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Christian Nodal: Photos From the Billboard SXSW Cover Shoot


Christian Nodal: Photos from the Billboard SXSW cover shoot.

From the time he started at age 18, he has revolutionized regional Mexican music by pioneering mariacheño, a subgenre fusing mariachi’s strings and horns with the norteño accordion. When we meet in mid-December at Lienzo Zermeño ­— where charreadas, or Mexican rodeos, take place in the middle of Jalisco’s bustling city of Guadalajara ­— Nodal beams with pride as he recounts the arc he has followed to become one of Latin music’s biggest stars in a few short years. He may look like a malote (bad guy) — he jokes about the role he would probably get cast for in a movie because of his tattoos — but he’s far from it, offering friendly hellos to the ranch’s workers and flashing a shy smile to the bystanders who recognize him but are too timid to introduce themselves.

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