Julio César Álvarez Montelongo (born 11 April 1983), better known as Julión Álvarez (), is a Mexican singer who specializes in

regional Mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...

music.

Life and career

Julión Álvarez was born and raised in

La Concordia, Chiapas La Concordia is a town and Municipalities of Chiapas, municipality in the List of states in Mexico, Mexican state of Chiapas in southern Mexico. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 44,082, up from 39,770 as of 2005. It covers ...

, México. In 2003, he joined the Mexican band, "

Banda MS Banda Sinaloense MS de Sergio Lizárraga, or simply Banda MS, is a Mexican Banda music, banda group from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, founded in 2003. The ''MS'' stands for Mazatlán, Sinaloa. It was created by brothers Sergio and Alberto Lizárraga, who ...

", until 2006. Following the leave of Banda MS, he decided to start a solo career as Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda. In 2011, he married Nathaly Fernández. In 2014, Álvarez was selected by Miguel Ángel Fox, producer of the Mexican talent show, '' La Voz... Mexico'' to participate as coach in its fourth edition. He later went on to be the winning coach with his pupil, Guido Rochin. In September 2015, Álvarez's album, ''El Aferrado'' was nominated at the

16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards The 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards were held on November 19, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. This was the second time that Latin Grammys were held at this venue. The nominations were announced on September 23, 2015. Leonel Gar ...

for Best Banda Album. His song, "El Amor de Su Vida" was nominated for Latin Grammy Award for Best Regional Song. In May 2016, it was announced that Álvarez would embark on a 22-Foot Arena Tour in the United States, the first for a

act. In September 2016, Álvarez's album, '' Mis Ídolos, Hoy Mis Amigos!!!'' was nominated for Best Banda Album at the 2016 Latin Grammy Awards. On August 10, 2017, the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

, froze Álvarez's assets in the United States and forbid American persons and companies from doing business with him for allegedly violating the

Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, better known as the Kingpin Act, is landmark Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States intended to address Illegal drug trade, international narcotics traffic ...

. As a result, Álvarez's U.S. tour was cancelled. Álvarez had denied the allegation brought by the U.S. Treasury Department and said he was willing to cooperate with authorities. In November 2017, it was announced that Álvarez's album, ''Ni Diablo, Ni Santo'' was nominated for Best Regional Mexican Music Album at the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongch ...

. In June 2022, after five years working in coordination with the authorities of both countries, it was announced that Álvarez's allegations linked to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act were finally removed and he may continue to perform and engage in businesses on the United States. In May 2025 during the

second Trump Administration Donald Trump's second and current tenure as the president of the United States began upon his inauguration as the 47th president on January 20, 2025. On his first day, Trump pardoned about 1,500 people convicted of offenses in the Janua ...

, his United States visa was revoked, cancelling a sold-out concert in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

, which was part of the 4218 Tour. In mid-April 2025, Alvarez returned to the U.S. as a performer for the first time in eight years, performing three sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Discography

*''Corazón Mágico'' (2007) *''Desde Mazatlan a Mover el Cu....'' (2008) *''Cumbia del Río'' (2008) *''Corridos'' (2008) *''Corridos Privados'' (2009) *''Con Banda'' (2009) *''Ni Lo Intentes'' (2010) *''El Rey del Carnaval'' (2010) *''Vive Grupero, El Concierto'' (2010) *''Márchate y Olvídame'' (2011) *''En Vivo Desde Guadalajara'' (2012) *''Tu Amigo Nada Más'' (2013) *''Soy Lo Que Quiero:...Indispensable'' (2014) *''El Aferrado'' (2015) *''La Más Completa Collecion'' (2015) *'' Mis Ídolos, Hoy Mis Amigos!!!'' (2016) *''Ni Diablo, Ni Santo'' (2017) *''Este Soy Yo'' (2019) *''Incomparable'' (2021) *''De Hoy En Adelante, Que Te Vaya Bien'' (2022) *''Presente'' (2023) *''4218'' (2025)

