Banda Blanca

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Banda Blanca
Origin Honduras
Genres Punta rock
Years active1971 (1971)–present
Labels EMI, Rodven
MembersJulio Ardón
Óscar Gerardo Galindo
Juan Pompilio Tejeda Duarte
José Luis Rodríguez
Héctor Altamirano
Adán Rodríguez

Banda Blanca is a Honduran conjunto [1] formed in 1971. They began as a rock band but eventually integrated elements of merengue and punta rock into their music. [2] The group rose to fame in 1990, when their song "Sopa de Caracol" became an international success, peaking at number one on the Billboard Top Latin Songs in the United States. [3] The song sold an estimated 1.5 million copies in the U.S. alone. [4] Throughout their career, they sold an estimated between 2 and 5 million record sales. [5] [6]

Contents

Their songs "Fiesta" and "Swing Latino" also reached the American charts. [7] [8] [9] Their album Baile Punta became a number-one hit on the Tropical Albums chart. [10] In 1991, they received a Lo Nuestro award in the category Tropical – New Artist of the Year. [11]

Career

The band was formed in 1971 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. [12] The band name, Banda Blanca, means "White Band". [13] By 1993, they recorded 23 albums. [1]

Commercial success

The band rose to international fame in 1991 after the release of their signature song, "Sopa de Caracol". [1] They made a Japanese version of the song, [1] called "Lemeguchi". [14] [15] The same year, their album Baile Punta (Sonotone/Sonográfica) sold an estimated 100,000 copies between the United States and Puerto Rico while placed the band in multiple Latin markets compiled by Cashbox record charts, such as Venezuela, and topping the Tropical Albums chart on Billboard. [10] [16]

Baile Punta was promoted by a national tour in the United States, attracting an audience of 250,000. [16] In early 1990s, the band would made frequent performances throught the U.S. and Europe. [1] In 1992, the band participated at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival, [6] winning the Gaviota de Plata (Silver Seagull). Around this time, their estimated sales ranged from 2 to 5 million records, [5] [6] and won 10 Platinum and 8 Gold records for their sales in the U.S., Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica alone. [17]

Legacy

Banda Blanca is attributed to popularize punta, a Garifuna music style to international audience. [6] [18] In 1991, Cashbox magazine would compare their sudden popularity as the biggest crossover fad since "Lambada" or with Juan Luis Guerra's Bachata Rosa which coincided with the sudden rise of punta. [16] John Rice, correspondent of the Associated Press, observed its roots in Belize and commented: "Garifuna musicians say their time may be coming at last, partly because of Banda Blanca success and growing interest in punta rock among world music enthusiasts in Britain and the United States". [19] Author of Honduras-México: una relación horizontal (1999), Adalberto Santana, said they succeeded to propel in Mexico the introduction of new unknown rhythms. [20] The song "Sopa de Caracol" remains popular according to some publications in the 2010s and 2020s such as BBC Mundo and El Heraldo de Mexico , while some acts have made their covers including Elvis Crespo and Pitbull. [21] [22]

The band was distinguished by Honduran president, Rafael Callejas as "ambassadors of Honduran music" in 1992. [1] In 1995, La Opinión 's Joseph Treviño called them as arguably the most popular Honduran band abroad. [23]

Awards and nominations

Award/organizationYearNominee/workCategoryResultRef.
Aplauso 98 Awards 1991Banda BlancaEl Aplauso AwardWon [24]
Billboard Music Video Awards 1991Banda BlancaBest Duo, or GroupNominated [25]
Lo Nuestro Awards 1991 Banda Blanca Tropical New Artist Won [16] [11]
"Sopa de Caracol"Tropical/Salsa Song of the YearNominated
1992 Banda BlancaTropical Salsa Group of the YearNominated [26] [27]
Fiesta Tropical Tropical Album of the Year Nominated
"Fiesta" Tropical Song of the Year Nominated
Video of the Year Nominated
Viña del Mar International Song Festival 1992Banda Blanca Gaviota de Plata (Silver Seagull)Won [28]
Gervasio AwardWon

