Biography
Los Cardenales de Nuevo León emerged in 1982 from their hometown of Monterrey as a norteño ensemble whose bajo sexto and accordion-driven approach later earned a Grammy while shaping countless subsequent acts in the style. Initially performing at local social gatherings, the musicians issued a self-titled debut that same year; regional airplay and popularity soon enabled extensive touring throughout northern Mexico.
They joined the Disa roster in 1987 and delivered Si Yo Fuera El. The following year La Chuyita brought the group its first gold certification. After engaging vocal coach Sergio Villareal in 1990, they released the commercially potent Y Que Más Da, which yielded four hit singles, among them the chart-topping “Amor de Unas Horas.” At the First Norteño Festival in Phoenix, Arizona, two years later, Los Cardenales earned the Golden Saguaro award for their performance before an audience of 60,000.
Compre una Cantina appeared in 1994 and supplied four additional hits; the album climbed near the summit of the Latin charts and attained double-gold status. The band members have attributed their appeal to lyrics that remained romantic yet free of double entendres. In 1996 they explored a different facet of their identity with Boleros Para Recordar, then incorporated cumbia and rancheras on La Fortaleza Esta Contigo, both of which reached gold.
The same approach succeeded again when Se Quitan el Sombrero arrived in 1998, ultimately moving hundreds of thousands of copies in Mexico and the United States and establishing the group as a major touring draw across both countries. Their growing audience encouraged further experimentation; La Cosecha, released in 2000, featured the hit single “Te Quiero con Locura,” a rock ballad evoking the golden era of rock & roll and doo wop.
The year 2002 proved especially fruitful. Por las Damas, an openly romantic collection, dominated radio playlists for weeks on the strength of “Belleza de Cantina,” “Aunque Te Rompan el Alma,” and “El Castigo.” The ensemble also contributed the contentious “El Corrido del Padre Amaro” to the soundtrack of the award-winning international film El Crimen del Padre Amaro. Early in 2003 they issued a three-disc hits anthology, yet closed the year with the studio album Paso a la Reina and its title-track single; the follow-up ranchera “Mi Amante” fared even better on the charts.
Although the group continued recording over the ensuing years, most releases were compilations or live sets. They returned to original material with 2007’s El Juramento, a set of traditional norteño and rancheras whose singles “La Última Palabra,” “Por un Engaño,” and “En Tu Ventana” all charted.
In 2008 Disa reissued the band’s complete catalog, some titles appearing in digital form for the first time, beginning with the new projects Con la Pasión del Corrido and Con Corazón Necio—the former devoted to classic corridos without narco themes, the latter to mariachi arrangements. By then the group had already departed the label; in 2009 they released A My Viejos through Select-O-Hits.
Marking their 30th anniversary in 2012, founder Don Cesáreo Sanchez revealed that he had insured his voice, a decision “Chayin” Cesáreo Sánchez, Jr. described as protection for the trademark sound and the quality of its principal vocal instrument. That year brought the anniversary album Desde el Sur Hasta el Norte, which performed strongly on digital charts, as did its 2014 successor Que Nadie Sepa. Late the following year the musicians recorded Hasta Que Amanezca, issued in March 2016; the album entered the Top Latin Albums chart inside the Top 40 the next month.
They joined the Disa roster in 1987 and delivered Si Yo Fuera El. The following year La Chuyita brought the group its first gold certification. After engaging vocal coach Sergio Villareal in 1990, they released the commercially potent Y Que Más Da, which yielded four hit singles, among them the chart-topping “Amor de Unas Horas.” At the First Norteño Festival in Phoenix, Arizona, two years later, Los Cardenales earned the Golden Saguaro award for their performance before an audience of 60,000.
Compre una Cantina appeared in 1994 and supplied four additional hits; the album climbed near the summit of the Latin charts and attained double-gold status. The band members have attributed their appeal to lyrics that remained romantic yet free of double entendres. In 1996 they explored a different facet of their identity with Boleros Para Recordar, then incorporated cumbia and rancheras on La Fortaleza Esta Contigo, both of which reached gold.
The same approach succeeded again when Se Quitan el Sombrero arrived in 1998, ultimately moving hundreds of thousands of copies in Mexico and the United States and establishing the group as a major touring draw across both countries. Their growing audience encouraged further experimentation; La Cosecha, released in 2000, featured the hit single “Te Quiero con Locura,” a rock ballad evoking the golden era of rock & roll and doo wop.
The year 2002 proved especially fruitful. Por las Damas, an openly romantic collection, dominated radio playlists for weeks on the strength of “Belleza de Cantina,” “Aunque Te Rompan el Alma,” and “El Castigo.” The ensemble also contributed the contentious “El Corrido del Padre Amaro” to the soundtrack of the award-winning international film El Crimen del Padre Amaro. Early in 2003 they issued a three-disc hits anthology, yet closed the year with the studio album Paso a la Reina and its title-track single; the follow-up ranchera “Mi Amante” fared even better on the charts.
Although the group continued recording over the ensuing years, most releases were compilations or live sets. They returned to original material with 2007’s El Juramento, a set of traditional norteño and rancheras whose singles “La Última Palabra,” “Por un Engaño,” and “En Tu Ventana” all charted.
In 2008 Disa reissued the band’s complete catalog, some titles appearing in digital form for the first time, beginning with the new projects Con la Pasión del Corrido and Con Corazón Necio—the former devoted to classic corridos without narco themes, the latter to mariachi arrangements. By then the group had already departed the label; in 2009 they released A My Viejos through Select-O-Hits.
Marking their 30th anniversary in 2012, founder Don Cesáreo Sanchez revealed that he had insured his voice, a decision “Chayin” Cesáreo Sánchez, Jr. described as protection for the trademark sound and the quality of its principal vocal instrument. That year brought the anniversary album Desde el Sur Hasta el Norte, which performed strongly on digital charts, as did its 2014 successor Que Nadie Sepa. Late the following year the musicians recorded Hasta Que Amanezca, issued in March 2016; the album entered the Top Latin Albums chart inside the Top 40 the next month.