Born out of the fertile creative camps of Guadalajara, Montoya is redefining regional Mexican music for Generation Z by fusing the aggressive, 4-on-the-floor kick drums and synth basslines of house music with the raw narrative power and electric guitars of the traditional corrido. The result? An explosive sub-genre known as house bélico.
Following his massive international exposure on the global hit “Holanda”, Montoya is proving that his rise is no fluke. His latest single, “Cuenta”, featuring digital powerhouse Memo Piña, bridges two seemingly distant musical universes into a seamless, club-ready anthem. From writing viral hooks in fifteen minutes to bridging generational divides between Gen Z TikTokers and traditional corrido purists, Montoya represents a new breed of artist: adaptable, hyper-conscious of digital culture, and entirely unbothered by genre boundaries.
We sat down with Montoya to unpack the mechanics of house bélico, his collaborative chemistry with Memo Piña, treating TikTok as a creative testing lab, and how he plans to take this hybrid sound from intimate venues to massive international festival stages.
To traditionalists, blending high-BPM electronic house music with the acoustic grit of regional Mexican sounds might seem like a complex production puzzle. For Montoya, however, the synthesis feels completely natural—a byproduct of cultural intuition and spontaneous studio jams.
“We were in a creative camp in Guadalajara jamming with some friends,” Montoya recalls of the session that birthed his house bélico sound. “Artists like Víctor Mendivil and Omar Camacho were doing really well with that sound, so we wanted to make a track targeted at that audience to show our versatility. We grabbed a beat, started freestyling, and in about 15 minutes it was ready.”
When asked how he balances the raw intensity of a corrido without drowning out the steady groove of house music, Montoya insists that the identity of the Mexican narrative always cuts through the mix.
“It’s easy because the corrido structure is deeply embedded in our lyrics and in our style,” he explains. “Just by adding the vocal of a Mexican artist, you instantly know it’s a corrido. It’s the culture. You could even mix corrido elements into a cumbia and make a fusion. It can work in any genre.”
In “Cuenta”, Montoya paints a high-stakes, cinematic portrait of a character navigating toxic romance amidst a life of dangerous luxury. While the genre thrives on intense, larger-than-life themes, Montoya views lyricism as an elastic canvas where reality and exaggeration split the difference.
“I’d say it’s a 50-50 split,” Montoya says with a smile. “We incorporate things we’ve experienced, things we want to achieve, and obviously we exaggerate them. The beauty of songwriting is that you can play with emotions and feelings without actively going through them in that exact moment, and ultimately, that’s what the audience connects with.”
“It takes 15 minutes because the corrido is already marked in our DNA. Put any beat in front of a Mexican artist, and we can throw bars that turn it into a corrido.”
Sahir Montoya
This calculated approach to storytelling directly informs how Montoya crafts hooks for the modern streaming era. Rather than waiting for the internet to passively discover a moment, he intentionally embeds sharp, relatable phrases (punchlines) designed for short-form video replication.
“TikTok is where the audience has the final say,” he notes candidly. “It’s easy yet tricky at the same time, because you have to hit the exact taste of the public.”
To amplify the release of “Cuenta”, Montoya joined forces with Memo Piña, an artist commanding a massive digital footprint across Spotify and TikTok. Despite recording their parts remotely, the organic synergy between both creators transformed the track into an instant viral contender.
“Everything was done over WhatsApp,” Montoya shares regarding the remote process. “A mutual friend passed him my number, we got in touch, and he told me he really liked what I was doing. I sent him several tracks, he heard ‘Cuenta,’ and told me: ‘This is the track I want to jump on.’ He went into the studio and delivered it super fast.”
The partnership yielded immediate dividends across social media platforms, driving thousands of user-generated videos prior to the official release.
“Memo really elevated the track because he has a massive digital presence and footprint,” Montoya highlights. “It was a seamless union: myself coming from doing larger-scale industry moves and him with all his digital momentum. We shot the music video together, coordinated matching black and yellow outfits, and complemented each other really well.”
While “Cuenta” caters directly to younger audiences riding the wave of electronic regional hybrids, Montoya refuses to lock himself into a single demographic. His overarching strategy is rooted in total sonic versatility—creating music that appeals to twenty-somethings in night clubs as well as older listeners who grew up on classic storytelling.
“I’m very versatile and I love pleasing all kinds of audiences,” Montoya emphasizes. “With ‘Cuenta,’ we aimed at kids 20 and under who listen to this bélico style. But I also released an album of classic, old-school corridos for older listeners who have been listening to those stories for 50 years. An artist’s ultimate goal should be connecting with every generation.”
Reflecting on the global momentum generated by his involvement in “Holanda”, Montoya views international recognition not as a final destination, but as leverage to push his creative boundaries even further.
“When ‘Holanda’ came out, we were all thrilled, but you have to keep working—you can’t just rest on your laurels,” he reflects. “The strategy was to leverage those numbers to reach bigger artists, open doors like the collaboration with Memo Piña, and keep building momentum. I’m completely open to experimenting with all genres; I love trying new things.”
As he prepares to take house bélico into major festival circuits with a proposed live setup featuring electronic DJs merged with live guitars and drums, Montoya remains anchored by a simple philosophy: relentless work ethic and fearless experimentation.
“We’re going all in,” Montoya concludes. “The audience is going to keep getting fresh music and many more experimental projects from Sahir Montoya.”
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