Los Ángeles Azules have forged their path across generations of cumbia listeners, from Iztapalapa to the world. Now they are set to perform and receive the 2024 Hispanic Heritage Award at the 37th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards in Washington on Sept. 5.
“We are very grateful to the Hispanic Heritage Awards for this great recognition of our long artistic career,” said co-founding member Elías Mejía Avante in a statement. “We also want to thank all our followers and those who have supported us throughout this time.”
The event, known as “America’s Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration,” is presented by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and will broadcast on PBS Sept. 27. Other honorees include fashion designer Carolina Herrera, Beautyblender creator Rea Ann Silva and NBA star Carmelo Anthony.
“Los Ángeles Azules have literally moved audiences around the world through their music and messages for decades,” said Jose Antonio Tijerino, the foundation’s president and CEO. “We are thrilled to honor this remarkable group of musical giants with our arts award, and we look forward to sharing our collective cultural pride, achievement and vision, along with the other honorees.”
Formed by the Mejía Avante siblings in the late 1970s, the Mexican band has been performing for nearly half a century. In 1997, it broke into the Latin music mainstream with its romantic ballad “Cómo Te Voy a Olvidar,” peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.
With more than 19 million monthly Spotify listeners, the bandmates are known for experimenting with cumbias sonideras, a synthesizer-heavy subgenre and have also created symphonic cumbias that incorporate classical orchestra instrumentation.
Over the last decade, the “Entrega De Amor” singers have re-recorded many of their popular hits with contemporary vocalists including Natalia Lafourcade, HaAsh, Pepe Aguilar and more. In 2019, the group landed its first No. 1 in 19 years on the Regional Mexican chart with “Nunca Es Suficiente,” featuring Lafourcade.
Los Ángeles Azules are also the first Mexican group in the YouTube “Billion Views Club,” with two videos reaching more than 1 billion views: “Mis Sentimientos,” featuring Ximena Sariñana (1.2 billion), and “Nunca Es Suficiente,” with Lafourcade (2 billion).
The band has received multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations, including recognition for “Cumbia del Corazón” for best cumbia/vallenato album, which included collaborations with Nicki Nicole, Carlos Vives, Juanes and others. The group also received a Billboard lifetime achievement award.
Following the foundation’s recognition during Hispanic Heritage Month, the band will also be honored later this year for its lifetime achievements at the 2024 Latin Grammys .