Lupillo Rivera, the Grammy award-winning, Mexican-American singer and songwriter, will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4, in the Chumash Casino Resort’s Samala Showroom on Highway 246 in Santa Ynez.
Rivera’s father, Pedro Rivera, played a key role in the advancement of his son’s professional career in the music industry. Pedro Rivera was the founding owner and operator of the recording label and studio Cintas Acuario.
Wanting to give Lupillo a hands-on business experience, Rivera hired his son to work at the studio when a contracted singer failed to show up for a recording session.
At the start of his singing career, Lupillo was known as “El Torito” Lupillo Rivera and later, once becoming more famous, was referred to by his fans as El Toro del Corrido.
He adapted this nickname by his uncle who was a professional boxer known in Mexico as El Toro Rivera. By 1999, Rivera had signed with the Son Discos recording label and began to sing using his own name: Lupillo Rivera.
While with the Son Discos label, Rivera’s popularity began to grow and in 2002, he was awarded three Lo Nuestro Awards for Regional Mexican Male Artist of the Year, Banda Artist of the Year and Regional Mexican Album of the Year for Despreciado.
In 2010, Rivera won his first Grammy award for his album Tu Esclavo y Amo.
Tickets for the Chumash Casino show are $25, $35 and $45. Tickets for all events are available at the Chumash Casino Resort’s Club Indulge or online at www.chumashcasino.com.
The Chumash Casino Resort is an age 21-and-older venue.
— Caitlyn Baker for Chumash Casino Resort.