By JORDAN LEVIN

This is a gutsy, graceful and absolutely captivating CD with a sweet back story. Sones de México Ensemble, a little independent Chicago folk group, earned a Latin Grammy nomination for best folk album and, astonishingly, a 2008 Grammy nomination for Best Mexican Regional Album, against mega-popular commercial stars like Pepe Aguilar.

Listen and you'll understand why. Sones de México makes folk music, in this case various Mexican dance styles grouped under the term son, alive and vivid. They play an astonishing array of instruments, from strings and brass to donkey jawbone and percussively stamping feet. Their musicianship is impeccable, with a delicious attention to detail and arrangements that bring out an astonishing range of rhythmic and sonic textures. But it's never precious or dry. Instead, Esta Tierra has the sweet exuberant spirit that can make Mexican regional music so appealing -- without the repetitiveness or saccharine sentiments that rule so much of its commercial versions.

The boldest stroke is the title track, a Spanish version of Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land that turns that classic American anthem into one for Mexican immigrants with just a slight twist of the lyrics. Sones de México takes other risks, too, on a son jarocho arrangement of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto, and a haunting percussive version of Led Zeppelin's Four Sticks. It sounds like a gimmick, but the band stays true to the original music and spirit while adding something new. It's a lovely surprise, folk music kept alive in a whole new way, a Mexican tradition that keeps adapting.

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