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Los
Panchos
Puerto
Rico/United States
GormeManoella
Torres
Los Panchos (also known asTrÃo Los Panchos) is the name
of an
internationally known bolero trio.
[edit] History
Los Panchos first met in 1944 in New
York City,
the first members where the Mexicans Alfredo
Gil, and Chucho Navarro,
which permanently formed part of
the trio, and Hernando Aviles from Puerto Rico. Each
member of Los Panchos played a guitar and sang with unequaled
harmony.
Los Panchos reached fame internationally with their romantic songs,
especially in Latin
America, where they are still regarded as one of the top trios of
all time.
They sold millions of album copies within
a few years of being founded.[citation
needed]
They also appeared in around 50 movies, mostly during the 'Golden
Age' of Mexican
cinema.
Between 1946 to 1948, Los Panchos performed in the United States,
including a performance at Radio City
Music Hall in New York
City. Los Panchos first began touring internationally in 1946. Later
that
year, Los Panchos moved to Mexico,
considered the capital of Spanish-language music where many Latin and
Iberian
artists have jumped to international fame. They were welcomed with open
arms and
XEW-AM,
the most popular radio
station in Mexico City,
reserved a time slot for their music. In 1951, Los Panchos launched
another
international tour across Latin America.[1]
Julito Rodriguez joined the group in 1952; he
was replaced by Johnny
Albino in 1958. Johnny Albino & Chucho Navarro, (Miguel Poventud and
Yomo Toro were studio musicians for CBS) famously worked with singer Eydie Gorme on a series of bestselling albums in the 1960's. The Albino era was one
of the
most prosperous ones for Los Panchos whose classic albums are very
popular among
Los Panchos fans still. His departure in 1968 was a tumultuous one, as
he did
not leave on good terms with the group's management.
In 1971, Ovidio
Hernández joined the band as lead vocalist, a part he would fulfill
until
his untimely passing of complications of meningitis in 1976.
Following him, Rafael
Basurto Lara joined as lead singer, he is today the last living
person to
have been a lead vocalist in the original Trio Los Panchos ("original"
referring
to any lineup that included founding members Gil and Navarro). [2]
Alfredo Gil played with Los Panchos until his retirement in 1981 (he
died in
1999) and Chucho Navarro played with the group until his death in 1993.
A characteristic instrument of Los Panchos and many more bolero trios
after
them is the Requinto guitar, which
is smaller and tuned higher than a standard guitar, and was invented by
Alfredo
Gil, founding member of Los Panchos. Requinto soli are typically part of
a
bolero song.
Today, there are several trios claiming to be the rightful successors
to the
original trio, with Rafael
Basurto Lara, lead singer of the original Trio Los Panchos since
1976 still
being the lead voice of one of them. [3]Gabriel
Vargas Aguilar, the adopted son of co-founder Gil. This band, now
based in
Veracruz, Mexico,
still continues to perform concerts across Mexico, Latin America,
and the United States,
with a newer cast of singers.[4] Another Trio Los
Panchos is currently under the musical direction of