This is an alternate cataloging of the same Manuel Ponce composition, emphasizing his full name. It serves as a synthesis of folk-derived melodic beauty and late-Romantic piano architecture.
Pay close attention to the shifting rubato sections which define the piece's improvisational, ballad-like feel.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Balada Mexicana is rated Henle level 6 of 9 — advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 7–8. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 9.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 6 — meaning you can already play level 5–6 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of Balada Mexicana lasts about 9 minutes.
Balada Mexicana is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Balada mexicana by Manuel Ponce, 'Ch'io mi scordi di te?' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Nocturne in C-sharp minor by Frédéric Chopin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.