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(Ian Spanier\/For The Times)<\/p>\n
If there is anyone who believes in the power of manifestation, it is Fuerza Regida frontman Jes\u00fas Ortiz Paz. \u201cI \u200aalways knew I was gonna do it,\u201d he said in November, on the eve of the 2025 Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
What \u201cit\u201d is has become clearer in the last year for the 28-year-old vocalist, also known by fans as \u201cJOP,\u201d who has led his band to top multiple Billboard charts and helped propel the Mexican corrido tradition. We met in a cozy bar at the Crockfords, one of the swankiest luxury hotels on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. Just minutes before our interview, a hotel staffer came by to shake JOP\u2019s hand, as if the two had known each other for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cA brother from another mother,\u201d the hotel staffer told JOP, who flashed a grin glittering with tooth gems. Dressed in a modest white tee and basketball shorts, the m\u00fasica mexicana star\u2019s outfit that day was a far cry from the oversized streetwear and diamond-encrusted jewelry he usually dons in public.<\/p>\n
The following night at the Latin Grammys, during Fuerza Regida\u2019s performance of \u201cMarlboro Rojo\u201d at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the internet quickly clocked the price tag still affixed to JOP\u2019s jacket \u2014 prompting an endless scroll of jokes on social media. Rather than shrink in embarrassment, the singer poked fun at himself on his Instagram story with a caption that read: \u201cEstaba en especial\u201d\/\u201dIt was on sale.\u201d <\/p>\n
Since then, JOP has continued to leave retail tags on clothes in various social media posts<\/a>. If anyone is going to make the most of a situation, it\u2019s going to be him.<\/p>\n Fuerza Regida has come a long way since it first went viral in 2018 for the song \u201cRadicamos en South Central,\u201d a rugged corrido tumbado that tells the story of how a kingpin\u2019s empire was built brick by brick.<\/p>\n The San Bernardino band is a pioneer of the subgenre, which blends the traditional instrumentation of Mexican folk balladry with elements of American trap music, namely its beats and the gritty lyrical content that deals with matters of moving contraband, turf wars and endless hustle. Corridos tumbados embody the biculturalism experienced by Mexican Americans, fusing lo de aqu\u00ed with lo de all\u00e1.<\/p>\n Thanks to its street-wise sound and ethos, Fuerza Regida has helped pave the way for a new generation to rise up within m\u00fasica mexicana<\/a>. Luminate, a data analysis company, credited the growth of Latin music in 2024<\/a> to the surge of regional Mexican music; Fuerza Regida, Peso Pluma and Junior H were some of the most-streamed Latin artists in the U.S. that year, alongside reggaeton singer Bad Bunny. <\/p>\n In 2025, the band\u2019s groundbreaking ninth studio album, \u201c111Xpantia,\u201d elevated it to new levels of global stardom. The 12-track project leaned heavily into genre-specific instruments like the tololoche and charcheta for its foundation while still managing to be experimental and ambitious \u2014 opener \u201cGodfather\u201d samples Nino Rota\u2019s \u201cLove Theme From \u2018The Godfather\u2019\u201d from the iconic film.<\/p>\n The LP (the title is inspired by the Nahuatl word for manifestations<\/a>, \u201cixpantia\u201d) debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart<\/a> and became the highest-charting Spanish-language album by a group or duo. Tracks like the hypnotic \u201cTu Sancho\u201d and the gritty \u201cMarlboro Rojo\u201d topped the Mexican Billboard chart,<\/a> with the latter earning the No. 1 spot on the Hot Latin Songs list<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201c111Xpantia\u201d landed just one spot below Bad Bunny\u2019s chart-topping record, \u201cDeb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos,\u201d the first time ever that two Spanish-language albums have occupied the top two spots on the Billboard 200 chart at the same time. <\/p>\n This also kicked off a series of firsts for the band, which made its TV debut last year, including appearances on \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d<\/a> and \u201cThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.\u201d<\/a> By the end of 2025, Fuerza would wind up No. 10 on Spotify\u2019s global top artist list<\/a>.<\/p>\n (Ian Spanier\/For The Times)<\/p>\n \u201cMy feet left the ground,\u201d said JOP of the band\u2019s groundbreaking past year and finding a new level of normalcy. \u201cNow, my feet are on the ground and I\u2019m chilling.\u201d <\/p>\n Despite its mainstream success in both Mexico and the U.S. \u2014 and making various end-of-year best of lists <\/a>\u2014 \u201c111Xpantia\u201d received zero nominations at the 2025 Latin Grammys and the upcoming Grammy Awards<\/a>, which will take place Feb. 1 at downtown L.A.\u2019s Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI don\u2019t get how that album didn\u2019t get nominated,\u201d JOP says. \u201cBut I respect their decision. Next time.