I was just talking to a DJ I love from Paris named Crystallmess about how exciting it is to see regional music make a sort of comeback.

It was a bit gimmicky, sure, and as a woman in the famously machista industry of Mexican regional music, Colón felt the odds were stacked against her.

Guzmán was a devotee of Mexican regional music — an umbrella term that refers to the subgenres of country popular in different parts of Mexico.

Tom Garfinkel, the race’s managing partner, said that the city’s tropical locale and reputation as a party center were important facets, and that organizers were intentionally infusing the entertainment lineup with regional music, including Latin heritage and nightclub-like electronic beats.

“I personally don’t consider myself the number one of regional music,” Nodal told The Times in 2020.