Along the 1000 mile Grand River, Mexican and American cultures blend together to create Texas Mexican music, a vibrant style full of Mexican soul and rock heart (twisted with German polka!). Like most border areas, the Texas Mexico region is a cultural stew pot characterized by violence, illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and illicit business dealings. Tex Mex is a street trip to a border world, passing through pubs, prisons, festivals, and even brothels, where Tex Mez music grows. Lydia Mendoza was one of the last great corrido singers, with a career dating back to the 1930s. Flaco Jimenez was an old-fashioned button accordion player who infused the music of Ry Cooder and Paul Simon with a Texas Mexican flavor, political agitator Little Joe Hernandez, and many other great musicians of Norte, corrida, and other Texas Mexican styles.