Pa'l Norte
Pa'l Norte, known for sponsorship reasons as Tecate Pa'l Norte, is a music, art, and norteño traditional festival held every year since 2012, in Monterrey, Nuevo León. The event features some of the best of Latin America's most prominent talents. Pa'l Norte is considered to be one of the most popular music festivals within Latin America, and is one of the top-three most lucrative in México. As of 2022, the weekend brings the highest economic impact in the state of Nuevo León, making it a business hit for the state's tourism industry.
The event is organized by Apodaca Music Group, a group of highly regarded musicians, managers and festival-operators, overseeing other events such as Live Out Monterrey, Rock 'n Picnic, Fusión Ska, Friday Social Scene, Tough Mudder, and more.
Pa'l Norte's stages have showcased many well-known artists, bands and DJs of Latino and international origin, in addition to showcasing emerging talents. Some of the most notable performers at the festival have included Wisin & Yandel, Karol G, J Balvin, Farruko, Sebastian Yatra, Guaynaa, Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon, 311, Garbage, Franz Ferdinand, Maroon 5, Foo Fighters, Tame Impala, Bizarrap, Snow Patrol, Good Charlotte, M.I.A., Nicky Jam, Queens of the Stone Age, Sech, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Robin Schulz, The Killers, Jason Derulo, Two Door Cinema Club, Enrique Bunbury, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Caifanes, Foster the People, Mon Laferte, Café Tacuba, Los Auténticos Decadentes, Zoé, Kinky, Plastilina Mosh, Calle 13, Los Amigos Invisibles, Julieta Venegas, Los Claxons, Panda, Piso 21, Mau y Ricky, La Ley, Tigres del Norte, Intocable, Jumbo, Juanes, Billie Eilish, The Offspring, Blink-182, Modest Mouse, Steve Aoki, Maná, Carlos Santana and many more.
Pa'l Norte is symbolized by its iconic lion emblem, its color and style matching with the festival's slogan "Siempre Ascendente". This catchphrase was taken from the state of Nuevo León's heraldry, and is a philosophy the festival holds firm in improving on, year after year.
History
During much of 2012, Monterrey was brought to a stop due to major security issues around the city, and a festival with this kind of frequency and repercussions was non-existent. Based on the previous statements, Apodaca Music Group creates Pa'l Norte, inspired by pride and traditions of Northern Mexico held within an event that offers a unique experience for two successive days of live music with spectacular stages and diverse activities, such as: food trucks, Mercadito Pa'l Norte, kermesse, official merchandise store, live bar and more.Starting with the 2013 edition, it incorporates Pa'l Mercado, a small marketplace that powers local products and entrepreneurs. This year also sees the creation of the "Surprise stage", where surprise artists make an appearance. This stage was opened up by La Ley.
2015 broke a record in economical outburst and hotel rooming of any month of April in the history of Monterrey, stated by the Secretariat of Tourism, leaving an economical impact of over 125 million pesos in Monterrey, Nuevo León.
Past editions
Pa'l Norte Rock Festival 2012
On November 24, 2012, Pa'l Norte was held for the first time in Diego Rivera Park under the name "Pa'l Norte Rock Festival". The event lasted for 13 consecutive hours, and showcased 16 artists in two stages. The event welcomed 37,000 attendees from the states of Tamaulipas, Durango and Coahuila. Besides offering a varied musical repertoire for the local audience, it dedicated a spot to selling regional food like cabrito and attractions like a mechanical bull. Doors to the event opened at 12:00, with the first artist programmed to start at 13:30.Patricia González Aguirre, head of Corporate Tourism Development commented that Pa'l Norte Rock Festival "increased hotel occupation 11%, and exclusively in the Valle neighbourhood registered a 73% occupation, against the usual 58%".
The first edition's lineup had 17 artists and bands, and included Calle 13, Sussie 4, Los Amigos Invisibles,, Nortec Collective, Toy Selectah, Los Concorde,, Finde, Play, Movil Project, Kinky, A Band of Bitches, Zoé, Los Bunkers, Carla Morrison, and Enjambre.
Official sponsors: Indio, Winston, Coca-Cola, Telcel, Red Bull, Jack Daniels.
Pa'l Norte Music Fest 2013
For a second time in 2013, Pa'l Norte was held under the name "Pa'l Norte Music Fest". This one-day event had the participation of 37 bands, on November 9, with an occupation of 53,000 people in Diego Rivera Park. The event carried controversy behind it, because the municipality of San Pedro wouldn't budge on the permits necessary for making it possible. Finally, a month before the event has held, they were denied the permit, which forced the organizers to look for another venue: Parque Fundidora, having more space and security than what was planned before. The festival had two stages Unión Indio and Indio, and also an alternative tent for electronic music with capacity for 6,000 people; additionally a surprise stage between the main stages where La Leyenda presented themselves.From this edition onwards, Pa'l Norte starts using a video where it integrates the line-up in different situations and themes, and it also starts collaborating with local graffiti poetry-artist Movimiento Acción Poética for the festival's street publicity around the city.
