Pepe Aguilar

Josè Aguilar (1968, San Antonio, Texas), much better known as Pepe Aguilar, is a well known Mexican ranchera music singer. He is the son of Mexican show business legends Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre.

Biography

Pepe Aguilar was born during a difficult period in Antonio Aguilar's career. Antonio Aguilar, who is also a singer and an actor, was not selling his albums well or being hired for films in Mexico, so the Aguilar family emigrated, living in Puerto Rico for a short number of years. In 1973, Pepe Aguilar made his singing debut, on his own request, in front of a Madison Square Garden crowd. Aguilar remembers being scared by the large crowd and he admits that he cried as soon as he saw the public. But, eventually, he integrated to his father's shows, singing on most of his father's concerts.

Related Topics:
Actor - Album - Film - Puerto Rico - 1973 - Madison Square Garden

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As a teenager, Pepe Aguilar was a member of a rock music band, "Equs". The band did not last long, but it served for Aguilar to participate in his first CD. Aguilar credits The Who and Pink Floyd among his early musical influences.

Related Topics:
Teenage - Rock music - Equs - CD - The Who - Pink Floyd

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In 1990, Pepe Aguilar debuted as a solo singer, with his album, "Pepe Aguilar con Tambora" ("Pepe Aguilar with a Conga"). The album gave Aguilar some celebrity in Mexico and Latin America, although it could be said that this was due more to the fact that he was Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre's son more than anything else. Pepe Aguilar released a number of CD's through the 1990s and became a producer, opening two record labels and producing songs for Lupita D'Alessio, Lupe Pineda and Julieta Venegas, among others.

Related Topics:
1990 - Pepe Aguilar con Tambora - Latin America - 1990s - Lupita D'Alessio - Lupe Pineda - Julieta Venegas

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In 1998, Aguilar released "Por Mujeres Como Tu" ("Because of Women Like You"). This CD sold two million copies around the world and was listed on the Billboard hits list for fifty two consecutive weeks, consolidating Aguilar's celebrity. Billboard awarded Aguilera for releasing the "Hot Latin Track of the Year" in 1998.

Related Topics:
1998 - Por Mujeres Como Tu - Billboard

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In 2000, Aguilar released another hit album, "Por Una Mujer Bonita" ("Because of a Beautiful Woman"), which earned him a Latin Grammy award. Aguilar has been nominated for a Grammy a total of nine times. He has also been nominated for other awards several times.

Related Topics:
2000 - Grammy

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In 2002, Aguilar became the first Mexican regional music singer to perform at Los Angeles' well known Hollywood Bowl. He was also the first Hispanic to sing at Los Angeles' Kodak Theather. On September 15, 2003, as Mexicans celebrated their independence day, Aguilar received the symbolic keys to the city of Los Angeles. An estimated number of 20,000 people attended the ceremony. Aguilar released two CD's that year.

Related Topics:
2002 - Los Angeles - Hollywood Bowl - Hispanic - Kodak Theather - September 15 - 2003

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Aguilar signed with Sony music on July of 2004 and went on to release "No Soy de Nadie" ("I Don't Belong to Anyone") later on that year.

Related Topics:
Sony music - July - 2004 - No Soy de Nadie

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For years, rumors about a rivalry between Aguilar and Alejandro Fernandez, another well known Mexican singer and who is the son of Vicente Fernandez, have abounded. Neither Aguilar nor Fernandez have denied or accepted the rumors, however.

Related Topics:
Alejandro Fernandez - Vicente Fernandez

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