La Mafia

La Mafia is an American five-time Grammy Award-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of Houston, Texas, and has charted a course as a Latin music band.

History
La Mafia was founded in 1980 in Houston, Texas. Vocalist Oscar De La Rosa & producer Armando Lichtenberger Jr. created an original style that survived various changes in the music industry. The band consists of Oscar De La Rosa on vocals, Armando Lichtenberger Jr. on Keyboard & Accordion, Rudy Martinez on bass, David De La Garza on keyboards and background vocals, Alan Lopez on drums, Victor Pacheco on Guitar and Robbie Longoria on bajo-sexto & percussion. In 2007 the band won 2 Grammys & 3 Latin Grammys and was nominated in 2009 for a Latin Grammy for the album Eternamente Romanticos. In 2020, the group won a Latin Grammy award for its 2019 album “Live in Mexico.”

La Mafia, seeking to expand their musical horizons, began touring extensively in Mexico and Latin America beginning in the late 1980s. The practice of Mexican-American artists performing in Mexico on a large scale was unheard of before La Mafia.

Band members

 * Oscar De La Rosa - Vocalist
 * Armando Lichtenberger Jr. - Accordion, keyboards & Producer
 * David De La Garza III - Keyboards & Vocals
 * Rudy Martinez - Bass guitar
 * Alan Lopez - Drums
 * Viktor Pacheko - Guitar
 * Robbie Longoria - Bajo Sexto -percussions & Congas

Former members

 * Leonardo Gonzales (brother of Oscar De La Rosa Gonzales) - guitar
 * Robert Martinez - guitar & bass guitar
 * Marion Aquilina - guitar
 * Israel (Speedy) Villanueva - bass guitar
 * Adolf Alonso - bass guitar
 * Tim Ruiz - bass guitar
 * Tony Rodriguez - drums
 * Mario Gonzalez - drums
 * Adam Mosqueda(+) - drums
 * Jason Rodriguez - bass guitar
 * Michael Aguilar - drums
 * Jesse Moreno - Sax
 * Jesse Peralez - Sax
 * Rick Patino - Sax-Trumpet
 * David Flores - Sax
 * Joe Gonzales - drums
 * Joe Ovalle - bass guitar
 * Johnny Gonzalez - drums
 * Eduardo Torres - drums

Discography
Since 1994, La Mafia has recorded each of its hits at its own Urbana Recording Studios, including the million-selling Estas Tocando Fuego and Ahora y Siempre'''. The band has recorded 35 albums and CDs, not including dozens of compilation and greatest hits releases.

Studio albums

 * 1980: La Mafia de Oscar y Leonardo Gonzales
 * 1981: Only In Texas
 * 1982: The Magnificent 7
 * 1982: Honey (Cariño)
 * 1983: Electrifying
 * 1983: Mafia Mania
 * 1984: Hot Stuff
 * 1985: Neon Static
 * 1985: Herencia Norteña
 * 1986: La Mafia 1986
 * 1987: A Todo Color
 * 1988: Amame
 * 1989: Xplosiv
 * 1990: Enter the Future
 * 1990: Con Tanto Amor
 * 1991: Estas Tocando Fuego
 * 1992: Ahora y Siempre
 * 1994: Vida
 * 1996: Un Millón de Rosas (Grammy Winner)
 * 1997: En Tus Manos (Grammy Winner)
 * 1998: Euforia
 * 1999: Momentos
 * 2000: Contigo
 * 2001: Inconfundible
 * 2004: Nube Pasajera
 * 2004: Para El Pueblo (Latin Grammy Winner)
 * 2008: Eternamente Romanticos
 * 2014: Amor y Sexo
 * 2018: Vozes
 * 2019: Non-Stop

Compilations, duets, and live albums

 * 1981: La Mafia
 * 1984: 15 Hits
 * 1987: La Mafia Live
 * 1991: Party Time
 * 1991: 1991
 * 1992: Dancin' With La Mafia
 * 1993: Nuestras Mejores Canciones - 17
 * 1995: Puro Tejano
 * 1995: Éxitos en Vivo
 * 1998: Hits De Coleccion Vol. 1
 * 2001: Para Enamorados
 * 2002: Tejano All Stars
 * 2003: Los Hits
 * 2003: 30 Éxitos Insuperables
 * 2006: Nuevamente (Latin Grammy Winner)
 * 2006: La Historia de La Mafia: Los Exitos
 * 2008: Leyendas
 * 2011: La Mafia: Live In The 80s
 * 2019: Live In Mexico 2020 Latin Grammy winner best tejano album.

Awards and recognitions
La Mafia received Grammy Awards for its CDs Un Millón de Rosas (1997) and En Tus Manos (1998) and Latin Grammy Awards for its CDs Para El Pueblo(2005),Nuevamente(2006), and “Live in Mexico” (2020). It also has received eight Premio Lo Nuestro Awards and 12 Tejano Music Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the latter, numerous Billboard awards and was listed in the top 10 Billboard Latin Artists for the entire decade of the 1990s, ranking La Mafia as the most successful Latin artist Houston has ever produced.

La Mafia received the first Billboard Hot Latin Song of the Year (formally Hot Latin Track of the Year) in 1994 for their timeless hit "Me Estoy Enamorando."