Huella Digital

Since the '80s, Bronco have reigned supreme as the middleweight champions of norteño. They have plenty of grupero appeal and are clearly more pop-minded than Los Tigres del Norte, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, Grupo Exterminador, Oro Norteño, or the late Chalino Sánchez. But they aren't without street cred in the regional Mexican market and can handle straight-ahead norteño as well; overall, they have an outlook that is less hardcore than Los Rieleros del Norte but more hardcore than Los Temerarios or Grupo Innovación. And that outlook continues to serve them well on Huella Digital, which doesn't break any new ground for Bronco but is a likable demonstration of their ability to walk that middle ground somewhere between providing nothing but hardcore norteño and being consistently bathed in pop gloss. "Un Agujero en el Alma," "La Rosario," and the exuberant "Nadie Como Tu" are among the CD's examples of straight-ahead norteño, but Bronco give listeners a big dose of Latin pop sensibilities on lighter, sleeker tracks like "Apenas Que No Existieras," "Dame un Razón," and "Por Haberte Amado Tanto." Those sleeker items are clearly aimed at the Latin pop-loving grupero audience, but again, Bronco have some street cred in addition to their romantic credentials — and like other Bronco discs, this 2006 release will likely attract a blend of Los Huracanes del Norte fans and Conjunto Primavera fans. There are no compelling reasons why someone who has only a casual interest in Bronco's work would find Huella Digital to be an absolutely necessary purchase, but the die-hard Bronco enthusiast who wants to own as many of their CDs as possible will find Huella Digital to be a respectable addition to their catalog.