by John Oseid

Fútbol and música, two of my favorite preoccupations. The hit Mexican film Rudo y Cursi, which opens here tomorrow, is full of both. Megastars Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna (of Y tu mamá también fame) play country bumpkin brothers whose fraternal dysfunction destroys their brief, unlikely run as Mexico City soccer stars. Bernal's character Tato "El Cursi" also has delusions of becoming a singing sensation; the film's signature motif is his joyfully cheesy norteño song "Quiero que me quieras." That's him strutting and playing accordion in the video above to the tune you know better as Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me."

The movie's sound track reminded me that the label Nacional Records is producing the most innovative Latin music anywhere these days. I can't get enough of the Mexican Institute of Sound's new release Soy Sauce, a grab bag of funk, rock, cumbia, electronica, and more. "Sinfonia Agridulce" is a brilliant mariachi-in-a-late-night-bar version of the Verve hit "Bittersweet Symphony." I only discovered the Nortec Collective last year, and I can't count how many times I've watched the group's videos "Tijuana Makes Me Happy" and "Tijuana Sound Machine."

More music:
* Last week, Nortec Collective collaborators Bostich and Fussible talked with Studio 360 host Kurt Anderson about the influence of American music on Mexican electronica. Find the group's most recent albums here and here.
* Boom Box: An unabashed gusto for music of the world.