Often referred to as the "Garth Brooks of Tejano" music, San Antonio-born singer Emilio Navaira has been hugely successful in both the United States and Mexico since he began his career in 1985. Tejano is a style of music that pulls heavily from the worlds of Mexican pop and traditional cultural styles, while still retaining some of the flavor of the United States region from where it derives. Characteristic of the style is the use of instrumentation that includes accordion, mariachi-style guitars, sparse drumming, upright bass and emotive, swooning vocals sung in Spanish. Navaira has had several hit singles land on both the Latin pop and country charts over the years, and he is regularly coupled with the late singer Selena as the two musicians to have popularized Tejano music.
