People Directory

Ramón Ayala was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and became a leading accordionist, singer and bandleader in norteño music. With singer Cornelio Reyna he formed Los Relámpagos del Norte in the early 1960s, helping to shape the duo sound of accordion and voice. He later led Ramón Ayala y sus Bravos del Norte.

His group’s recordings circulated across the Mexico–United States border. A performance of Corrido de Gerardo González appears in the Smithsonian Folkways Borderlands collection, documenting the tradition in the 1990s. En Vivo...El Hombre Y Su Musica won the Grammy for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album at the 44th awards. His long career made the accordion central to modern norteño.