La Mafia, the Grammy Award-winning artist responsible for introducing Mexican-American, or Tejano music to the rest of the world, is back. Still hot after yet another smash album, Un Millón de Rosas - an album which garnered the group its first Grammy after three consecutive nominations - La Mafia humbly offers a brand new record.
Entitled En Tus Manos (In Your Hands), the CD was recorded at Houston Sound Studio, the premier recording facility built by La Mafia in Houston, Texas - their city of origin. A conscious move to vintage Mafia at its best, the studio effort is a result of the group's decision to record in a style they pioneered, the sound that made them an international sensation in 1991 with an unforgettable album called Estas Tocando Fuego (You're Playing with Fire).
La Mafia's ground-breaking music and innovative style pushed Fuego to previously unimagined heights. The record went on to become the first- ever million selling album in the history of Tejano music. Unsurprisingly, the group's musical identity and distinctive style have since been adopted as industry standards. Across the board, Tejano groups unconsciously mimic La Mafia when they incorporate high-powered sound and electrifying stage performances.
With En Tus Manos, La Mafia reaches even further into its musical roots, paying tribute to the godfather of border music, Cornelio Reyna, with a medley entitled "Canciones de Cornelio." The tribute can be traced to the late 80s and early 90s when La Mafia began touring extensively in Mexico, an initiative never before undertaken by a band working in the Tejano genre - or any other stateside musical style, for that matter - due to lack of interest in the music by audiences south of the border.
While they have become arena and stadium headliners on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico divide, La Mafia - Oscar De La Rosa on lead vocals, Leonard Gonzales on lead guitar, producer Armando "Mando" Lichtenberger, Jr. on accordion and keyboards, Michael Aguilar on drums, David de la Garza on keyboards and back-up vocals and Eutimio "Tim" Ruiz on the six-string electric bass - remain true to their hometown. They quietly maintain their studio and musical headquarters in the neighborhood community which has nurtured their musical talents and energy for the last sixteen years.
Scheduled for release on May 29th, En Tus Manos will debut with a single slated to drop during the last week in April. Titled "Enamorada (In Love)," the song is a soon-to-be classic cumbia (tropical dance track) written by Jorge Lu’s Piloto, author of the now legendary "Estas Tocando Fuego."
La Mafia simply asks to be heard. The rest, an honest musical offering delivered with sincerity and in the spirit of hope by a group that really needs no further introductions, is in your hands... en tus manos. |
