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It's another typical Saturday night. A few blocks farther down Revolucion Avenue from the jock-rock clubs, several hundred young hipsters--mostly locals but with a few gringos mixed in--crowd the anteroom of Tijuana's grand old Jai Alai Palace for a nortec party. Ramon Amezcua signs a few autographs and nods his head rhythmically to the distinctive, trippy sounds of Hiporboreal. Pepe Mogt is stationed behind the soundboard, checking levels and thinking about how he will close the show with a DJ set. Nortec has made Pepe a successful man. He recently quit his $12-an-hour job as a chemical engineer at a maquiladora, where he mapped computer formulas for face creams. Tijuana Sessions is selling well, and he has lucrative gigs scheduled this summer in Los Angeles, London and Barcelona. His home, in Tijuana's Las Playas neighborhood, has an ocean view, cathedral ceilings and a custom-built studio, where he shows a visitor his collection of 40 keyboards. As midnight approaches, the visitor looks at his watch and makes a gesture that says it's time to go. "Why are you going?" he screams over the music. "Everything you need is here."
TIME.com ON AOL To hear samples of nortec music, including Polaris, go to time.com/nortec