Deservingly so, Banda MS was honored with the Legacy AMA at the 2024 Latin American Music Awards.
The special award recognized the band’s more-than two decades of artistic career that began in 2003 in their native Sinaloa and eventually saw them become one of the biggest exponents of regional Mexican music around the world.
Presented by Eslabon Armado and Joss Favela, Banda MS took the stage to deliver an emotional speech, acknowledging the new generation of regional Mexican hitmakers. “More than 21 years ago, we started a dream in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, to be able to take this music to all the corners of the world, to fight for a purpose,” said frontman Oswaldo Silvas.
He continued: “Not just to take the name of a band, but the name of the regional Mexican music, of a genre, all over the world. We have not yet achieved the purpose but we are still in the fight. The new generations have to achieve more than what we have achieved. Here we have a generation of musicians who have taken music to a new level and at home there is another generation that will take the genre to a higher level. To all those people who think we deserve this, thank you. Long live music, long live Mexican music.”
Later that night, Banda MS — backed by their live musicians that power their banda sinaloense signature sound — took the stage to perform a show-stopping medley with real star power, bringing out artists like Carin León and A.B. Quintanilla. They kicked off with their latest hit, “Tu Perfume,” and were then joined by Los De La S for “Somos Los Que Somos.” Then, León joined the group to sing their collab “Ojos Cerrados” and Banda MS wrapped with special guest A.B. Quintanilla to sing the the party anthem “Es Viernes.”
The 2024 Latin American Music Awards took place Thursday, April 25, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas via Univision. Hitmakers Feid and Peso Pluma lead this year’s list of nominations with 12 nods each. The Colombian singer and Mexican star, who are up for the coveted artist of the year award and album of the year award, are followed by top nominees Bad Bunny (11), Grupo Frontera (11), Karol G (9), Shakira (9), Eslabon Armado (8) and Fuerza Regida (8).
Thalia, Becky G, Alejandra Espinoza and Carlos Ponce co-hosed the award ceremony that presented in a combination of English and Spanish, marking the first time any major U.S. award show featured a bilingual broadcast.