\u201d<\/p>\n There have long been widespread concerns<\/a> regarding the music industry\u2019s investment in m\u00fasica mexicana despite its decades-long track record of being a commercially competitive genre in the United States. Since the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards in 2000, critics and academics have lambasted the Latin Recording Academy, and the industry at large, for excluding popular acts like Los Tigres del Norte from contention in general categories \u2014 in comparison to the outpouring of support for mainstream pop stars such as Puerto Rican hitmaker Ricky Martin and Cuban queen Gloria Estefan. <\/p>\n Times contributor Justino Aguila voiced similar concerns<\/a> about the marginalizing of Mexicans at the 2019 Grammy Awards: \u201cIt was surprising that the Grammys telecast didn\u2019t include one regional Mexican artist, considering that Mexicans are the second-largest racial or ethnic group in the U.S. at about 36 million,\u201d he wrote at the time. <\/p>\n Yet there have been recent efforts to diversify the Grammy electorate. In early November, the Recording Academy welcomed Latin Grammy voting members<\/a> to its 2025 member class, effectively introducing more voters for Grammy Awards to come.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just need more Mexicans [in these institutions], that\u2019s it,\u201d said JOP, offering up solutions to both the Recording Academy and the Latin Recording Academy. \u201cLittle by little, I\u2019ve been seeing more Mexicans everywhere, we\u2019re getting in there.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time of our interview, the band was up for its first Latin Grammy nomination under the regional song category for \u201cMe Jalo,\u201d a collaboration with Texan band Grupo Frontera, which took the TikTok world by storm. (The song would later lose to Los Tigres del Norte, who won for the song \u201cLa Loter\u00eda.\u201d)<\/a> <\/p>\n Mexican singer Jesus Ortiz Paz of Fuerza Regida performs onstage during the 26th Annual Latin Grammy Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 13, 2025. (Photo by VALERIE MACON \/ AFP) \/ RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by VALERIE MACON\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n (VALERIE MACON\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n In February, both Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera will contend for their first Grammy Award in the m\u00fasica mexicana album category, for their joint 2024 EP, \u201cMala M\u00eda.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI was like, \u2018Finally!\u2019 said JOP. Fuerza Regida has claimed that its previous studio album, 2024\u2019s \u201cPero No Te Enamores,\u201d was sidelined by its label Rancho Humilde ahead of last year\u2019s Latin Grammys. <\/p>\n Although Fuerza Regida still releases music under the imprint, the band is in the thick of a legal battle with Rancho Humilde \u2014 an independent record company led by music mogul Jimmy Humilde, who signed the group in 2018. <\/p>\n In September, Rancho Humilde filed a lawsuit<\/a> against Fuerza Regida, alleging breaches of contract for unilaterally collaborating with artists outside the label (such as Chino Pacas and Drake) and signing exclusive live performance deals with Apple Music and Live Nation.<\/p>\n Fuerza Regida countersued, alleging that Rancho Humilde withheld millions in royalties and attempted to \u201csabotage\u201d the band\u2019s success, including by neglecting to submit its music for consideration ahead of the 2024 Latin Grammys. The legal tussle is working its way through federal court. <\/p>\n A request for comment sent to Rancho Humilde through its attorneys was not returned as of publication. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople have done so much stuff to me, record labels and a lot of things like that, that it don\u2019t faze me no more,\u201d JOP said. \u201cI just keep moving and onto the next, you know, and we\u2019re gonna figure it out.\u201d <\/p>\n Since 2019, JOP has been building up his own label, Street Mob Records, with the intent to support rising talent in m\u00fasica mexicana \u2014 including the Salinas, Calif., band Clave Especial<\/a>. The players fondly recalled JOP\u2019s rigor in the studio; one night he stayed up until 4 a.m. with the trio to help configure the beats on their latest record, \u201cMija No Te Asustes.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like working with somebody with that same ambition,\u201d said lead singer Alex Ahumada. \u201c[It\u2019s] like [a] loquera, that\u2019s how I like to call it.\u201d<\/p>\n JOP prides himself in teaching his artists the ins and outs of the music industry, including negotiation skills he wishes he\u2019d learned at the start of his career. He\u2019s advised the artists on Street Mob\u2019s roster \u2014 Chino Pacas, Armenta, Chuyin and others \u2014 to view their time under the label as akin to a college education.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re gonna be here for a certain amount of years, you\u2019re gonna learn and then you can leave if you want,\u201d explained JOP. \u201c\u200aI went through certain times in my career where like I was trying to learn and it was just like, daban la pata,\u201d he recalled, as if to say people in the industry were just pulling his leg. \u201cAnd they don\u2019t show you s\u2014.