In a 2002 interview, journalist/musician Elijah Wald (author of the book Narcocorrido) came up with an interesting, if far-fetched, theory: he predicted that because salsa had become so commercialized (thanks to salsa romantica), Puerto Rican and Cuban kids would eventually turn to Mexican norteño and narcocorridos as a way of rebelling against their salsero parents. Can listeners really expect to see a time in which an abundance of Puerto Rican and Cuban teenagers will start putting on cowboy hats and listening to
Los Tigres del Norte and
Chalino Sánchez? Probably not -- regional Mexican music has always been a tough sell among Caribbean Latinos (although it has a big non-Mexican following in Colombia and parts of Central America). But Wald is certainly right about the vitality of the narcocorrido, and one group that has often demonstrated how engaging narcocorridos can be is the ballsy Grupo Exterminador. With
Ahora con los Huevos en la Mano, the norteño outfit continues to illustrate the exciting nature of narcocorridos -- well, at least some of the time. On this 2006 release, Exterminador seem to be making a conscious effort to say that while they are famous for narcocorridos, that is not the only thing they can do. There are some excellent narcocorridos on this 46-minute CD -- among them, "Los Dragones del Oriente" and "La Bruja." But Exterminador show listeners their more romantic side on "Porque Te Quiero," "Mi Vida Eres Tu," and "Cada Vez Que Me Besas," while the exuberant "Dale Biberon" is a cumbia/norteño party song. All of those tracks drive home the message that Exterminador do not perform narcocorridos 100 percent of the time; of course, listeners knew that already, but reminding audiences of their diversity certainly doesn't hurt.
Ahora con los Huevos en la Mano is not among Exterminador's essential releases, but it is a solid, pleasing demonstration of their ability to do a variety of things while maintaining their norteño orientation. ~ Alex Henderson