WATCH: Gael García Bernal Jokes He’s the Father of Corridos Tumbados – Here’s Why
Gael Garcia Bernal at the Los Angeles premiere of "La Máquina" held at Hollywood Athletic Club on October 3, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chad Salvador/Variety via Getty Images)
Is Gael García Bernal the father of corridos tumbados? In a recent interview with García Bernal and Diego Luna, Escorpión Dorado made the bold claim, which the Mexican actor playfully agreed with.
Mexican personality Escorpión Dorado hosts a show on YouTube where he interviews celebrities in his car while driving around. García Bernal and Luna took a ride with him to promote their new series, La Máquina. The two actors became one of Mexico’s most famous duos after starring in the indie movie Y Tu Mamá También back in 2001. During their interview with Escorpión Dorado, García Bernal brought up the topic of corridos tumbados, the new wave of música mexicana ushered in by names like Natanael Cano, Fuerza Regida, and Junior H back in 2019.
While listening to music, García Bernal takes the opportunity to raise the issue. “This is something I’ve wanted to say for a while,” he said, asking Escorpión if he knows corridos tumbados. “How do corridos tumbados sound to you?” Escorpión Dorado then shouts, “Gael García Bernal is the papá of corridos tumbados!” With a smile, García Bernal responded, “¡Chingado! Thank you. We had to say it!” He noted how he was critiqued for not being a good singer when he sang “Quiero Que Me Quieras” in the 2009 movie Rudo y Cursi.
Back in 2019, Cano told Remezcla that traditional música mexicana artists at the time were saying that the corridos tumbados stars were going to “ruin music.” Years later, García Bernal
reiterated Cano’s point of how corridos were looked down upon at first. He also talked about his memories of playing corridos singer Tato “Cursi” Verdusco in Rudo y Cursi.
“Everyone was saying how awful,” he said. “They were saying that Cursi sings horribly, and suddenly, here are [the corridos tumbados stars]. You’re welcome, hijos.”
Continuing to play with Escorpión Dorado’s joke about García Bernal being the father of corridos tumbados, they asked for Peso Pluma, Cano, and Fuerza Regida to thank him later. García Bernal then agreed that he was not only the papá of the movement but also “el rígido.” Maybe García Bernal can hop on a corridos tumbados track in the future to live up to his new namesake.
La Máquina is now streaming on Hulu in the U.S.
Check out the full interview with Escorpión Dorado below.