The ranchera is a genre of the traditional music of Mexico originally sung by only one person and a guitar in the times of the Mexican Revolution. Years later it became closely associated with the mariachi groups which evolved in Jalisco in the post-revolutionary period, rancheras are also played today by norte?o (or Conjunto) or banda. Drawing on rural traditional folklore, the ranchera was conceived as a symbol of a new national consciousness in reaction to the aristocratic tastes of that era. Perhaps the greatest exponents of the ranchera have been Cuco Sanchez, Roc?o D?rcal, Jos? Alfredo Jim?nez, Lola Beltr?n, Vicente Fern?ndez, Pedro Infante, Jorge Negrete, and Javier Sol?s.

Traditional rancheras are about love, patriotism or nature. Rhythms can be in 3/4, 2/4 or 4/4, reflecting the tempo of, respectively, the waltz, the polka, and the bolero. Songs are usually in a major key, and consist of an instrumental introduction, verse and refrain, instrumental section repeating the verse, and another verse and refrain, with a tag ending. Instrumentation may include guitars, strings, trumpets, and/or accordions, depending on the type of ensemble being utilised. Besides the typical instrumentation, ranchera music, as well as many other forms of traditional Mexican music, is also noted for the grito mexicano, a yell that is done at musical interludes within a song, either by the musicians and/or the listening audience. The normal musical pattern of rancheras is a/b/a/b. Rancheras usually begin with an instrumental introduction (a). The first lyrical portion then begins (b), with instrumental adornments interrupting the lines in between. The instruments then repeat the theme again, and then the lyrics may either be repeated or begin a new set of words. One also finds the form a/b/a/b/c/b used, in which the intro(a) is played, followed by the verse(b). This form is repeated, and then a refrain(c) is added, ending with the verse.

The most popular ranchera composers include Lucha Reyes, Cuco S?nchez, Antonio Aguilar, and Jos? Alfredo Jim?nez, who composed many of the best-known rancheras, with compositions totaling more than 1000 songs, making him one of the most prolific songwriters in the history of western music. Another closely related style of music is the corrido, which is often played by the same ensembles that regularly play rancheras. The corrido, however, is apt to be an epic story about heroes and villains, whereas rancheras may not necessarily be heroic ballads, and also vary more in terms of tempo. However, two notable exceptions to this rule are the songs, 'Corrido de Chihuahua' and the 'Corrido de Monterrey', which are considered rancheras in spite of their names. Their lyrics are concerned with patriotism for the states of Chihuahua and Nuevo Le?n, respectively. The word ranchera was derived from the word rancho because the songs originated on the ranches and in the countryside of rural Mexico. Rancheras that have been adapted by conjuntos, or norte?o bands from northern Mexico and the southwestern US, are sometimes called norte?os, from the Spanish word for northern.