Carin Leon

Possessed of a rich, dramatic, tenor singing voice, a storyteller’s gift for narrative, and dazzling instrumental skills, Sonoran musician Carin Leon is a triple threat. He is the chief songwriter, guitarist, and producer of the charting Mexican Regional band Grupo Arranke, a professional songwriter for artists including Christian Nodal, Cutaes de Sinaloa, and Adriel Favela, and a successful solo artist. His artistic mission lies in recovering the roots and ranchera and norteno essence at the heart of musica mexicana. Leon’s songs constantly blur the lines between ranchera, banda, mariachi, and corridos. Since launching a solo career in 2018, he has recorded more than 80 songs, including the Top Ten Mexican Regional hit “Me La Avente” from 2019′s popular full-length El Malo. Along with releasing his own albums like 2021′s Inédito and live efforts such as 2022′s Cura Local, he remains a member of Grupo Arranke. In 2023, he returned to the Top Ten of the Latin Albums chart and earned his second Latin Grammy for Colmillo de Leche. A Top 50 country hit, “The One (Pero No Como Yo)” with Kane Brown, arrived in 2024 as the first single from the June-released album, Boca Chueca, Vol. 1. Leon was born Oscar Armando de Leon Diaz La Huez in 1989, in Hermosillo, a city in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. He was born into a family of amateur musicians and is the only member of his clan to become a professional. Though he enjoyed music and sang from the time he was a toddler, Leon didn’t begin playing guitar until he was in high school. At 15, he taught himself by picking up songs on the radio and from friends. A quick study, he formed his first band the following year with schoolmates and decided to pursue music as a career. In 2010 he became a founding member, singer, and songwriter of Grupo Arranke, a charting success story in Mexico and the United States. Leon’s solo success simultaneously coincided with his band’s. Their first big hit, “A Traves del Vaso,” ran up a dozen Latin charts in 2017 (it has been covered by several bands since). The very next year, Leon delivered a whopping four solo albums: Desvelada con Banda y Mariachi, A Puro Pelo, Pa Las de Vidrio (all live) and the studio outing Amanecida con Todo y con Todos. All were musically close in spirit to Grupo Arranke’s, but the gears were soon to shift. Leon released the groundbreaking El Malo in 2019. Led by the success of its number six lead single “Me La Avente,” the album received airplay across Mexico and the Southwestern United States due to its seamless meld of Mexican regional subgenres, from polkas and bandas to mariachis, rancheras, and corridos — sometimes in the same song — Leon’s hyper-traditional music, filled with strings, horns, accordions, acoustic guitars, bass, and snare drums, resonated not only with older fans, but with a younger generation who preferred stylistic divisions not remotely connected to genre territoriality. After intense touring solo and with Grupo Arranke, he issued the 34-track digital collection Borrachera con Taka Takas in January of 2020 and followed it with the live Encerrados Perro Enfiestados in April. The full-length Inédito arrived May 2021, anchored by the single “Otra a Tu Salud.” Live albums Pistiembre Todo el Año and Cura Local (2022) followed. He also released the live single “El Rezado” with Enigma Norteño. In May 2023, Leon released his fifth studio album, Colmillo de Leche. The 18-track set included collaborations with Camilo on “Ni Me Debes Ni Te Debo,” Pablo Alborán on “Piedra Papel,” and Angela Aguilar on “Vete Yendo.” Leon also covers Los Tigres Del Norte’s “Corazón de Oro,” on the set in a duet with the Hermosillo-based group Los Hijos de Frank. Released in May, it entered the Top Latin Album chart at number ten and peaked at three. In July, Leon was a guest collaborator on Kany Garcia’s “Te Lo Agradezco.” In August, he duetted with Maluma on the single “Según Quien (Chisme).” That month also saw Leon’s second album single “Indispensable” enter the Latin Airplay chart at ten; it went to number one a week later. The album also peaked at number five on the Mexican Regional Albums list and took home the Latin Grammy for Best Norteno Album. A handful of collaborative singles followed in 2024, including “The One (Pero No Como Yo)” with Kane Brown, and “It Was Always You (Siempre Fuiste Tú)” with Leon Bridges. In June, the 18-track Boca Chueca, Vol. 1 arrived. Whereas Leon’s preious outings hinted at and made seamless fusions with other genres, Boca Chueca, Vol. 1 fully embraced Leon’s experimental side, threading musica mexicana roots melodies, harmonies, and rhythms, through electrified indie rock and pop, neo-soul, country, and even gospel and ska — without sacrificing substance for style. In addition to the collaborations on the aforementioned singles, Leon collaborated with Pepe Aguilar on “Lamentablemente,” Bolela on “Aviso Importante,” and Panteón Rococó on “No Se.” ~ Thom Jurek