Tomas Ballardo

Better known as Tomás Ballardo, José Tomás Hernández is Mexican singer of corridos tumbados. Born in Los Angeles to a family with deep roots in the Sinaloa music scene (his father Tomás Hernández was also a singer and his uncle was a renowned accordionist), he grew up admiring the corridos tradition. When he eventually considered himself ready to enter the fray, he chose the name Ballardo to differentiate the son from the father. Part of a new generation of regional artists, however, he soon aligned himself with the tumbados subgenre and its controversial fascination with drugs, kingpins, weapons, and guns. His first three albums, Pura Vieja Escuela 2019, Que Siga El Tizón Quemando, and Mis Andares Por La Vida, were all recorded live and released in quick succession between 2019 and 2020. His biggest hits by far, however, were collaborations with more established artists such as 2022’s “Pura Sombreriza” with Fuerza Regida, and especially 2023’s “Por Clave Caimán” with Legado 7. Ballardo made the news in 2024 for unsavory reasons as he surrendered voluntarily to the authorities on a drug-trafficking related matter. A few months earlier he had released Corridos Makabroz, his first studio outing. ~ Mariano Prunes, Rovi