Banda Machos In Concert
When they came together in the Mexican state of Jalisco in 1990, the 13 original members of Banda Machos could never have imagined how popular — and how controversial — they would become. Brash, infectious, and eventually inescapable, Banda Machos updated and modernized the traditional Sinaloan banda style. They electrified and augmented the genre's big, brassy sound with amplified instruments, flashy keyboard flourishes, and their longtime battle cry: "Arre Macho!"
The group is also known for equally flashy costumes, featuring fringed leather trench coats, matching boots, heavy gold jewelry, and big Stetson hats. Steeped in tradition but looking forward, Banda Machos' 1992 breakthrough album ‘Sangre de Indio' (Indian Blood) included the radio hit "El Gato y el Raton" and helped launch the Quebradita sound. It encouraged dancers' daring flips and slick hat tricks with a blend of banda, ranchera, and cumbia.
To the dismay of their older rivals (who considered them only a passing fad), Banda Machos was crowned "La Reina de las Bandas" — Bandas Queen — at the 1993 Viva México festival in Chicago. The group continued to fill stadiums throughout the 1990s and into the next millennium, appealing especially to young Mexican audiences in the United States eager to have a taste of home that they could dance to.
Banda Machos' repertoire, which includes both romantic material and witty lyrics spiced with double entendres (such as "El Profesor" and "La Manguera"), was written by some of Mexico's greatest veteran songwriters — including Joan Sebastian and José Alfredo Jiménez, as well as younger talents like Iván Díaz and Horacio Ortíz. They have recorded more than 20 albums and performed in Mexico and nearly every state in the U.S.
The group achieved even wider exposure in 2008, when they released their first YouTube videos in conjunction with the album ‘Proximo Tonto' (Next Fool), filming clips that have been viewed hundreds of millions of times. Following the release of "La Huella de Mis Besos" (The Footprint of My Kisses) in 2018, Banda Machos was acknowledged by the International Human Rights Commission for its commitment to fighting music piracy.
