Joe Lopez

While in high school in Brownsville, Texas, singer and guitarist Joe López first encountered Jimmy González. Their mutual interest in popular music led them to establish Grupo Mazz in 1978, an ensemble that ranked among the earliest Tejano groups to incorporate keyboards. The pair parted ways in 1999 following twenty years of collaboration, with López creating Joe López y La Nueva Imagen Mazz and González launching Jimmy González y el Grupo Mazz. Subsequent to the release of Mazz Fuerte Que Nunca, which blended danceable cumbias with Tejano elements, EMI Latin put out Fuerte, which included the hit single "Atrapado."