Awards and nominations

American Music Awards

The

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

is an annual American music awards show. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and fans who vote through the AMAs website. , - ,

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, ''Julión Álvarez y su Norteña Banda'' , Favorite Latin Duo or Group , , -

Grammy Awards

The

Grammy Awards 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 a ...

are awarded annually by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

of the United States. Álvarez has received one nomination. , - ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, ''Ni Diablo, Ni Santo'' , Best Regional Mexican Music Album , , -

Latin American Music Awards

The

Latin American Music Awards The Latin American Music Awards (Latin AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by TelevisaUnivision. It is the Spanish-language counterpart of the American Music Awards (AMAs). As with AMAs, the Latin AMAs are determined by a poll ...

are awarded annually by the television network

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

in the United States. Álvarez has received two awards from five nominations. , - , rowspan="3" scope="row",

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, rowspan="2" scope="row", Julión Álvarez y su Norteña Banda , Artist of the Year , , - , Favorite Regional Mexican Band, Duo, or Group , , - , "Y Fue Así" , Favorite Regional Mexican Song , , - , rowspan="2" scope="row",

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, '' Mis Ídolos, Hoy Mis Amigos!!! , Favorite Regional Mexican Album , , - , Julión Álvarez y su Norteña Banda , Favorite Regional Mexican Band, Duo, or Group , , -

Latin Grammy Awards

The

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music, Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish language, S ...

are awarded annually by the

Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., trading as The Latin Recording Academy (; ), is a multinational membership-based association composed of Latin music industry professionals, musicians, producers, recording engineers, and ...

in the United States. Álvarez has received three nominations. , - , rowspan="2" scope="row",

, ''El Aferrado'' , Best Banda Album , , - , "El Amor De Su Vida" , Best Regional Mexican Song , , - ,

, '' Mis Ídolos, Hoy Mis Amigos!!!'' , Best Banda Album , , - ,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, ''De Hoy en Adelante, Que Te Vaya Bien'' , Best Banda Album ,

Lo Nuestro Awards

The

Lo Nuestro Awards The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ours") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music (genre), Latin music, presented by TelevisaUnivision, and is carried by its Univision network in ...

are awarded annually by the television network

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

in the United States. Álvarez has received three awards from fifteen nominations.Lo Nuestro Awards *2011 Nomination *2012 Nominations *2013 Nominations *2014 Nominations *2015 Nominations *2016 Nominations *2016 Award *2017 Nominations *2017 Awards , - , 2011 , Julión Álvarez (himself) , Regional Mexican Male Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" scope="row", 2012 , rowspan="2" scope="row", Julión Álvarez (himself) , Banda Artist of the Year , , - , Regional Mexican Male Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" scope="row", 2013 , ''Márchate y Olvídame'' , Regional Mexican Album of the Year , , - , Julión Álvarez (himself) , Regional Mexican Male Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" scope="row", 2014 , ''Tu Amigo Nada Más'' , Regional Mexican Album of the Year , , - , Julión Álvarez (himself) , Regional Mexican Male Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" scope="row", 2015 , ''Soy Lo Que Quiero... Indispensable'' , Regional Mexican Album of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" scope="row", Julión Álvarez (himself) , Regional Mexican Male Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan="3" scope="row", 2016 , Banda Artist of the Year , , - , "Y Fue Así" , Regional Mexican Song of the Year , , - , Julión Álvarez (himself) , Regional Mexican Male Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan="3" scope="row", 2017 , rowspan="3" scope="row", Julión Álvarez (himself) , Banda Artist of the Year , , - , Regional Mexican Male Artist of the Year , , - , Male Artist of the Year ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Julion 1983 births Living people Banda musicians Fonovisa Records artists Singers from Chiapas 21st-century Mexican singers 21st-century Mexican male singers Latin music record producers