Intocable ("Untouchable" in English) is an American band from
Zapata, Texas
Zapata is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Zapata County, Texas, Zapata County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,018 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. As an unincorporated community, Zapata has no mu ...
that plays
Regional Mexican
Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico ...
music; specializing in
Norteño and
Tejano
Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in the ...
music. It was started by friends Ricardo Javier Muñoz and René Orlando Martínez in the early 1990s.
[Birchmeier, Jason]
"Intocable - Biography"
''AllMusic''.com. Retrieved 7 October 2013. In a few years, Intocable fused the genres Tejano and Norteño with a musical signature that fused Tejano's robust
conjunto
The term ''conjunto'' (, literally 'group', 'ensemble') refers to several types of small musical ensembles present in different Latin American musical traditions, mainly in Mexico and Cuba. While Mexican conjuntos play styles such as '' norteño' ...
and Norteño
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
rhythms with a
pop ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
ry.
Intocable is perhaps the most influential group in Tejano and their tough Tejano/Norteño fusion has become the blueprint for several Tejano bands. The group's style combines romantic,
hooky
Hooky, Hookey or Hookie may refer to:
* To "play hooky", a slang term, particularly in North America, for committing truancy
Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate ...
melodies, tight instrumentation and vocal harmony.
Career
Career accomplishments include four consecutive sold-out nights at
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
's prestigious
Auditorio Nacional and the group's 2003 headlining appearance at
Reliant Stadium
NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...
in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, which drew a record 70,104 fans. They also play every year as tradition with two sold-out dates (lately three) at the 10,000-capacity
Monterrey Arena
Arena Monterrey is an indoor arena in Monterrey, Mexico. It is primarily used for shows, concerts and indoor sports like indoor soccer, arena football and basketball. It used to be the home arena of the Monterrey Fury indoor soccer team and the ...
in
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
, Mexico —an unusual accomplishment given that
Norteño groups typically play large dance halls and rarely arenas unless it is an all day festival event. Intocable has also won at least eight of
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
's
Premio Lo Nuestro
The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro (Spanish for "Our Thing") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music, presented by Univision, a Spanish-language television network based in the United States. The awards began in ...
awards. They received their first
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
win in February 2005 at the 47th Annual Grammys (
Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album
The Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album was an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the Mexican music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone A ...
; ''Intimamente'') and second at the 53rd annual Grammys for their album ''Classic''.
They were the first of their genre to play at Dallas
Cowboys Stadium
AT&T Stadium, formerly Cowboys Stadium, is a retractable-roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the hom ...
, at the halftime show of the 2011
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
vs.
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
game, also at The Greek Theatre in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. They garnered two of the 5 nominations to the Billboard Regional Mexican Awards and got a nod for Best Norteño Album to the 2011 Latin Grammy for their album ''INTOCABLE 2011''. They were also nominated for a Grammy for the album. ''INTOCABLE 2011'' was released under the group's own music label Good-i Music and the first two singles, ''Robarte Un Beso'' and ''Prometí'', went to Number 1 on US regional radio charts. The 3rd single ''Arrepientete'' also did very well on radio and their 4th single ''Llueve'' was premiered live onstage at the 2012 Premio lo Nuestro where the group swept with all three categories they were nominated for.
On October 12, 2015, Intocable made history by streaming a showcase for the whole world, in which more than 22,000 people tuned in. 100% of the proceeds were donated to
St. Jude Hospital :''Not affiliated with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee; which is the Hospital most people are referring to when they mention "St.Jude Children's Research Hospital."
St. Jude Medical Center is a faith-based, not-for-pro ...
to help children affected with cancer; there the inception of #AyudaAAyudar was formed and will continue to do events to raise funds for this noble cause.
On January 23, 2016, Intocable announced their partnership with St. Jude, a pledge first of its kind in the music industry. Today, their support not only creates awareness for the cause, but their pledge of support contributes to assure that families pay for nothing and can focus on letting their children live.
Intocable headlined
SXSW
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
2016 SXAmericas All Latino Showcase, making Intocable the first Latino act to headline this three-day series of charity beneficiary concert events. The group took over the largest SXSW stage, which attracted more than 50,000 attendees over the three-day period.
