La Mafia is an American five-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, and has charted a course as a

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...

band.

History

La Mafia was founded in 1980 in Houston, Texas. Vocalist Oscar De La Rosa & producer Armando Lichtenberger Jr. created an original style that survived various changes in the music industry. The band consists of Oscar De La Rosa on vocals, Armando Lichtenberger Jr. on Keyboard & Accordion, Rudy Martinez on bass, David De La Garza on keyboards and background vocals, Alan Lopez on drums, Victor Pacheco on Guitar and Robbie Longoria on bajo-sexto & percussion . In 2007 the band won 2 Grammys & 3 Latin Grammys and was nominated in 2009 for a Latin Grammy for the album '' Eternamente Romanticos''. In 2020, the group won a Latin Grammy award for its 2019 album “Live in Mexico.” La Mafia, seeking to expand their musical horizons, began touring extensively in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

beginning in the late 1980s. The practice of Mexican-American artists performing in Mexico on a large scale was unheard of before La Mafia.

Band members

* Oscar De La Rosa – vocalist * Armando Lichtenberger Jr. – accordion, keyboards, producer * David De La Garza III – keyboards & vocals * Rudy Martinez – bass guitar * Alan Lopez – drums * Viktor Pacheko – guitar * Robbie Longoria – bajo sexto, percussions, congas

Former members

* Leonardo Gonzales (brother of Oscar De La Rosa Gonzales) – guitar * Robert Martinez – guitar & bass guitar * Marion Aquilina – guitar * Israel (Speedy) Villanueva – bass guitar * Adolf Alonso – bass guitar * Tim Ruiz – bass guitar * Tony Rodriguez – drums * Mario Gonzalez – drums * Adam Mosqueda(+) – drums * Jason Rodriguez – bass guitar * Michael Aguilar – drums * Jesse Moreno – sax * Jesse Peralez – sax (died 2025) * Rick Patino – sax, trumpet * David Flores – sax * Joe Gonzales – drums * Joe Ovalle – bass guitar * Johnny Gonzalez – drums * Eduardo Torres – drums

Filmography

Films

* '' Coqueta'' (1983) La Mafia * '' Delincuente (1984) La Mafia * '' Fiebre de amor'' (1985) La Mafia * '' Escápate Conmigo'' (1987) La Mafia * '' Deliciosa Sinvergüenza'' (1990) La Mafia

Television

* '' Chispita'' (1982) La Mafia * '' Mujer, casos de la vida real'' (1986) La Mafia (El examen) * '' El Privilegio de Amar'' (1998) La Mafia * '' Alborada'' (2005) La Mafia * '' Amor sin Maquillaje'' (2007) La Mafia * ''

Mañana Es Para Siempre ''Mañana es para siempre'' (English title: ''Tomorrow Is Forever'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Nicandro Díaz González for Televisa in 2008. It is an adaption of the 2007 Colombian telenovela '' Pura sangre''. It aired on Canal de las ...

'' (2009) La Mafia * ''

Triunfo del Amor ''Triunfo del amor'' (English title: ''Triumph of Love'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Salvador Mejía Alejandre for Televisa. It is a remake of the 1998 telenovela '' El privilegio de amar'', which itself is a remake of the 1985 Venezue ...

'' (2010) La Mafia * ''

Soy tu dueña ''Soy tu dueña'' (Literal English translation: I’m your owner, International English title: ''A Woman of Steel'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Nicandro Díaz González for Televisa. It is a remake of the telenovela ''La Dueña (1995 Mex ...

'' (2011) La Mafia * '' Por Ella Soy Eva'' (2012) La Mafia

Discography

* 1980: La Mafia de Oscar y Leonardo Gonzales * 1981: Only In Texas * 1982: The Magnificent 7 * 1982: Honey (Cariño) * 1983: Electrifying * 1983: Mafia Mania * 1984: Hot Stuff * 1985: Neon Static * 1985: Herencia Norteña * 1986: La Mafia 1986 * 1987: A Todo Color * 1988: Homenaje a Nelson Ned & Roberto Carlos * 1988: Amame * 1989: Xplosiv * 1990: Enter the Future * 1990: Con Tanto Amor * 1991: Homenaje a Javier Solís * 1991: Estas Tocando Fuego * 1992: Ahora y Siempre * 1994: Vida * 1996: Un Millón de Rosas (Grammy Winner) * 1997: En Tus Manos (Grammy Winner) * 1998: Euforia * 1999: Momentos * 2000: Contigo * 2001: Inconfundible * 2004: Nube Pasajera * 2004: Para El Pueblo (Latin Grammy Winner) * 2008: Eternamente Romanticos * 2014: Amor y Sexo * 2018: Vozes * 2019: Non-Stop

Compilations, duets, and live albums

* 1981: La Mafia * 1984: 15 Hits * 1987: La Mafia Live * 1991: Party Time * 1991:

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

* 1992: Dancin' With La Mafia * 1993: Nuestras Mejores Canciones – 17 * 1995: Puro Tejano * 1995: Éxitos en Vivo * 1998: Hits De Coleccion Vol. 1 * 2001: Para Enamorados * 2002: Tejano All Stars * 2003: Los Hits * 2003: 30 Éxitos Insuperables * 2006: Nuevamente (Latin Grammy Winner) * 2006: La Historia de La Mafia: Los Exitos * 2008: Leyendas * 2011: La Mafia: Live in the 80s * 2019: Live in Mexico 2020 Latin Grammy winner best tejano album.

Awards and recognitions

La Mafia received Grammy Awards for its CDs '' Un Millón de Rosas'' (1997) and '' En Tus Manos'' (1998) and Latin Grammy Awards for its CDs '' Para El Pueblo''(2005),''Nuevamente''(2006), and “Live in Mexico” (2020). It also has received eight Premio Lo Nuestro Awards and 12 Tejano Music Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the latter, numerous Billboard awards and was listed in the top 10 Billboard Latin Artists for the entire decade of the 1990s, ranking La Mafia as the most successful Latin artist Houston has ever produced. La Mafia received the first Billboard Hot Latin Song of the Year (formally Hot Latin Track of the Year) in 1994 for their timeless hit "Me Estoy Enamorando."

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mafia, La Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin music groups Latin pop music groups Musical groups from Houston Spanish-language musical groups of the United States Tejano music groups 1980 establishments in Texas