CALIBRE 50
Calibre 50 are an award-winning norteño quartet from Mazatlan, Sinaloa founded in 2010 by Eden Muñoz (vocals, accordion), Armando Ramos (guitars, vocals), Martín López (tuba), and Augusto (drums). Their provocative name meaning, “armor-piercing bullet,” was chosen as a symbol for their music, whose strength they hoped would carry them across the border from Mexico north to the United States and south across Latin America. Founded in 2010, the band started on the stages of small restaurants and local parties, where their theme song, "El Infiernito," opened the doors to airplay. Two other tracks, "Culiacan vs. Mazatlan" and "Callejero y Mujeriego," helped propel their 2010 debut album,
Renovar o Morir, to a strong chart showing and also the Lo Nuestro Award for Regional Mexican New Artist of the Year. Each album has charted since then, including three (2012's Grandes Exitos, 2014's Contigo, and the following year's Historia de la Calle) that placed in the Top 200 and topped the Mexican Regional Albums chart. Their rowdy stage show is a spectacle of musical intensity and engaging crowd interaction.
In 2012 the band released, El Buen Ejemplo, delivered no less than four hit singles: "Mujer de Todos, Mujer de Nadie," "Bohemio Loco," "El Buen Ejemplo," and "Gente Batallosa." A duet with the band Carnivale, "Gente Batallosa," became the most played song of the year in Mexico and netted the band a Billboard Award for Song of the Year Vocal Collaboration. Calibre 50's work ethic was as inspiring as it was exhausting. They issued La Recompensa in February of 2013. Its first single, "Aquí Estoy," hit the top of the Regional Mexican Music airplay charts in both Mexico and the United States, followed in similar fashion by "Ni Que Estuvieras Tan Buena," which was also radio's most played song in the genre that year. Calibre 50 struck again in October with Corridos de Alto Calibre. This collection featured the single "El Immigrante," which not only topped the radio charts, but remained in the number one spot for over ten weeks in Mexico. In 2014, the band replaced Lopez and Augusto by Alejandro Gaxiola on tuba and Erick Garcia on drums for that year’s Contigo album. Later that year, Calibre 50 signed with Sony and in January the following year, were premiered on Univision’s telenovela ”Que te Perdone Dios”. Over the years, Calibre 50 went on to release multiple albums and were nominated for Best Dance Song, and have landed at No.3 on the Top Latin Albums chart.
BANDA CARNAVAL
Banda Carnaval are a regional Mexican band from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, whose teen-oriented banda style is heavy on cumbias and romanticas. Founded in 2001 by executive producer Jesús Tirado Castañeda, the band has well over a dozen members, most notably teen heartthrob Rafael Becerra (aka Rafa) on lead vocals. Banda Carnaval made their full-length album debut with Entre Suspiro y Suspiro (2001). Later albums such as Aqui Estamos (2009), El Número 1 (2011), and Maximo Nivel (2012) spun off a multitude of hit singles, among them "Pídeme," "Olvidarte No Será Sencillo," and "El Mentiroso." The band has released multiple albums the following years, with their album, Las Vuelta de la Vida¸ landing their two singles “Y Te Vas" and "La Doble Cara," at the top of various airplay charts in Mexico and the United States. In 2014, "El Que Se Enamora Pierde" placed high on airplay charts, and the title track from La Historia de Mis Manos placed in the top spot on the Mexican Regional Songs chart, remaining there for several weeks.