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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 Millon 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's 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 Luis 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.
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