La Sonora Santanera

The Mexican band Sonora Santanera started out life under the name Tropical Santanera and have a long and illustrious history dating back to the late 1950s when they were formed by founding member Carlos Colorado in his home state of Tabasco. The band rose to prominence in the 1960s, and were particularly popular with the Mexican working class. They became highly regarded for their authentic rendition of the Latin Caribbean fusion known as tropical, which combines influences of salsa, mambo, cha-cha-cha and other Latin genres with Caribbean rhythms. In 1986 the band suffered the loss of band leader Colorado when he died in a tour bus accident, an event which led to a faction within the band splitting away to form Los Santaneros. The original members continued under the new name Sonora Santanera with the endorsement of Colorado's widow. Various incarnations of the band have appeared over the years often with strikingly similar names and this has led the band to seek legal protection for their stage name. The band has a recording legacy of some sixty albums and their music is often featured in TV and film scores. In 2009 the band was inducted into the Salón de la Fama, Mexico's musical Hall of Fame.