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An Early Hit: 'Camino a Tepehuanes'

"Camino a Tepehuanes" ("Road to Tepehuanes") by the group Montez de Durango, is the song that kicked off the Duranguense movement in Chicago (hear it above). The song is about a man on a road trip who goes deep into the Mexican countryside, and high up, to the mountaintop town of Tepehuanes. He describes the view as his truck climbs the road connecting neighboring mountain villages. He tips his hat to the people he passes and stops to let school children cross. He's returned home to the northern state of Durango after many years away. Here, he sings, there’s a friend behind every door.

Chicago has the largest population from Durango stateside. Many Duranguenses in Chicago come from tiny mountain towns like the ones mentioned here, and they idealize the small town life remembered in this and other Duranguense songs.
-- Melissa Giraud

Lyrics

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