MODESTO, Calif. — Marlene Dolores Rodriguez DeHerrera grew up in Modesto surrounded by music. Her father, Eusebio Rodriguez, founded the Norteño band Los Reales Del Norte in 1985, and by her teenage years, she had found her way into the spotlight with the group’s defining instrument — the accordion.
“It is a heavy instrument,” Marlene said. “But there’s something else that I carry on my shoulders…People always want to say, oh, can you do that?”
Traditionally, the accordion in Norteño music was played by men. Marlene said she pushed back against those comparisons…