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Since 'La Bamba' stardom, Los Lobos has held true to its creative roots

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Los Lobos has kept its creative roots by digging deeper into different genres for almost 40 years. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - The Rochester Opera House will present Grammy Award winning Los Lobos on March 6 at 8 p.m.

Los Lobos enjoyed critical success, winning the Grammy for Best Mexican-American Performance for "Anselma" from their 1983 EP ...And a Time to Dance. A year later, the group released its full-length, major-label debut, How Will the Wolf Survive? Co-produced by Berlin and T Bone Burnett, the album was a college rock sensation that helped Los Lobos tie with Bruce Springsteen as Rolling Stone's Artist of the Year.

Then came a major turning point in 1987 with the release of the Ritchie Valens biopic, La Bamba. The quintet's cover of Valens' signature song topped the charts in the United States and Great Britain.

Rather than capitalize on that massive commercial success, Los Lobos instead chose to record "La Pistola y El Corazón," a tribute to Tejano and Mariachi music that won the 1989 Grammy for Best Mexican-American Performance.

That kind of sharp artistic turn has become Los Lobos' trademark, serving to both fuel the band's creativity and keep its fans engaged. In 1992, that willingness to defy expectations led them to record Kiko, an adventurous album produced by Mitchell Froom that's considered by many to be one the band's very best.

Since then, Los Lobos has continued to deliver daring and diverse albums such as "Colossal Head" (1996), "Good Morning Aztlán" (2002), "The Town and the City" (2006) and Gates of Gold (2015).

Meanwhile, the band's live shows never disappoint as documented on the recent concert recordings "Live at the Fillmore" (2005) and "Disconnected in New York City" (2013).

Through the years, they've managed to keep things interesting with unexpected side trips like an album of Disney songs in 2009, along with countless contributions to tribute albums and film soundtracks. One of those - "Mariachi Suite" from the 1995 film Desperado - earned the band a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

Los Lobos has sold millions of records, won prestigious awards and made fans around the world. But perhaps its most lasting impact will be how well its music embodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot. In it, styles like son jarocho, norteño, Tejano, folk, country, doo-wop, soul, R&B, rock 'n' roll and punk all come together to create a new sound that's greater than the sum of its parts.

Tickets are available for sale at the Box Office and www.rochesteroperahouse.com. They range from $39-$59.

The Rochester Opera House is sponsored by Eastern Propane, Shaheen & Gordon P.A., and Norman Vetter Foundations, Liberty Mutual, Albany International, The Cocheco Times, Seacoast Media Group, MacEdge, Holy Rosary Credit Union, Waterstone Properties, 98.7 FrankFM, City of Rochester.

The Rochester Opera House is located above City Hall, 31 Wakefield Street, Rochester NH. Visit www.RochesterOperaHouse.com for more information.

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