Biography
Elida y Avante swiftly established themselves among the most accomplished acts in Tejano music. Their debut pair of releases, the 1994 album Atrevete and the 1999 follow-up Algo Entero, both earned gold certification while spawning multiple Top Five tracks, among them “Luna Llena” and “Lagrimas de Amor,” the latter reaching number one on the Americana charts that same year. The band received Billboard’s Revelacion del Año honor and was voted Rising Group of the Year at the 1995 TTMA Industry Awards.
Built around lead singer Elida Reyna, the seven-piece lineup also features accordionist Cande Aguilar, Jr., bassist Noel Hernandez, drummer Leroy Villanueva, keyboardist Juan Martinez, guitarist Randy Villarreal, and Epifanio Martinez on percussion and bajo sexto. Reyna herself collected the TTMA Rising Female Vocalist trophy in both 1995 and 1996, then captured the Pura Vida Female Vocalist of the Year award in 1997 and 1998. She emceed the 1999 Pura Vida Awards ceremony, while the group took home Most Promising Band of the Year at that year’s Tejano Music Awards.
At the 2000 Tejano Music Awards Reyna swept Female Vocalist of the Year, Female Entertainer of the Year, and Song of the Year for “Duele,” the title track of a career-spanning compilation. The septet maintained a steady schedule of touring and issued roughly one album annually. In 2005 Reyna joined Shelly Lares and Stefani Montiel to form Las 3 Divas; their self-titled project yielded regional hits “La Cumbia del Oeste” and “Hey Boy” and earned the trio a slot on the Armed Forces Entertainment Tour across bases in Europe and Asia.
The following year Reyna joined the Freddie Records roster and issued Domingo, which featured the singles “Te Espero” and the title song while broadening the Tejano palette with cumbia, reggaeton, hip-hop, and mariachi elements. Fantasia, released in 2010, climbed inside the Top 50 on the Hot Latin Albums chart and secured a Latin Grammy. That same year’s Tejano Music Awards named Reyna Female Vocalist of the 2000s and honored “Duele” as Best Song of the 2000s with Avante. The band kept releasing music, performing live, and collecting hardware at the Tejano Music Awards. Highlights from the next half-decade include 2011’s Simplemente Eya, 2013’s EYA Nation, and the 2015 critical favorite Adicta, which claimed Album of the Year and Song of the Year for its title track; Reyna added Female Vocalist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year, bringing her career total to 31 trophies.
Late in 2016 the group unveiled the single “Nunca Pasa Nada” along with the track listing and artwork for Mi Época. The album arrived in early 2017, merging Tejano with norteño and earning widespread regional radio play throughout the United States together with strong critical praise.
Built around lead singer Elida Reyna, the seven-piece lineup also features accordionist Cande Aguilar, Jr., bassist Noel Hernandez, drummer Leroy Villanueva, keyboardist Juan Martinez, guitarist Randy Villarreal, and Epifanio Martinez on percussion and bajo sexto. Reyna herself collected the TTMA Rising Female Vocalist trophy in both 1995 and 1996, then captured the Pura Vida Female Vocalist of the Year award in 1997 and 1998. She emceed the 1999 Pura Vida Awards ceremony, while the group took home Most Promising Band of the Year at that year’s Tejano Music Awards.
At the 2000 Tejano Music Awards Reyna swept Female Vocalist of the Year, Female Entertainer of the Year, and Song of the Year for “Duele,” the title track of a career-spanning compilation. The septet maintained a steady schedule of touring and issued roughly one album annually. In 2005 Reyna joined Shelly Lares and Stefani Montiel to form Las 3 Divas; their self-titled project yielded regional hits “La Cumbia del Oeste” and “Hey Boy” and earned the trio a slot on the Armed Forces Entertainment Tour across bases in Europe and Asia.
The following year Reyna joined the Freddie Records roster and issued Domingo, which featured the singles “Te Espero” and the title song while broadening the Tejano palette with cumbia, reggaeton, hip-hop, and mariachi elements. Fantasia, released in 2010, climbed inside the Top 50 on the Hot Latin Albums chart and secured a Latin Grammy. That same year’s Tejano Music Awards named Reyna Female Vocalist of the 2000s and honored “Duele” as Best Song of the 2000s with Avante. The band kept releasing music, performing live, and collecting hardware at the Tejano Music Awards. Highlights from the next half-decade include 2011’s Simplemente Eya, 2013’s EYA Nation, and the 2015 critical favorite Adicta, which claimed Album of the Year and Song of the Year for its title track; Reyna added Female Vocalist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year, bringing her career total to 31 trophies.
Late in 2016 the group unveiled the single “Nunca Pasa Nada” along with the track listing and artwork for Mi Época. The album arrived in early 2017, merging Tejano with norteño and earning widespread regional radio play throughout the United States together with strong critical praise.
Albums
