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Christian Nodal, 'Un Cumbión Dolido'

Only a few days after the hallmark holiday dedicated to love and desire, Mexican singer-songwriter Christian Nodal finds himself drowning the sorrows of a broken heart at the rumbea. The pioneer of mariacheño — a genre that fuses the European influenced polka-based norteño with the emotive entourage of mariachi, two staples of Mexican regional music — celebrates lust-inspired actions of those suffering from a loss of love throughout his arousing latest release, "Un Cumbión Dolido." Nodal replicates the scattered and confused sentiments of heartbreak with a smooth blend of cumbia ranchera — made menacing by persistent, sultry horns — and norteño. " 'Porque así es, mijo, así va' / Lo decía mi nana, el amor puede matar / Por eso solo busco una diablita pa' bailar," Nodal sings in a low growl (" 'Because that's how it is my boy, that's how it goes' / My granny said it, love can kill / Here's why I'm only looking for a little devil to dance with") over evocative percussion as he uses the excitement of motion between bodies to distract from his heart's wounds.

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LaTesha Harris is NPR Music's editorial assistant. A relentless jack-of-all-trades, she takes turns writing, editing and producing music coverage. Invested in the culture behind pop, hip-hop and R&B, her work highlights the intersection between identity and history. Once in a blue moon, Harris moonlights as a talking head with no filter.