Panda

It was back in 1996 that the Mexican pop-punk outfit Panda first took shape after friends Pepe, born José Madero, and Rix, born Ricardo Treviño, chose to exit the grunge group they had been playing with in order to pursue a sound closer to their tastes for Alkaline Trio and blink-182. Pepe handled vocals and rhythm guitar while Rix covered bass, and the pair soon linked up with fellow residents of Monterey, Nuevo León, guitarist Ongi (Jorge Garza) and drummer Chunky (David Castillo). Once a demo had been tracked, Chunky stepped away and Kross (Jorge Vázquez) stepped in; Panda, sometimes spelled PXNDX, then attracted the interest of Movic Records and secured a deal.

Arroz con Leche arrived in 2000, featuring reworked versions of material Pepe and the others had written as teenagers, after which the band embarked on a nationwide tour. Their second album, La Revancha del Principe Charro, followed the next year, while Para Ti con Despecio surfaced in Mexico in 2005 and continued the summery, power-chord-driven punk approach that had already drawn listeners. Around this period Ongi departed, yet Arturo Arrendondo, a childhood friend of Kross who had previously sat in with the group, assumed the lead-guitar role. Panda’s fourth studio album, Amantes Sunt Amentes, appeared in 2006 and proved popular enough to earn three prizes at that year’s MTV Latin American Music Awards, taking home Best Band, Best Alternative Artist, and Best Breakthrough Artist.