walking upstream…
Remmy Valenzuela
sourcesWikipedia — Remmy Valenzuela biography and career facts · ContraRéplica (2025) — quotes Ramón Ayala's own recognition of Valenzuela as Mexico's best modern accordionist · El Informador (24 Mar 2019) — Valenzuela performing 'Viva el Amor' on accordion as a guest during Marco Antonio Solís's 'Todos Somos Más' tour
Remigio Alejandro Valenzuela Buelna was raised in Guasave, Sinaloa, starting out as a drummer before switching to the button accordion at thirteen; he went solo in 2007, and by his early twenties was being called "El Príncipe del Acordeón" for a virtuosic playing style built inside Sinaloan norteño's corrido tradition. He crossed into mainstream success in the 2010s by pairing that accordion-led sound with radio-ready romantic ballads — 'Te Olvidaré' (2013), 'Te Tocó Perder' and 'Mi Princesa' (both 2014) — earning a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Norteño Album and a Latin AMA nod for New Artist.
the sound in question
2013
Te OlvidaréRemmy Valenzuela
walk the tributaries ↓
Pancho Barraza2000s · banda romántica / banda sinaloense
Valenzuela recorded a duet version of Barraza's own signature ballad 'Mi Enemigo El Amor.' Barraza's diary-entry style of romantic songwriting — a plainspoken verse building to a simple, wrenching chorus, tuba and clarinet traded for accordion and bajo — is the clearest template for Valenzuela's own turn away from narcocorridos toward heartbreak ballads like 'Te Tocó Perder.'
listen: upstream & heresource: SAPS Grupero — Pancho Barraza ft. Remmy Valenzuela duet recording of "Mi Enemigo El Amor" ↗
1995
Mi Enemigo El AmorPancho Barraza
2014
Te Tocó PerderRemmy Valenzuela
listen forA plainspoken, almost spoken-word verse that holds back the emotion until a simple, repeated chorus line finally lets it go.
Ramón Ayala1970s · Norteño / Cumbia / Regional Mexican
No on-record interview names Ayala as a childhood idol directly, but the professional relationship is well documented: Valenzuela has toured alongside him, covered his catalog live (including with Los Nuevos Rebeldes), and discussed a planned studio duet; Ayala has in turn publicly called Valenzuela Mexico's best modern accordionist. Ayala's clean, driving button-accordion runs — the instrument carrying the melody outright rather than just keeping time — are the clearest technical lineage behind Valenzuela's own playing.
listen: upstream & heresource: Noroeste (2018) — Valenzuela performing Ramón Ayala's catalog live and discussing a planned studio duet with him ↗
Tragos AmargosRamón Ayala
2014
Mi Vida en VidaRemmy Valenzuela
listen forA fast, clearly articulated accordion run that carries the main melodic hook on its own, with the bajo sexto or bass just holding down rhythm underneath instead of competing for the lead.
Marco Antonio Solís1980s-2000s · balada romántica / grupera / regional mexicano / latin pop
Valenzuela has toured with Solís and was the only regional Mexican artist invited onto Solís's 2019 tribute album/tour 'Todos Somos Más,' performing 'Viva el Amor' on accordion alongside him in concert. That same patient, slow-building romantic-ballad structure — a quiet verse that suddenly opens into a full swell at the chorus — runs through Valenzuela's own crossover hits.
listen: upstream & heresource: TVyNovelas (2019) — career piece noting tours with Marco Antonio Solís, Ramón Ayala and Banda El Recodo ↗
2001
Si No Te Hubieras IdoMarco Antonio Solís
2014
Mi PrincesaRemmy Valenzuela
listen forA verse that stays quiet and almost conversational before the chorus opens up into a full, string-and-accordion swell — melodrama built through patience rather than vocal power.