Te Pido Perdón / Te Pido Perdon

As unfair as it is, musical pioneers don't always reap the commercial benefits when the genre or style they contributed to becomes ultra-popular (one could list countless hip-hop pioneers of the late '70s and early '80s who never enjoyed even a fraction of the commercial success that 50 Cent and Ludacris have enjoyed). But persistence paid off for duranguense pioneers Patrulla 81, who have been around since 1981 (2011 is the group's 30th anniversary) and finally became a major name in regional Mexican music when duranguense exploded commercially in the 2000s. Duranguense, like banda, became increasingly diverse when its popularity increased; some duranguense artists have stuck to traditional ranchera songs and included a lot of José Alfredo Jiménez standards in their repertoire, while others have favored more of a crossover approach and have incorporated everything from hip-hop to Dominican bachata. Te Pido Perdón ("I Ask for Your Forgiveness"), it turns out, is neither totally traditional nor totally crossover; this is a duranguense album that successfully balances ranchera and Latin pop elements. Te Pido Perdón probably has too much Latin pop sleekness for regional Mexican purists, but someone who appreciates duranguense's Latin pop and ranchera sides equally should have no problem getting into this 2010 release. And regardless of whether a particular tune might lean more toward ranchera or more toward Latin pop, Te Pido Perdón maintains a romantic focus. But that is not to say that this is an album of ballads. Duranguense is known for being bouncy, and there is plenty of bounciness on energetic tracks such as "Por Qué Me Enamoré de Ti" and "La Flor de Mis Primeros Años." Lyrically, Te Pido Perdón is not unlike a Marco Antonio Solís or Joan Sebastian album; in fact, three of the disc's ten songs are Solís covers ("Quien Se Enamoró," "Si Vieras Cuánto," and "Pobre de los Dos"). But rhythmically and musically, Te Pido Perdón has so much bounce that it ends up feeling a lot less adult contemporary than it actually is. Although not as essential as some of the albums that Patrulla 81 have delivered along the way, this is still an enjoyable and worthy outing from these duranguense veterans.