Band members

Sources: [17]

Selected discography

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Radio & TV: Alegre Banda". La Opinión (in Spanish). January 11, 1993. p. 13.
  2. ↑ "Banda Blanca" (in Spanish). Aldos del Recuerdo. Archived from the original on October 9, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Hot Latin Tracks: For Week Ending March 16, 1991" (PDF). Billboard. March 16, 1991. p. 49. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  4. ↑ Martínez, Belkis (May 28, 2021). ""Sopa de caracol": por qué la famosa canción causó una pelea que abarca tres países". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Posadas, Fredy (February 3, 2018). "Pilo Tejeda, el autor de la Sopa de Caracol, ahora quiere ser una luz en el Congreso". El Heraldo (in Spanish).
  6. 1 2 3 4 Borjas, Evelin (May 1, 2025). "Pilo Tejeda confiesa cuanto le pagaron a Banda Blanca en Viña del Mar" (in Spanish). Televicentro.
  7. ↑ "Hot Latin Tracks, for week ending December 24, 1994". Billboard. December 24, 1994. p. 57. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Hot Latin Tracks, for week ending November 26, 1994" (PDF). Billboard. November 26, 1994. p. 62. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Top Latin Albums for week ending July 27, 1991" (PDF). Billboard. July 27, 1991. p. 46. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Top Latin Albums: Tropical/Salsa for week ending April 20, 1991" (PDF). Billboard. April 20, 1991. p. 62. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Lo Nuestro – Historia" (in Spanish). Univision. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Fiesta , ha puesto de vuelta y media a nuestro país más que la disparada del dólar". Oiga (in Spanish): 71. 1992. Formada en 1971 en San Pedro de Sula , la banda se ha presentado en Ica , Cusco
  13. ↑ "Cover Story: Banda Blanca" (PDF). Cashbox . Vol. LIV, no. 38. May 4, 1991. p. 1.
  14. ↑ "Gente". La Opinión (in Spanish). January 15, 1992. p. 14.
  15. ↑ "Gente: No logra acuerdo". La Opinión (in Spanish). November 19, 1991. p. 14.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Sabournin, Tony (April 6, 1991). "Cocinando" (PDF). Cashbox . pp. 7, 20.
  17. 1 2 "Segunda punta..." La Opinión (in Spanish). October 13, 1994. p. 14.
  18. ↑ Rice, John (December 25, 1991). "Belize going wild over punta rock, a dance with African roots". The Daily Gazette . p. 17.
  19. ↑ Santana, Adalberto (1999). Honduras-México: una relación horizontal. Ediciones Subirana. p. 230. En lo que se refiere a la productos del conjunto musical hondureño Banda Blanca , ese conjunto logró notables éxitos comerciales al impulsar en México en los años noventa la introducción de novedosos ritmos no conocidos
  20. ↑ "Watanegui consupu: qué significa realmente el estribillo de Sopa de Caracol, el éxito musical de Honduras que dio la vuelta al mundo" (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. May 24, 2018.
  21. ↑ Puch, Milthon (November 24, 2021). "Sopa de Caracol: Este es el significado real del éxito musical de los 90". El Heraldo de Mexico (in Spanish).
  22. ↑ Treviño, Joseph (December 19, 1995). "Sounds Inc. es el verdadero creador de la 'Sopa de Caracol". La Opinión (in Spanish). p. 5.
  23. ↑ Gonzáles, Luis M. (April 4, 1991). "FM-98 da sus 'Aplausos' con garantía de que los ganadores actuarán en el show". La Opinión (in Spanish). p. 55. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Billboard Music Video Awards Nominees Announced" (PDF). Billboard. October 19, 1991. p. 64. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Lo Nuestro 1992" (PDF). Billboard . May 16, 1992. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Ana Gabriel leads nominees for Latin Music Awards" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 13. March 28, 1992. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  27. ↑ Banegas, Gustavo. "Honduras en busca de la Gaviota de Plata". El Heraldo (in Spanish).
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