Banda El Recodo On Upcoming Album ‘En Vivo Desde Japón’: ‘An Incredible Experience & Great Source of Pride’

Legendary regional Mexican group Banda El Recodo is gearing up for the release of their new album, En Vivo Desde Japón (Live from Japan). Recorded last year during their performance at the De Camino a Latinoamérica festival in Tokyo at Odaiba Pier, the album will be rolled out in five weekly installments starting this Thursday (April 3).

“We decided to release it this way to offer something different,” says Alfonso “Poncho” Lizárraga, leader of the group that was founded in Mazatlán nearly 87 years ago, in an exclusive interview with Billboard Español. “Each installment will feature a collection of songs grouped under a specific theme.”

The first part, titled Orgullo por México (Pride for Mexico), will include tracks like “Puño de Tierra,” “El Sinaloense/El Corrido de Mazatlán,” and “El Rey/Cielito Lindo/Viva México.” This will be followed by Amor Como Lenguaje Universal (Love as a Universal Language) on April 10, featuring a medley of “Te Presumo/Me Gusta Todo de Ti/La Mejor de Todas,” “Y Llegaste Tú,” and the spotlight track “No Me Aprovechaste,” an unreleased song written by Luciano Luna.

On April 17, the third installment, Separación, Distancia, Desamor (Separation, Distance, Heartbreak), will be released, featuring songs such as “Que te Ruegue Quien te Quiera,” “Yo Sé que te Acordarás/Vas a Llorar por Mí/Acá Entre Nos,” and “Triste Recuerdo/Te Ofrezco un Corazón.” A week later, on April 24, Viva La Fiesta (Long Live the Party) will debut, showcasing the tracks “La Crazy Loca,” “La Culebra,” and “La Quebradora/Vámonos de Fiesta.” Finally, on May 8, En Vivo Desde Japón will be completed with a second unreleased track, “El Malo Soy Yo,” along with “Qué Bonita/El Farol.”

This marks the second time Banda El Recodo has recorded a live album outside of Mexico. Back in 1995, they released Desde París, Francia, La Gira Europa ’95 (En Vivo) (From Paris, France, The Europe Tour ’95 Live). It is also their second time performing in Japan, where they first visited in 2002 to support the Mexican National Soccer Team during the World Cup, playing in five different cities.

“This time, we were part of an event where we were invited to share a piece of our culture with an audience of 5,000 people. It was an incredible experience and a great source of pride,” says Lizárraga. “Nowadays, there’s a growing openness to discovering Mexican music — and we find it very important that mariachi and banda are represented worldwide.”

“It’s important to honor and dignify traditional Mexican music,” Lizárraga continues. “We want the history of Mexican music to be respected and preserved. This doesn’t mean we don’t support new talents or younger generations, but it’s crucial to keep our traditions alive.”

Banda El Recodo will kick off the U.S. leg of their ’90s Banda Tour on May 25 in Newburgh, N.Y., joined by Banda Machos, Banda Los Recoditos, and Banda Maguey. The tour will blend traditional banda hits with technobanda and la quebradita, a music and dance explosion that took the scene by storm during the 1990s.

In Mexico, the tour is called Las Más Perronas (Mexican slang roughly meaning the Baddest) and includes only Banda El Recodo and Banda Machos, with three dates announced: July 11 at the Auditorio Telmex in Guadalajara, August 9 at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico, and Sept. 5 at the Arena Monterrey.