As part of Rolling Stone's Future of Music April 2026 covers, @FUERZAREGIDA's #jesusortizpaz (JOP) invites us in to his childhood home to chat about growing up in #sanbernardino, learning Spanish by writing songs, quitting music twice before a chance haircut led to the band forming, and a lot more. The members of the homegrown #musicamexicana band started out playing backyard gigs in the neighborhood. Now, they've built an empire made to last and have become the voice of a new American generation. #fuerzaregida #músicamexicana
JOP on when San Bernardino started to feel like home: "I was an outsider, they were punking on me and stuff. But you just can't let yourself, if you let yourself get punked, they're going to always punk you. Just getting used to the whole environment over here, I feel like I learned a lot. I feel like everything is meant to be in life. If I would have stayed in Riverside, I don't think we would have been where we're at now because I learned a lot of stuff over here."
JOP on how he learned the bass: "I went to a school over here in San Bernardino. I actually wanted to go see the teacher there because he's the one that showed me about music. I was only there for one month because I didn't have more money to keep on paying. But in happy mother's day the month, I learned the principals about music and from there on, it's just history."
JOP on quitting music twice before Fuerza Regida: "When I was trying to learn the accordion, my neighbor used to play, I never learned that one, it was hard. I kind of quit, and then I started again, and then I quit. When I learned the bass, I quit grocery store again because my band members, the ones I had back then, they were on drugs and shit. I quit like two times music. And then the third time, I was cutting hair, and my boy was like, 'Hey I got two guys, I got a group that needs a bass player if you want to go try it out.' I was like, 'Man, I already quit all the shit, I don't know about that.' He was like, 'No, you should try it. They need a bass player, you ain't doing shit anyways.' I was like, 'You know what, I'll go.' And then from there, it's history. That's my band members now."
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Talent: Fuerza Regida
Interviewer: Paula Mejía
Director of Social & Video: Waiss Aramesh
Shoot Director/Editor/Colorist: Mitch Saavedra
Executive Producer: Christopher Hwisu Kim
Senior Producer: Viviane Feldman
Director of Photography (Video): Grant Bell
Camera operators: AJ Young, Ryan Leuning
Sound engineer: Gray Thomas-Sowers
Boom operator: Russell White
Production assistant: Jonathan Dennis
UX Editor: Nicole Thompson
Creative Director: Joe Hutchinson
Executive Music Editor: Christian Hoard
Co-Editors in Chief: Sean Woods, Shirley Halperin
CEO — Julian Holguin
