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, United States. The population was 5,383 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. As an unincorporated community, Zapata has no municipal government, b ...

that plays

regional Mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...

music; specializing in norteño and

tejano Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent. Etymology The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead ...

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 horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

rhythms with a pop

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

ry. Intocable is perhaps the most influential group in Tejano and their Tejano/Norteño fusion has become the blueprint for several Tejano bands. The group's style combines romantic, hooky melodies, tight instrumentation and vocal harmony.

Career

Career accomplishments include four consecutive sold-out nights at

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

's prestigious Auditorio Nacional and the group's 2003 headlining appearance at Reliant Stadium in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 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 in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, 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 terrestrial television, 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 L ...

's Premio Lo Nuestro awards. They received their first

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

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 American music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gra ...

; ''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 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 home of the Cotton Bowl Classic ...

, 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

game, and also at The Greek Theatre in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. 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 third single "Arrepientete" also did very well on radio and their fourth 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 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 (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

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 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 t ...

, had notable sales. The music of Ramón Ayala influenced the direction of the band. The band's lead vocalist and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"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 (mou ...

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 The bajo sexto ( Spanish: "sixth bass") is a Mexican string instrument from the guitar family with 12 strings in six double courses. It is played in a similar manner to the guitar, with the left hand changing the pitch with the frets on a ...

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 ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, 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 Poteet is a city in Atascosa County, Texas, United States. Its population was 2,795 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the San Antonio metropolitan statistical area. It was named for its first postmaster, Francis Marion Poteet. It is best kn ...

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 the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Road accident

On January 31, 1999, two band members, José Ángel Farias and Silvestre Rodríguez, along with road manager José Ángel González were killed in an accident while driving to

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

, Mexico's

Monterrey International Airport General Mariano Escobedo International Airport () , simply known as Monterrey International Airport (), is an international airport located in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico serving Monterrey metropolitan area, Greater Monterrey. It operates fli ...

to catch a flight to

. 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 was titled "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)

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 (1995–1999; deceased) *Silvestre Rodríguez – bass (1997-1999; deceased) *José Ángel González – road manager (deceased) *Juan J. González Jr. – bajo sexto, guitar (1993) *Juan J. Serna – bass (1993–1995) *Jason Rodriguez – bass (1996–1997)

Timeline

Discography

*'' Simplemente...Intocable (Simply...Untouchable)'' (1993) *'' Fuego Eterno (Eternal Fire)'' (1994) *'' Otro Mundo (Another World)'' (1995) *'' Llévame Contigo (Take Me With You)'' (1996) *'' IV (4)'' (1997) *'' Intocable (Untouchable)'' (1998) *'' Contigo (With You)'' (1999) *'' Es Para Tí (It's For You)'' (2000) *'' Sueños (Dreams)'' (2002) *'' The History'' (2003) *'' Nuestro Destino Estaba Escrito (Our Destiny Was Written)'' (2003) *'' Intimamente (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'' (2020) *''Modus Operandi'' (2024) *'' Modus operandi-antologia (Modus operandi anthology)''(2024)

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 (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 YouTube

Intocable 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 musical groups of the United States EMI Televisa Music artists Universal Music Latin Entertainment artists