El Grupo Móntez de Durango is a duranguense band currently based in Chicago, USA. This group is well known in the United States and some states in Mexico like Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa and Zacatecas. The band members came from Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango, Mexico. One of the hottest “Regional Mexican” bands at the turn of the century wasn’t even from Mexico. Although Grupo Montez de Durango’s sound is deeply rooted in the music of traditional Mexican music, it is also influenced by the members’ hometown of Chicago. Jose Luis Terrazas founded Grupo Montez De Durango in 1996. Terrazas, who was born in Durango, Mexico, grew up in Chicago and was a percussionist in the marching band at his high school. He hooked up with a traditional Mexican banda and learned that these groups were very popular in Chicago. The next step was the formation of his own group. The seven member group soon became a popular draw at local dance halls. Membership in the group includes leader Terrazas, Daniel Terrazas (drummer and son), Manuel Ortega, Cesar Ruelas, Armando Aguirre, Farncisco “Paco” Lopez, and Alfredo Ramirez Corral. Besides covers of older traditional Mexican songs, the group also played a faster paced style of music: a merengue/ranchera mix. This musical style became associated with the dance style called “El Pasito Duranguense” (The Durango Step) and Grupo Montez de Durango was the band most closely identified with it. Terrazas founded his own Terrazas Records label and the band began recording and releasing albums. In time, one of the major labels signed the group, but the label wanted the group to change its sound and they soon parted ways. The group signed with a Mexican indie label and released El Sube y Baja in 2002. The band’s next release followed in 2003, and De Durango a Chicago debuted at No. 2 on the Top Latin Albums chart. A live album, En Vivo Desde Chicago (with a DVD), was released early in 2004. A year later, Y Sigue La Mata Dando was released and in 2006 they released Borron Y Cuenta Nueva. The group would fracture that same year with several members, including primary vocalist Alfredo Ramirez Corral, breaking away to form their own group, Los Creadorez Del Pasito Duranguense De Alfredo Ramirez. Montez de Durango would re-group, replenish their ranks, and release a new studio album, Agarrese, in the summer of 2007.