The event used a sophisticated illumination system and spectacular stages, including the Sidney Tent, that had been used only twice in the country for events in Cancún. 2013's official sponsors were Indio, Coca-Cola Zer
For its second anniversary, main guests were: Julieta Venegas, Café Tacvba, Babasonicos, Kinky, Pxndx, Los Claxons, INNA, Fobia, Natalia Lafourcade, Porter, Ximena Sariñana, Genitallica, Hello Seahorse!, Románticos de Zacatecas, Division Minúscula, Resorte and Miami Miami.
Coca-Cola Zero Club
Besides the main stages, the festival included an electronic tent with talents such as: Lance Herbstrong, DJ Lukas, DJ Agustin, Daniella, DJ Set, Fee Caballero, Radio Rebelde, Morenito de Fuego, Dberrie.
Pa'l Norte Fest 2014
From 2014 onwards, Pa'l Norte starts its two-day run, celebrating on October 31 and November 1 in Parque Fundidora. Doors opened at 3p.m. and the event started at 4p.m. Attendees for the event were around the 104,000 figure for the combination of both days, and was the first year that included international talents. Pa'l Norte 2014 included two main stages and the Coca-Cola Zero Club tent for electronic music. For those unable to go to the festival, it was transmitted on the web through INDIO TV for those out of the state.The first day of the festival had over 10 hours of continuous music, and after a fireworks show, Los Tigres del Norte closed the festival's first night. The festival also included its now traditional surprise stage with guests Vanilla Ice, Chingy, Proyecto Uno and Inner Circle.
Due to the date the festival was being held on, it also included a Halloween costume contest with a prize of 100,000 pesos. The contest was held on the third stage, proposed for alternative bands this year, and it included a stand where attendees could get a zombie make-over. Besides this, the festival incorporated Pa'l Mercado, a regional artisan and local product fair, and a more extensive Food Court with a variety of food and drinks.
Official sponsors: Tecate, Turismo de NL, Telcel, Coca-Cola, Lucky Strike, Launch, Diesel, Red Bull, Claro Musica. Michemix and Diageo.
Line Up 2014
Foster The People, Snoop Dogg, Allison, Kinky, Zoé, El Gran Silencio, Enrique Bunbury, Molotov, Control Machete, Enjambre, Zurdok, Band of Bitches, Chromeo DJ, Plastilina Mosh, Los Amigos invisibles, Tigres del Norte, Reyno, La Ley, Jumbo, Juanes, AFI, De la Tierra, Daniella Spalla, Andrés Calamaro, Vetusta Morla, Juanes, Thecnicolor Fabrics, DLD, Maria Daniela y sus amigos Laser.
Pa'l Norte 2015
On April 24 and 25 Pa'l Norte is held for the fourth time, and again in Parque Fundidora in the city of Monterrey. Again with a two-day run, it reunited 114,000 attended. It had special surprise guests Village People and Intocable as closing acts. For this event, besides the usual public from local states, attendees travelled from border towns in the US, and Colombia, Guatemala and El Salvador.For this edition, Pa'l Norte had 5 stages: Tecate, Indio, Ascendente, Surprise, Regional. The main blocks that conform the festival fromprevious years also included: Food Court, Pa'l Mercado, Carpa Ascendente, and EMS as a precaution for the general public. Thanks to a special partnership, the city's metro lines extended their working hours to give service to the attendees. Surprise stage guests this year were Coolio, Crazy Town, Village People and Big Boy.
Line Up 2015
2015's edition included acts by Garbage, Imagine Dragons, 2 Live Crew, 311, Café Tacvba, Calle 13, The Kooks, Intocable, Molotov, Flo Rida, Aterciopelados, The Beatles, Ximena Sariñana, Enanitos Verdes, Galatzia, Shirley Manson, Babasónicos, Belanova, Corazón Attack, Maná, Los Claxons, Disco Ruido, Clibz, Calonchos, Botellita de Jerez, Nortec Colletive: Bostich + Fussible, Los Infiernos, No te Va a Gusta
Pa'l Norte 2016
Pa'l Norte festival 2016 took place on April 15 and 16 in Parque Fundidora, with the participation of national and international artists in six stages: Tecate, Indio, Ascendente, Sorpresa, Regional, and newly added Club Social for electronic indie DJs with amazing visuals and sound.2016 attendees were recorded as high as 134,000 people: on both nights of the festival.
Line Up 2016
The edition of Pa'l Norte included the following guests: 50 Cent, Caifanes, Enrique Bunbury, Carla Morrison, Felix Jaehn, Mœnia, Marky Ramone, Los Pericos, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Los Pericos, Jenny and The Mexicats, Hello Seahorse!, J Balvin, Leon Larregui, Los Autenticos Decadentes, Los Concorde, Natalia Lafourcade, Naughty by Nature, The Wailers, Plastilina Mosh, Porter, Robin Schulz, Rock en tu Idioma, Siddharta, Sussie 4 and Two Door Cinema Club.