In the early 1990s, the band's first
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
albums barely sold. In February 1994 their album ''Fuego Eterno'', with new label
EMI Latin
Capitol Latin (formerly EMI Latin) is a brand of Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a division of Universal Music Group. Previously, it was a subsidiary of EMI.
History
In 1989, José Behar, the former head of CBS Discos, signed Selena to ...
, had notable sales. The music of
Ramón Ayala
Ramón Covarrubias Garza (born December 8, 1945), known by his stage name Ramón Ayala, is a Mexican singer, composer and songwriter of Norteño music.
Discography
Studio albums (Ramón Ayala Y Sus Bravos Del Norte)
* ''La Pura Maña'' (1971 ...
influenced the direction of the band. The band's lead vocalist and
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
player, Ricky Muñoz has stated that Ayala is his biggest inspiration. In 1997, the band suffered a setback when two members of the band left to form their own group—Johnny Lee Rosas, (
bajo sexto
Bajo sexto (Spanish: "sixth bass") is a Mexican string instrument from the guitar family with 12 strings in six double courses. A closely related instrument is the bajo quinto (Spanish: "fifth bass") which has 10 strings in five double courses ...
and 2nd voice), and Albert Ramirez, (bass), formed Grupo Masizzo. Rosas rejoined the group in 2003 after four successful solo albums. In July 2017, Intocable performed their first ever concert in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada.
On June 11, 2020, Intocable came back out on tour since the pandemic shut down almost everything. They hosted their first Drive-In show in
Poteet, Texas
June 30, 2020, it was announced by Lead Singer Ricky Muñoz that 5 members tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Road accident
On January 31, 1999, two band members, José Ángel Farias and Silvestre Rodríguez, along with road manager José Ángel González were tragically killed in an accident while driving to
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
,
Nuevo León
Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...
, Mexico's
General Mariano Escobedo International Airport
Monterrey International Airport, ( es, link=yes, Aeropuerto Internacional de Monterrey, ), ceremonial name General Mariano Escobedo International Airport, is an international airport located in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico. Together with Del No ...
to catch a flight to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. The group's van blew a tire, causing the vehicle to roll off
Mexican Federal Highway 40 and crash. After rolling over, Ricky Muñoz was the only one left in the van due to him wearing his seat belt on while the other members were laying on the side of the highway. Muñoz and the remaining members of the group suffered multiple injuries and spent weeks in a Monterrey hospital. After a six-month layoff, Intocable toured successfully behind the comeback album ''Contigo'' (With You), whose first
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
was entitled "El Amigo Que Se Fue" (The Friend That Has Left), a tribute song to the fallen band members.
Latin hits
Intocable gained 20 Latin top 10 hits. The following are some of Intocable's songs that reached the top ten on ''Billboard'' Latin singles charts:
Caminare, Te Perdono, Llueve, Eso Duele, Eres Mi Droga, Amor Maldito, Soñador Eterno, Perdedor, El Amigo Que Se Fue, Ya Estoy Cansado, Enséñame A Olvidarte, Déjame Amarte, Contra Viento y Marea, Y Todo Para Qué? and other songs.
Band members
Current members
*Ricardo Muñoz – (Lead Vocalist, Accordion) (1993–Present)
*René Orlando Martinez– (Drums, Chorus) (1993–Present)
*Sergio Serna – (Percussion)(1993–Present)
*Johnny Lee Rosas – (Bajo Sexto, Backup Vocalist)(1994-1997) (2003–2016)(2017-Present)
*Alejandro Gulmar - (Bajo Sexto)(2013–Present)
*Felix Salinas - (Bass)(1995)(1999-2015) (2016-Present)n
Former members
*José Juan Hernández - (Group Motivator, Rhythms)(1999-2020)
*Albert Ramírez - (Bass)(1995-1997) (2015)
*Daniel "Danny" Sanchez – (Bajo Sexto, Second Voice)(1997-2007)(2009-2012)(2016–2017)
*José Ángel Farías – (Group Motivator, Rhythms) (Deceased) (1995-1999)
*Silvestre Rodríguez – (Bass) (Deceased) (1997-1999)
*José Ángel González – (Road Manager) (Deceased)
*Juan J. González Jr. – (Bajo Sexto, Guitar) 1993
*Ricardo J. Garcia - (Drums, Second Voice) (2016-2018)
*Ismael Arreola Jr. – (Group Motivator, Rhythms) 1993
*Juan J. Serna – (Bass) 1993–1995
*Adalberto Mejía – (Bass)
*Jose "Pepe" Perez – (Bass)
*Jason Rodriguez - (Bass)
Timeline
Discography
*''
Simplemente...Intocable (Simply...Untouchable)'' (1993)
*''
Fuego Eterno (Eternal Fire)
''Eternal Fire'' ( es, Fuego eterno) is a 1985 Spanish drama film written and directed by José Ángel Rebolledo. It was entered into the 14th Moscow International Film Festival.
