Chino & Nacho

Venezuelan reggaeton duo Chino & Nacho, distinguished by a romantic tropical approach, launched their national album career in 2008 and later captured worldwide attention when “Mi Niña Bonita” ascended to the summit of the international charts in 2010. The pair formed in 2007, uniting Chino—born Jesús Alberto Miranda Pérez on November 15, 1984, in Caracas, Venezuela—with Nacho, born Miguel Ignacio Mendoza on August 22, 1983, in Lecherías, Anzoátegui, Venezuela. Before establishing themselves as Chino & Nacho they had both belonged to the Caracas-based tropical boy band Calle Ciega, which remained active from 1998 to 2007 and issued several albums while scoring multiple successes, chief among them “Mi Cachorrita,” a track that commanded the Venezuelan singles chart for several months in 2005. Following the extraordinary impact of that single, the two artists left Calle Ciega after the group’s final album, Más Caliente (2007). Known informally as “los Mackediches,” they released their own debut full-length, Época de Reyes, shortly afterward in 2008. The project displayed an expansive reggaeton sound that fused romantic and tropical elements, becoming a major commercial triumph inside Venezuela and generating the hit singles “Vagabundo de Amor,” an Eliel production featuring Divino, and “Dentro de Mí,” a Richy Peña production featuring Don Omar. Already Venezuela’s foremost homegrown urban act, Chino & Nacho finalized an international recording agreement with Universal Music in November 2009 and introduced themselves to U.S. audiences with another Peña production, “Mi Niña Bonita.” Over the ensuing months the single climbed to the top of the Billboard Latin Songs chart. At the same time Universal issued the album Mi Niña Bonita (2010) through its Machete Music imprint, an album that consisted chiefly of previously released material from Época de Reyes yet added three new songs beyond the title track. Chino & Nacho ultimately placed four albums on the Top Latin Albums chart, among them the 2011 chart-topper Supremo. Between 2010’s “Nina Bonita” and their last joint recording, 2016’s “Andas en Mi Cabeza,” featuring Daddy Yankee, they accumulated eleven entries on the Hot Latin Songs chart. Toward the close of 2016, reports of an impending split began to circulate. Nominated for a Premio Lo Nuestro award in February 2017, the duo appeared at the ceremony without their manager, who posted a photograph of himself with Chino accompanied by the message: “Everything started here, and here I finish everything.” He further confirmed that he would continue managing Chino. The following month Nacho issued a statement attributing the separation to his desire to devote more time to his young family. He subsequently signed with Universal in a dual capacity as solo artist and A&R executive. His debut single and video, “Báilame,” arrived in April and registered one million views on its first day, later surpassing 208 million views within six months.