EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A music group from the Rio Grande Valley is rising as one of the biggest Norteño groups in the entire world.
Grupo Frontera, originating from the McAllen area, has been representing the Valley through their newfound success.
The Norteño group’s breakthrough hits “No Se Va” and “Bebe Dame” have opened a door of opportunities for the group and Valley natives.
Since their debut in 2022, Grupo Frontera has released music with Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny and performed at Coachella in April.
Local mural artist Alex Gonzalez, also known as Pop Culture, is returning the love and support to Grupo Frontera as they continue to represent the Valley.
“I see that Grupo Frontera were inspiring a lot of local people and they were from the 956 which made me feel very special because not a lot of people from the 956 get to do big things,” Gonzalez said.
The creation for the Grupo Frontera mural came to Gonzalez while listening to their music with his longtime friend Uriel Landeros.
“We were just having fun,” Gonzalez said. “Fue algo de repente. No lo planeamos, no nada.”
Gonzalez and Landeros worked 15 hours a day for several days to bring the Grupo Frontera mural to life.
Grupo Frontera is painted alongside images of Mexican singer Peso Pluma, Kermit the Frog and a Younghee doll from the South Korean drama Squid Game.
Born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and raised in Alamo, Gonzalez’s artistic journey began with graffiti then transitioned to mural art in 2020 after a vision he had of creating murals and inspiring artists.
“I had no job. I had nothing. But I had a dream,” Gonzalez said.
Now, he has over 200 murals throughout the entire Rio Grande Valley with no plans to stop creating art.
Gonzalez has created murals of Texas icons including Ramon Ayala, Selena Quintanilla, Americo Paredes, and Freddy Fender. He’s also painted images locally of Elon Musk, SpaceX rockets and the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
His creative vision and motive to bring color and inspiration to the Valley continues while his art style expands and fluctuates.
“It’s mural after mural that I’m painting,” Gonzalez said. “I want to create more.”
Gonzalez’s goal is to create a mural art park space in the Valley where people can visit to seek inspiration and appreciation.
“El Valle necesita bastante pintura pero tambien necesita artistas que pintan el Valle,” Gonzalez said. “Estoy trabajando mucho porque yo tambien quiero inspirar otros artistas.”
The new Grupo Frontera mural is located on 215 E. Cano St. in downtown Edinburg. Earlier this month the group performed in front of the mural and shared the performance on Instagram.
Photographer Emiliano Pena contributed to this report.