Cast
* Ángela Molina as Gabrielle
* Imanol Arias as Pierre
* Fra ...
'' (1994)
*''
Otro Mundo (Another World)'' (1995)
*''
Llévame Contigo (Take Me With You)'' (1996)
*''
IV (4)
IV may refer to:
Businesses and organizations In the United States
*Immigration Voice, an activist organization
*Intellectual Ventures, a privately held intellectual property company
*InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Elsewhere
*Federation of Aus ...
'' (1997)
*''
Intocable (Untouchable)
Intocable ("Untouchable" in English) is an American band from Zapata, Texas that plays Regional Mexican music; specializing in Norteño (music), Norteño and Tejano music, Tejano music. It was started by friends Ricardo Javier Muñoz and Ren ...
'' (1998)
*''
Contigo (With You)
Contigo (''With you'' in Spanish and Portuguese) may refer to:
* Contigo (board game), an abstract strategy board game
* ''Contigo'' (album), a 2000 album by La Mafia
* Contigo (political party), political party in Peru
* Contigo, a manufacturer ...
'' (1999)
*''
Es Para Tí (It’s For You)'' (2000)
*''
Sueños (Dreams)'' (2002)
*''
The History'' (2003)
*''
Nuestro Destino Estaba Escrito
''Nuestro Destino Estaba Escrito'' ( Eng.: ''Our Destiny Was Written'') is a studio album released by Regional Mexican band Intocable. This album became their third number-one set on the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums. It was released with two ...
(Our Destiny Was Written)'' (2003)
*''
Intimamente
''Intimamente: En Vivo Live'' ( Eng.: ''Intimately: Live'') is the title of a live album released by Regional Mexican band Intocable. This album became their fourth number-one set on the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums. It was released with two ...
(Intimately/Live album)'' (2004)
*''
X (10)'' (2005)
*''
Crossroads: Cruce de Caminos'' (2006) (2007-Fan Edition)
*''2C'' (12) (2008)
*''Classic'' ("Clasico" Mexico) (2009)
*''Super #1's'' (2010)
*''INTOCABLE 2011'' (2011)
*''En Peligro de Extinción'' (In Danger Of Extinction) (2013)
*''XX (20) Aniversario'' (20th Anniversary) (2015)
*''Highway (Highway)'' (2016)
*''Percepción (Perception)'' (2019)
*''Desde Casa en Concierto y Canciones Desempolvadas (From Home in Concert and Dusted Songs)'' (2020)
*''Texican (Texican)'' (2020)
Awards
Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album (2005)
Latin Grammy Award for Best Norteño Album (2005, 2013)
Grammy Award for Best Norteño Album (2011)
Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award
The ''Billboard'' Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award is an honor that is presented by ''Billboard'' magazine to an artist or a group "an enduring and exceptional career, encompassing artistic and personal contributions that have had a major im ...
(2012)
Nominations
ALMA Award for Outstanding Latin Group of the Year (2002)
American Music Award for Favorite Latin Artist (2004)
Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year (2005)
Latin Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video (2006)
Grammy Award for Best Banda or Norteño Album (2012)
Grammy Award for Best Regional Mexican Music Album (2014)
References
External links
*
Official YouTubeIntocable interview with Acceso Total*
*
{{Authority control
01
American norteño musicians
Musical groups from Texas
Norteño music groups
Tejano music groups
Grammy Award winners
Latin Grammy Award winners
American Latin musical groups
Spanish-language singers of the United States
EMI Televisa Music artists
Universal Music Latin Entertainment artists