When Intocable lead singer and founding member Ricky Muñoz was growing up in Zapata, Texas, his grandfather sold a cow to buy him an accordion. Muñoz’s grandfather never got to see his grandson onstage, let alone witness the rise of Intocable as one of the most inspired and commercially successful groups in the música Mexicana genre.
Now, after more than three decades of hits and sold-out concerts on both sides of the border, the Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning group is getting its own star as part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame Class of 2026. The group receives the honor at 11:30 a.m. on July 16 (it will be streamed on walkoffame.com).
From the band’s home studio in Texas, Muñoz spoke with Variety about his obsession with iconic rock hooks, the secret to crafting adventurous accordion lines and the music legend who appears on Intocable’s latest album.
Anybody who’s marginally familiar with Intocable knows that you guys don’t make music in order to get awards. That said, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a pretty big deal.
Our philosophy hasn’t changed. We’ve never done anything thinking of the potential rewards. What we do instead is allow our inner child to pretend that we’re making the kind of records that our musical heroes made. It’s a strange situation, because Intocable uses traditional instruments, but we don’t play them in a traditional way.
That said, there’s nothing wrong about being grateful for being recognized. Getting a star on the Walk of Fame is the kind of legacy that lasts a lifetime. It’ll always be there.
There’s a fascinating duality that defines Intocable’s sound. On the one hand, you move in the comforting contours of the norteño and tejano genres. Then again, the melodies and harmonies venture away from that — it’s obvious you grew up listening to mainstream pop and rock.
On an unconscious level, that stems from growing up in the U.S. The entire group was immersed in American culture. When we’re creating a song, we don’t think of Los Tigres del Norte. We’re remembering the Flock of Seagulls hooks that made such a strong impression on us when we were kids. We begin with just voices and guitars, looking for that serotonin hit in the music that we make. Maybe we’re thinking of Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69.” The resulting tune will sound nothing like it — it’ll sound like us — but it gave us the initial spark.
One of the most striking elements of Intocable’s music is the accordion lines. You’re always going into unexpected places, switching tonalities and moods. How do you come up with them?
My accordion playing is very basic. It’s just a few notes, but the melodies are hooky. On [the 2019 album] “Percepción,” there’s a song titled “Por Alguien Más.” The whole thing is in the scale of D, but I wanted to switch to E minor in the bridge. I asked our producer, and he told me to just go for it — if the band did the switch together, it would sound good. We never studied music, and there’s a bit of ignorance that comes with that. With that ignorance, however, you also get the feeling that anything is possible.
Your most recent album, 2024’s “Modus Operandi,” was a bit of a masterpiece. How do you top that?
Our new record is finished, and Don Was returned as the producer. It was recorded in Texas, and Pino Palladino joined us on bass.
“Modus Operandi” stemmed from a very chaotic time in my personal life, and after a lot of therapy, the new album sounds more relaxed. I told Pino that his early recordings marked my childhood. I just couldn’t believe that he was there working with us. We didn’t give him any guidelines when he recorded the bass lines. We just wanted the Pino Palladino touch. He was incredibly humble and did an amazing job.
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