Los Palominos

The charting, Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning Los Palominos have reshaped Tejano sounds from the Texas-Mexico border region into vibrant dance music. Although their sets draw on polkas, rancheros, boleros, corridos, ballads, and cumbias and their core setup relies on accordion and bajo sexto, the Uvalde, Texas-based ensemble introduced a contemporary edge through distinctive keyboards and samplers, above all in cumbias that appealed to younger audiences previously uninterested in conjunto. Los Palominos in fact helped spark the fresh wave of popularity for Tex-Mex.

The band originated in 1986 under the name Los Tremendos Pequeños (Little Giants), with four of the six Arreola brothers—Johnny on accordion, James on bajo sexto, Jesse on drums, and Jorge on bass—forming the lineup. Johnny and James supplied the group’s vocal blend, shaped by the example and instruction of their father, a longtime conjunto performer.

With backing from Armando "Mando" Lichtenberger, Jr. and Oscar De La Rosa of La Mafia, Los Palominos landed a deal with Sony Discos. Their 1994 release Corazon de Cristal earned gold certification, and the title track scored success across the United States and Mexico. The ensemble reached a peak with Por Eso Te Amo (That's Why I Love You), which held the top position on the world music charts for seven weeks and captured the 1999 Grammy for Best Tejano Performance. They also received a Latin Grammy yet joined Los Tigres del Norte and Los Temerarios in declining the award to protest the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (LARAS) for its bias against Mexican regional and traditional music. After departing Sony for Fonovisia, they issued Obsesion in 2001, itself nominated for a Grammy in the Best Tejano Album category. Early that same year tragedy struck when Jesse died in a tour-bus crash; the youngest Arreola brother, Julio, took his place.

Although the group switched from Fonovisia to Urbana in 2003, they continued to produce award-winning compilations and new recordings through 2006, among them Poco Mas, Tocame, and Atrevete. Their presence on the Top Latin and Mexican Regional Albums charts persisted into the twenty-first century with Me Enamore de Un Angel in 2008, Siente el Amor in 2013, and 2016’s Piensalo—their first outing on Martzcom Music/Freddie Records—all of which reached the Top 20. Following more than a year of intensive touring across the American Southwest and northern Mexico, Los Palominos paused to be with family. In spring 2019 they returned with the title-track single and video for their forthcoming album Con la Fuerza de un Huracan, which included a guest appearance by Óscar Iván Treviño of Duelo on guitar and vocals. Martzcom released the full project that September.