\u201d <\/p>\n Throughout our interview, JOP stressed loyalty. He is almost always surrounded by his bandmates \u2014 requinto guitarist Samuel Jaimez, guitarron player Khrystian Ramos, tubist Jos\u00e9 Garcia and tololoche player Moises Lopez \u2014 but there are also other recurring characters who populate his wondrous rock star existence.<\/p>\n Often by his side is Cristian \u201cToro\u201d Primera, chief operations officer at Street Mob Records, who used to lend JOP music equipment at the start of his career; and never far from the star is Jesus \u201cMosca\u201d Amezcua, his manager and cousin, who fondly recalls playing soccer together when they were younger. <\/p>\n JOP is often flanked by bodyguard Mario Rogelio, who once got his foot run over by a car while protecting the band in New York City. His other bodyguard, Samuel \u201cRhino\u201d Galindo, is a giant who loves to chat about his favorite Westwood cookie shop (Psst \u2014 it\u2019s Diddy Riese). <\/p>\n (Ian Spanier\/For The Times)<\/p>\n Protecting the famed band is a tough gig, though. In 2023, one of Fuerza Regida\u2019s guards died from a firearm-related injury<\/a> while in a vehicle in Veracruz, Mexico. The band offered their condolences at the time of the incident: \u201cWe want to send our most sincere condolences to the family of our security detail of Mexico, Mr. Morales, thank you for everything that you\u2019ve done for the team, you will be missed,\u201d the statement read. <\/p>\n Beyond all the drama, intrigue and financial complications of being a band, Fuerza Regida is still rising in the music industry \u2014 and reinvigorating cultural pride among many Mexican Americans. The group\u2019s ascent is especially remarkable in a time when the Supreme Court has allowed<\/a> the Department of Homeland Security to factor in race, language (Spanish), accent and job type when conducting immigration sweeps that have been targeting Latinos across the U.S. In some cases, federal agents have brutally targeted U.S. citizens<\/a> of Latino descent who have asserted their legal status. <\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI think the genre itself, the Mexican music genre really helped Mexicans be cool,\u201d said JOP \u2014 who used to bump songs by Chalino and Ad\u00e1n S\u00e1nchez on his way to school in San Bernardino, but then lower the volume as he got closer to campus. Most of his classmates, himself included, preferred to listen to hip-hop back then. \u201cNow [people] are bumping Mexican music, they don\u2019t even know Spanish.\u201d <\/p>\n JOP spends most of his time throughout the day being filmed by a member of his team. With a personal YouTube channel that counts over 1 million followers,<\/a> the singer is searching for the sweet spot between the music industry and the influencer economy, the latter of which is worth $250 billion and counting, according to a 2023 report by Goldman Sachs<\/a>. <\/p>\n It\u2019s a desirable business to break into, but JOP says his round-the-clock filming has a simpler origin. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was young, my mom never recorded me, so I don\u2019t got no recordings,\u201d he said. He\u2019s the only child of a mother who struggled with infertility; when she was pregnant with him, she prayed for his survival, promising to name him after Jesus Christ. \u201c[I\u2019m a] miracle baby, that\u2019s why we blessed,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n JOP said his mom had long hoped he would go to college. Yet after he graduated from Arroyo Valley High School in 2015, his main focus became pursuing music. <\/p>\n \u201cI told her, when the leaves fall, I\u2019ll be in college,\u201d he said. \u201cShe told me one day: \u2018The leaf fell [and] I don\u2019t see you in college.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In December, JOP would get a taste of the scholarly life when Fuerza Regida headed to Harvard University to accept the Harvard-Radcliffe RAZA Trailblazer Award from a student organization for their advancement of Mexican music. Although it was not related to an honorary degree, the band members were each gifted caps and gowns to wear.<\/p>\n \u201cThere you go, a Harvard graduate,\u201d JOP jokingly told The Times. <\/p>\n In an entertainment industry that rewards cheap gimmicks and surface-level solidarity with marginalized people, JOP\u2019s cutting realness is a cornerstone of his identity as an artist. For many, he represents an underdog spirit inherent to working-class communities.<\/p>\n (Ian Spanier\/For The Times)<\/p>\n When the wildfires ripped through Southern California last January, Fuerza Regida rented a hotel<\/a> to house families who were displaced. Then amid the ICE raids in the summer, the band donated merchandise profits<\/a> to organizations such as the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, which covers legal fees for affected individuals. In the fall, Fuerza Regida and Street Mob Records awarded four full scholarships<\/a> for Cal State San Bernardino students and provided free meals to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)<\/a> beneficiaries when the government shutdown delayed the distribution of benefits.<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767877929_972_.png\")
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