Polo Urias

While he's now based in Hobbs, New Mexico, norteno star Polo Urias actually got his start as a musician in his hometown of Ojinaga, Chihuahua. Urias was an obsessive singer as a child and he made his first recording in Ojinaga in 1974 as part of Los Jilgueros del Arroyo, which he formed with his brothers. Urias went on to sing for norteno legends Los Rieleros del Norte, and he founded his own band, La Maquina Nortena, in 1995. The group was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2001, and three decades after he made his first recording, Urias's home state named him a pioneer of norteno music.