Elevate Your Mexican Restaurant Music Playlist

Elevate your Mexican restaurant music playlist

Just one dining experience in a completely quiet (or far too loud) Mexican restaurant is more than enough to convince you of the power of background music.

If your guests feel uncomfortable, anxious, or stressed while dining at your restaurant, they’ll leave quickly and go someplace else the next time they want Mexican cuisine. Getting the music wrong can impact your sales, revenue, and bottom line.

Research shows that restaurant sales jump 9.1% with the right background music that fits the brand, and where else is the soundtrack more important for ambiance than in a Mexican restaurant?

The good news is: you’ve come to the right place.

What genre do they play at Mexican restaurants?

At Soundtrack, we have numerous ready-made playlists that are perfect for a relaxing dinner or lively fiesta. We’ll discuss and offer links to five of them later in this article. And if you want something unique, our AI Playlist Creator can instantly generate a bespoke playlist from a simple text prompt.

However, if you want to take a more hands-on approach to creating the perfect Mexican restaurant music playlist, the first step is to understand the various genres and styles of Latin music.

Obviously, not all Spanish-language music that is popular in Mexico originated in that country, but if, for example, reggaeton or bossa nova suits your restaurant, these genres can complement your food and atmosphere to create the perfect culinary experience for your customers.

Let’s start with some more traditional options:

• Mariachi music: Traditional Mexican folk music often played by bands in celebratory settings, like weddings or national holidays.

• Cumbia: A vibrant, danceable genre that originated in Colombia but is immensely popular across Mexico. Cumbia’s rhythm is perfect for a fun, energetic atmosphere.

• Rancheras: A genre of traditional Mexican songs, made famous by singers like Vicente Fernández, with emotional, passionate songs about love, heartbreak, and national pride.

• Bossa nova: This genre is from Brazil, but its laid-back vibe can blend well with Mexican and Latin-inspired playlists.

• Corridos: These are narrative songs that tell stories, often about heroes, outlaws, or historical events, reflecting Mexico’s folklore.

• Banda: A lively, brass-heavy genre led by bands like Banda MS and El Recodo. It features trumpets, tubas, and drums, often accompanying spirited, upbeat songs about love, heartbreak, and Mexican pride.

• Norteño: Features the accordion and bajo sexto (a Mexican guitar). Similar to banda but more accordion-driven, this genre tells stories of daily life, love, and often migration. Los Tigres del Norte are iconic in this northern Mexican genre.

• Tejano: Blends Mexican folk music with American influences like polka and country. Legendary artists like the late Selena Quintanilla helped elevate Tejano to international fame.

• Boleros: Slow, romantic style of music that emphasizes beautiful melodies and sentimental lyrics. Often feature smooth guitar and soft vocals, perfect for adding emotional depth. Singers like Luis Miguel and José José have delivered memorable bolero performances.

• Salsa: Primarily from the Caribbean, this genre is widely embraced in Mexico. Energetic, danceable beats and lively brass instruments make it perfect for a festive Latin playlist.

• Son Jarocho: Blends Indigenous, Spanish, and African influences. It’s famous for its energetic string instrumentation and lively rhythms, and perhaps the most well-known song in this genre is "La Bamba."

• Huapango: Traditional Mexican folk style characterized by fast-paced violin, jarana (small guitar), and falsetto vocals. It’s often performed during folk dances and festivals.

You can also incorporate more modern flavors:

• Reggaeton: Artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Karol G have brought this popular genre to the forefront with their fusion of Latin rhythms, hip hop, and dancehall.

• Spanish-language hip hop: A fusion of traditional Mexican influences with modern beats, reflecting the diversity of today’s Mexican culture. Artists like Santa Fe Klan and C. Tangana incorporate hip hop into their unique soundscapes.

• Sierreño: Rooted in traditional Mexican music, this genre features artists like Calibre 50 who blend acoustic sounds with modern themes. It’s relatively laid-back and is a fresh take on regional Mexican music.

• Norteño-banda: This is a modern fusion of two traditional genres, with new lyrics and styles giving them a modern edge. Bands like Grupo Firme and Gerardo Ortiz are making this fusion increasingly popular among younger audiences.

• Rock en español: With roots in the ’80s and ’90s, this genre is still relevant today with bands like Café Tacvba and Zoé continuing to experiment with contemporary sounds, appealing to both older fans and new generations of listeners.

The pride and energy found in much of this music yells "Viva Mexico!" and the mix of English and Spanish in today’s musical landscape highlights the Latin influence on music trends worldwide.

From romantic ballads of amor to the high-energy rhythms of cumbia, Latin music in all its forms is vibrant and expressive, offering the building blocks for the ideal playlist for any Mexican restaurant.

What’s the best music playlist for your Mexican restaurant?

Soundtrack has curated the best Mexican restaurant playlists, carefully selected to keep your ambiance elevated with top tracks licensed and legal to play in your business.

As you may know, consumer streaming services like Apple Music, SiriusXM, Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube lack the licenses for streaming music in a commercial setting, and doing so can breach copyright laws and expose a restaurant to potential legal action, including costly lawsuits.

With our fully licensed and ad-free playlists, discover everything from Santana to Los Lobos, and from “La Bamba” to Selena. This collection of playlists is designed for any type of Mexican restaurant.

Whether your establishment provides a laid back vibe for a quick burrito, a family-friendly atmosphere that caters to customers young and old, or an edgy and energetic undercurrent perfect for Taco Tuesday, our collection of playlists will help you find the right tempo, volume, and style of música that suits your unique brand.

Do your birria tacos draw a long line of hungry customers? Keep eager guests from getting bored with an energetic playlist that will help them focus on the fun atmosphere rather than the wait time.

Are your fajitas perfect for a family celebration? Have you perfected your enchiladas to demand slow, savoring enjoyment? Does your kitchen need an extra kick to keep the workers uptempo?

Browse our collection of Mexican restaurant music playlists, or curate your own like celebrity culinary artist Chef Paco did for the soundtrack of Loreto. Find the perfect tracks to complement the dining experience, make your staff in the back of house happier and more productive, and help increase sales.

These playlists will set the soundtrack for your restaurant, strengthen your brand identity, and help you reach your business goals.

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