"The first thing that you buy when you get here, before furniture or anything else, is a stereo so that you can listen to your music.  The music sings your joy and frustration, your life...It is who we are."

– Activist, South Chicago

Music retained its central role in the lives of recent immigrants and took on new significance as they resettled in Chicago.  One respondent described music as “an umbilical cord” back to their origins. Mexican immigrants enjoy an extremely diverse array of musical styles—over 30 types were mentioned over the course of the study. Norteño music (from northern Mexico and southwestern US), Carribean-influenced or “tropical” music (including salsa and merengue), rok en español (Spanish rock), reggaetón (a mix of hip-hop, Jamaican dancehall reggae and Caribbean rhythms), and hip-hop are just a few.   Respondents described the ability of music transport the listener away from the challenges of everyday life to a place, whether real—a club or concert—or imagined in the listener’s mind, where one’s worth as a person was not determined by one’s job, language skills, or legal status. 

Music is also a serious business. To learn more about the economic impact of Mexican immigrant music, visit Economic Revitalization.


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