Known as the King of the Accordion, Ramón Ayala is a Mexican norteño pioneer who spent more than 50 years taking the genre beyond the cantina and into the mainstream. ∙ Ayala, who started playing accordion as a small child, met singer Cornelio Reyna in 1961 and formed the groundbreaking Los Relámpagos del Norte. ∙ Following Los Relámpagos del Norte’s breakup in 1971, he put together a new outfit, Los Bravos del Norte, which has since released more than 100 albums. ∙ Arriba El Norte Y Arriba El Sur, his 1991 split LP with Mexican singer Vicente Fernández, hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Albums chart. ∙ Ramón Ayala y Sus Bravos del Norte’s catalog includes 12 Platinum albums and 2 LPs that won Latin Grammy Awards for Best Norteño Album: 2000’s Quémame Los Ojos and 2002’s El Numero 100. ∙ With nine Grammy nominations, Ramón Ayala y Sus Bravos del Norte won the award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album, for the 2001 live LP En Vivo...El Hombre Y Su Música.