Los Palominos

by Craig HarrisThe Tejano music of the Texas and Mexico borderlands has been transformed into an exciting dance music by Los Palominos. While their repertoire includes polkas, rancheros, boleros, ballads, and cumbias and their instrumentation is based on the traditional sounds of accordion and bajo sexto, the Uvalde, TX-based band has crafted a very modern-sounding music. Formed in 1986 as Los Tremendos Pequenos (Little Giants), Los Palominos features the four Arreola brothers: Johnny on accordion, James on bajo sexto, Jesse on drums, and Jorge on bass. The groups vocal sounds reflect the harmonic interplay of Johnny and James. Attracting the support and encouragement of Armando Mando Lichtenberger, Jr. and Oscar De La Rosa of La Mafia, Los Palominos were able to secure a recording contract with Sony Discos. Their 1994 album, Corazon de Cristal, attained gold status, while the title song became a hit in the United States and Mexico. Los Palominos reached their creative apex with their album Por Eso Te Amo (Thats Why I Love You), which spent seven weeks in the top slot of the world music charts and earned a Grammy award as Best Tejano Performance of 1999. The group released numerous award-winning compilations and original recordings through 2006, including Poco Mas, Tocame, and Atrevete.