“I like that this album sparks a conversation—that’s always been important to me as an artist,” Mireya says. “Sin Fronteras showcases the similarities between styles of music and traditions that on the surface may seem very different.”

“The parallels between the music on both sides of the border became obvious to me years ago—you can see that in the traditions of cowboys in the U.S. and Mexico,” says Beau, who grew up in Arkansas but spent summers in the early 1990s studying Mexican folk music in a small town in western Mexico.

Mireya might be best known for her pioneering work with her two-time Latin Grammy-winning group Flor de Toloache, and her acclaimed solo career. Flor de Toloache has toured nationally and internationally, and performed on NPR’s “Tiny Desk Concert,” The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and BBC 2’s Later with Jools Holland. The mariachi quartet has garnered critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Billboard Magazine, The New Yorker, GQ Magazine, and The New York Times.

Mireya was born in California to proud Dominican and Mexican parents, and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her earliest connection to county music was through Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. When her family relocated from Puerto Rico to New York City, the Suzuki method, classically-trained violinist began to connect with bluegrass musicians and see firsthand the connections between the music of her Afro-Latin heritage and country music. Meeting Beau a decade ago and working with him for an internationally-themed seasonal performance series he curated in Kansas City only deepened the ranchera-country conversation for Mireya.

The shows showcased a distinctive musical style unique to Kansas City, Missouri. Because of the city’s proximity to Interstate 35, a main tree branch for immigration from Mexico, Kansas City has had a long history of both traditional country and Latin music. “When I first moved here, I would study classical music at the conservatory, and play two-chord rancheras at night on the historic Southwest Blvd,” Beau recalls.

Sin Fronteras is a passport to the special pan-cultural world KCMO audiences have been enjoying for years. Throughout the album, the musicians deftly blend ranchera and country, sprinkling in pop, jazz, and R&B along the way.

In the winter of 2024, Mireya Ramos, Los Texmaniacs, Slim Hanson and The Poor Choices will form a singular touring ensemble performing the music of Sin Fronteras at historic dance halls and theaters throughout Texas, with additional dates in Merida, Mexico. Accompanying the tour will be a film crew and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Dan White to document the experience. The resulting film will include footage from interviews and live performances of Sin Fronteras, and frame the project within the larger narrative of the U.S. cowboy and Mexican charro. It will be released in September 2024 at various film festivals and theaters in both the U.S. and Mexico. Before that, though, Mireya will be performing solo shows along with Flor De Toloache dates and a full list of shows can be found below.

Sin Fronteras is an album about borders made by musicians without any borders. Rehearsals and recording sessions were freewheeling, fun, and serendipitous. Beau says: “There were a lot of happy accidents. The songs took on this Brian Wilson feel.” Mireya adds: “Everyone came with smiles and open hearts, and left a piece of them in this album. Listening back to La Frontera my heart jumped out of my body from excitement. I can’t wait for people to hear it!”