Jorge I. Serna is a Mexican-American musician, producer, entrepreneur, photographer, cinematographer, and graphic/web designer from Zapata, TX, most notably known as the drummer for the regional Mexican group Zamorales.
Jorge was born June 24th, 1993 in Rio Grande City, TX. His parents raised him in the small town of Zapata, TX, and as he grew so did his passion for the drums and love for music. Jorge began studying classical music on the piano and violin and taking lessons at the ages of four and six, respectively, with Mrs. Melissa Garcia, and her daughter, Miss Corine Garcia, at The Piano Studio. When he reached the sixth grade, Jorge joined the middle school band program and immediately gravitated towards the drums. The percussion section in Jorge’s sixth grade band class was full, but luckily for Jorge, and the world, the head band director, Mr. Amado Martinez, allowed Jorge to join the percussion section. By the end of Jorge's sixth grade fall semester, he was already playing with the high school concert band. Jorge joined the marching band in the seventh grade, where he was on the drumline until he graduated high school. Throughout his marching band years Jorge was guided by percussion instructor, Mr. James Segovia, and molded into not only a promising drummer, but a well-rounded percussionist as well. In middle school, Mr. Segovia introduced Jorge to the 40 Percussive Art Society rudiments as a challenge which was easily triumphed. However, it wasn’t until Jorge's freshman year in high school where longtime friend, and fellow drumline-mate, BJ Arellano introduced Jorge to hybrid rudiments that reignited the fire in Jorge’s passion. Jorge was a member of the Association of Texas Small School Bands (ATSSB) All-Region Band every year from seventh grade to his sophomore year; junior and senior year auditions conflicted with Zamorales scheduling. Jorge keeps in contact with Mr. Segovia and BJ to this day which helps him stay true to his roots.
Middle school is where Jorge got his first taste of playing with a band. He played in a heavy metal band with longtime friends Garret Umphres, and Robert Esquivel, in which they won the 2007 Battle of the Bands at the Zapata County Fair. He also played in a rock band with Marco Regalado, Romeo Ramirez, and Josue Velasquez. In high school, Jorge drummed with longtime friends Humberto Perez, David Solis, Esteban Garcia, Juan Alvarado, in addition to Marco, and Josue in talent shows. The friends played all different styles of music but were more interested in rock music.
In the fall of Jorge’s junior year in high school (2009) he received a phone call from his brother-in-law, Efrain Morales, informing him that Efrain and Jose Zamora were starting a norteño band, and was offered an audition. Jorge immediately declined due to zero interest in the genre. Efrain took a couple of days to persuade Jorge to change his mind, and after Jorge came across Jose’s success with Costumbre, he changed his mind. The trio got together for a jam session, and thus Zamorales was born. The rest is history.
Fast forward to 2015, Jorge has gained an incredible sense of pride, and admiration for the music he once ignored as a young adolescent surrounded by popular music in school. Jorge’s drumming can best be described as a fusion of hip-hop, R&B, rock, and jazz, which serve as the foundation that allows him to express himself in the world of norteño music.
Jorge attributes his success to God first, and his parents and sister for supporting what once seemed to be a daunting far-fetched dream. Chad Smith, Travis Barker, Thomas Pridgen, Aaron Spears, George “Spanky” McCurdy, Teddy Campbell, Tony Royster Jr., Brian Frasier-Moore, Nisan Stewart, Chad Sexton, Questlove, Gerald Heyward, Billy Cobham, Stewart Copeland, and Mike Portnoy are some of the drummers that have helped to influence and inspire Jorge. Jorge credits Amado "Chiquis" Garza (Solido), Saul Cisneros Jr. (A.B. Quintanilla III), and Jorge Arellano (La Conquista, DJ Kane, among others) for taking him under their wing when Jorge first entered the norteño genre. Without their unwavering support and guidance, Jorge would not have progressed as quickly in this genre as he did.
Jorge received his Bachelors of Fine Arts with a concentration in Graphic Design from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 2015. Zamorales released their fourth studio album Amor De Dos, which debuted at #5 on iTunes Latin chart, on April 21, 2015.
