Regional Mexican and tejano performer El Coyote, born José Angel Ledezma Quintero, launched his independent career in 1997 after earlier stints with La Costeña, La Banda el Limón, and Los Recoditos. That same year he assembled Tierra Santa, which promptly cut the debut El Coyote y Su Banda Tierra Santa album Aquí Me Quedaré and followed it with Concedeme in 1998. Extensive roadwork across Mexico and the United States helped promote the 1999 releases El Amo and Profundamente, drawing large crowds of Mexican-music enthusiasts. The Culiacán-born frontman and his group then delivered Te Soñé in 2000, Cuando Regreso a Tus Brazos in 2001, and the twin 2002 sets Puras Ranchera and El Amor No Tiene Edad.
Throughout the balance of their EMI period the ensemble maintained its rural orientation, issuing El Rancho Grande in 2003—whose video for the single “Alla el Rancho Grande” drew widespread praise—and Si Te Vuelves a Enamorar in 2004. In 2005 the large band moved to Fonovisa and released Suspiros, whose title track became a hit single. Over time the musicians incorporated more narcocorridos, a style then gaining favor in Sinaloa, while preserving a strictly traditional sound; Prohibido (2006) and El Polo Norte (2008) reflected that direction, even as parallel recordings continued to emphasize love songs and party anthems. The Fonovisa association ended after Levanta Tu Vuelo in 2009.
While touring Nayarit in 2011 to support Escuela de la Vida—their first album for ISA Music—El Coyote y Su Banda Tierra Santa’s stage was firebombed, injuring three members and prompting El Coyote to move his family to the United States. Observers speculated the attack stemmed from drug kingpins angered by the band’s praise of rival figures, yet no suspects were identified and the theory remained unverified. No new material appeared until the widely celebrated Alucine in 2014. EMI Latin’s 2015 compilation 20 Corridos Bien Perrones subsequently climbed the Mexican regional charts, confirming the group’s enduring appeal.
