismatic lead figure with a affable attitude and a cool AF demeanor. The band wore all black designer outfits, but JOP was dressed in all red, a puffy Gucci vest, fashionably ripped jeans, a backwards baseball cap, and dark designer shades. He’s a bonafide rockstar and he acts accordingly.
The setlist began strong with Igualito A Mi Apa, Dijieron Que No La Iba Lograr, and CH y La Pizza. The band members include a bajo sexto guitar, a traditional acoustic guitar, a stand up bass, and a sousaphone. They are accompanied by the Banda Otro Pedo, which includes members playing clarinets, trumpets, trombones, baritone horns, and the “banda tambora” – a bass drum and cymbals combo that keeps the beat in lieu of a traditional drum set.
The large stage was illuminated from below, with spotlights and lasers accenting JOP’s movement as he danced from end to end, dodging pyro and CO2 cannons along the way. The set list officially listed 35 songs, although Fuerza included a few surprises, most notably a covers of Desvelado by Bobby Pulido, Hey There Delilah by The Plain White T’s, and Disculpe Usted by Los Humildes.
The band’s 2023 album Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada offered several crowd favorites, including the tracks CRAZYZ, HARLEY QUINN, SABOR FRESA, and BARBIEZ. Each track talks about falling for beautiful women, suffering from broken hearts, and all the actions leading to those actions. JOP and his crew have a natural talent of composing songs with catchy hooks and party forward tendencies. The songs TQM and Una Cerveza were two of my personal favorites from the show.
Of course, the night would be incomplete without hearing Bebe Dame, the songs that they made famous with Tejano Cumbia band Grupo Frontera. It started out normally, but then JOP stopped mid-song to request assistance to a fan in the front row was had apparently fainted or passed out. “Dale agua, dale aire” directed JOP (give him air and water). Luckily the gentleman was okay and the show went on.
The only song that was missing from the set was “Calles De Houston,” which is a tribute to the Space City. Maybe next time they will add it to their set.
In the meantime, Julian and I will continue to jam Fuerza Regida at full volume in his Raptor all around El Northside.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
