Mexican actor and singer Antonio Aguilar was already working in Hollywood when he married singer and actress Flor Silvestre in 1960, one of Southern California's greatest entertainment family unions. Aguilar, who starred in Westerns such as “The Undefeated” starring John Wayne, and Silvestre, a leading star of the “golden age” of Mexican cinema, raised their children on the road while the couple staged the first-ever equestrian musical show – No charria or garibio – Through international stages.
Sixty years later, their son, Pepe Aguilar—a four-time Grammy winner with more than 13 million albums sold—is at the helm of the family's next generation of stars: Pepe's children, 24-year-old Leonardo and 20-year-old Angela, along with Pepe's brother Antonio Jr., are currently on the American leg of their revamped Jaripeo tour, which includes plays, circus tricks, artificial intelligence and operatic performances on horseback on a 360-degree stage.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg: Angela sells her perfume and dolls, and Pepe is currently actively promoting a scripted TV series (more on that later). Pepe, who recently released his album “Que Llueva Tequila,” has no plans to slow down.
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After suing his first company over ownership and copyright of his original works in 2000, Pepe released music as an independent artist and went on to launch his own labels, Machín Records and Equinoxcio Records. Under a (recently signed) worldwide agreement with Virgin Music Group, the services and distribution division of Universal Music Group, Pepe has full ownership of his original works. He also leads the careers of his children, both of whom are under contract to his company, along with accordionist Irany Divad, who was part of Karol G’s band on her massive “Mañana Será Bonito” stadium tour.
The family used to share resources, but as his children got older, Pepe realized the Aguilars were evolving. While Pepe returned to his rock roots on his new 13-track album, which blends traditional mariachi music with modern guitars, his children found a new audience in the U.S. with successful collaborations — including “Por El Contrario” with Becky G. Angela also became a Grammy-nominated artist in 2018 for her album “Primero Soy Mexicana.”
“When it comes to the industry, there's a lot we have to think about now that I didn't necessarily have to deal with when I was starting out,” says Baby. diverse“My father and I were very different when it came to doing business, but he always encouraged me to understand the big picture: This isn’t just a family affair – it’s a business.”
Below, Pepe offers his vision for the future of his million-dollar catalog, reveals his past and future business deals, and offers his thoughts on Mexican music's place at the 2024 Latin Grammys.
You are perhaps one of the few successful mariachi artists who has been willing to evolve the genre, not only vocally, but also in the way you present the music on tour. How intentional is this approach in your work?
I didn’t set out to do something like this – a fusion of mariachi and rock, and our visual presentation of the show reflecting the growth of the genre by today’s standards. But that fusion has been in me forever – from the lyrics to the harmonies and the orchestration. The combination of instruments that make up mariachi is so unique. You can pretty much do whatever you want with it, so it’s constantly evolving – even if people are quick to think of it as an “old” style.
I think mariachi music will remain very traditional, and traditional mariachi music will never die. But it's like classical music in that it will evolve.
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You were in a rock band called Equs in early adulthood – was your father supportive of your desire to expand?
My father wasn't supportive, but he wasn't an obstacle either. He just said, “Son, I don't think it's going to be good for you.” And he was right on that point – and on many other points.
Was it a big hurdle when it came to deciding to go independent and sue Mozart (a division of the Concorde Music Group)?
I didn’t know how hard it would be to sue a record company when I decided to sue them. But I’ve always been the type of person who fights for what’s right, and when you start selling millions of copies and you keep getting 3% or 5% of everything, that’s a red flag. And that should be a red flag for all artists at any stage of their career, but that was the system at the time. So maybe it was specific to my generation, different from my parents’ generation. Maybe they were focused on something else, or maybe they were focused on just doing live shows. But I saw entertainment as a world of opportunity, and the company I was working for wasn’t doing it fairly.
I'm 55 years old and that first lawsuit was when I was maybe 23, because I signed it when I was 19.
What is your ultimate goal for the labels – Machín and Equinoccio Records?
Globalization is an inevitable consequence. We need to be present internationally. That's all.
It's not easy because it's something that has to be done in collaboration with our partners (Virgin Music Group), there are a lot of rules that still need to be reached, and it's a plan that will include an expanded network. There's still a lot to do but I'm not complaining – I'm just saying that it's a little bit harder than I thought, not because of the quality of the music or the artist, but because if you're going to do something, you have to do it over time. We're planning to expand to take the tour and the music to Colombia, we're doing some shows in big arenas, we're planning to go to Chile, Spain, the US and Mexico, which is our natural market.
Are you looking for new artists? What is your approach to the ones you have now – Leonardo, Angela and Irani Davad?
We are always in the market for new talent, new artists, new concepts. But we are a niche brand for a reason, and there is a long list of criteria.
Irani is working on her new album, which I’m sure will surprise a lot of people. These artists have a loyal following, and it shows in the numbers because we’re competing with major labels for nominations, charts, streams, and views. There are a thousand ways to play this game, and all of our artists have the right promotion game – it’s just a matter of capturing and leveraging what works for each individual artist.
Your children are under your control – how do you handle family and business matters?
They are fully aware of everything that is going on. And sometimes, because of the things that we sign and do, they get advice from other people, because I make them get advice from third parties. It's not that they think I'm cheating them, obviously, but they are the primary owners of their music business. That's the way we run our business here, as a family, and it's worked out perfectly for everybody. They have the best contracts in the industry, but it's up to them to figure out how to maneuver and invest in their careers.
There has been a media frenzy around your daughter's relationship with another major Latin artist, Christian Nodal. The headlines are harsh. Do you have advice for her on how to deal with the public narrative?
The truth is, I don’t follow the media. I trust her decisions and I love my daughter and I want the best for her. She may see things differently than I do. But I’m not worried about her and I don’t think she’s too concerned about it. I think she’s a human being and she knows that she’s being watched as a public figure. I’ll respect whatever decision she makes about the media frenzy, but I don’t care much about it.
The Latin Grammys recently added a category for Best Contemporary Mexican Music Album. What do you think of that?
They responded to the demand for recognition, and to be honest, I think the Academy was carefully addressing the expansion of the genre – which looks very different from month to month, so that in itself is an impressive achievement.
You've recorded over 20 albums in your lifetime – have you ever thought about selling parts of your catalogue? Do you envision that in the future?
I’ve been following that trend. I own all 24 of my records, which 90% of my peers can’t claim. I’m looking forward to the possibilities. I know my songs stand the test of time enough that nothing can change their status, even if I don’t have full creative control over them. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, but now is not the time.
I want to continue expanding my catalogue – at least 10 more albums. After that, I might accept offers and retire to a golf course, but now is not the time.
Aside from music, what other projects are you working on?
We've been working on expanding into TV and film for six to seven years – just before the pandemic, we started having meetings with film company Endemol Shine and signed a deal that ultimately fell through due to the pandemic.
I've been playing with this idea for a while, and I have some projects and some things that I'm really interested in that I want to show that I'm working on that have to do with music, have to do with my family, and other things that aren't so focused on telling our story but allow us to pursue other plot lines. It's on its way!
This story appears in the July 24 “Business of Beat Latino” issue of Variety magazine.
