Los Preeminentes
norteño
Greenwood, Mississippi
Los Preeminentes are an eight-member family band from Leflore County, Mississippi, performing the lively sounds of norteño music in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. Led by singer Margarito Zuniga, the group performs entirely in Spanish, bringing together button accordion, bajo sexto, bass, and drums for music grounded in family, celebration, and dance.
Long before forming Los Preeminentes around 2024, the family was already making music. Growing up, they gathered together often to play music, and developed the strong sense of camaraderie that comes from sharing both a repertoire and a family bond. Eventually, those informal sessions grew into a band, and today Los Preeminentes perform for festivals, celebrations, and community gatherings throughout the region.
Their repertoire draws from norteño, a popular musical tradition closely associated with northern Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. At the center of its distinctive sound are the button accordion and bajo sexto, whose melodies and driving rhythms combine with bass and percussion to create music meant to move a crowd and elicit emotion. Norteño songs encompass everything from love and heartbreak to humor, family, and everyday life, but dancing and social connection remain central to the experience.
That spirit of participation is at the heart of a Los Preeminentes performance. Their music allows for more than just listening at a distance, it invites people onto the dance floor. Whether playing for longtime norteño fans or audiences encountering the tradition for the first time, these young musicians share a musical style whose energy comes alive through the relationship between musicians and dancers. Through Los Preeminentes, eight members of one Mississippi family have turned years making music together into a shared musical endeavor for others to enjoy. Their performances celebrate the sound of the accordion, the pulse of the bajo sexto, the joy of dancing, and the universal joy that comes with families and communities coming together through music.