Panda (commonly stylized as PXNDX) was a Mexican
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band formed in
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
,
Nuevo León
Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...
in 1996 as part of the musical movement known as
Avanzada Regia. The last line-up consisted in singer José Madero, drummer Jorge Vásquez, lead guitarist/Backup vocals Arturo Arredondo and bassist Ricardo Treviño.
Founded by singer/guitarist José Madero, guitarist Jorge "Ongi" Garza, bass guitarist Ricardo Treviño and drummer David Castillo whom in 1997 Vásquez replaced. The band went to produce various demo recordings and later landed a deal with independent label Movic Records the following year. The band ended receiving local attention in 2000 with debut and second studio albums ''
Arroz Con Leche'' and ''
La Revancha Del Príncipe Charro
''La Revancha Del Príncipe Charro'' is the second studio album by Mexican rock band Panda, released on 11 February 2002 through Movic Records.
The band found moderate mainstream success, and was later certified platinum in Mexico with reported ...
'' (2002). The next year, they were the opening act for American rock band
Blink-182
Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...
during their brief tour in Mexico. This prompted Madero and co., at the time doing odd jobs, to drop out and continue their music career. By 2004, their
major-label debut translated with success in follow-up ''
Para Ti Con Desprecio
''Para Ti Con Desprecio'' (Spanish: ''For You, With Disregard'') is the third studio album by Mexican rock band Panda, released on 11 May 2005 through Movic and Warner Records, marking their major-label debut.
Produced by Adrian Treviño, the ...
'' (2005). It reached gold and platinum status, with album sales over 200,000. The band would become the target of massive backlash over plagiarism reports that had caused poor criticism and damage to their reputation and image for years to come.
Garza departed from the group while recording para ti con desprecio, and Súper Azfalto guitarist
Arturo Arredondo would then replace him. Their fourth effort, highly acclaimed ''
Amantes Sunt Amentes
''Amantes Sunt Amentes'' (Latin for ''Lovers Are Lunatics'') is the fourth studio album by Mexican rock band Panda, released on 2 October 2006, through Warner Bros. and Movic Records. To promote the album, three singles were released. The first ...
'' (2006) became the band's highest-selling with over 250,000 albums sold, gained gold and double platinum status as well, while achieving international success with ''
Poetics
Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry.
History
The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...
'' (2009), ''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...
'' (2012) and ''Sangre Fría'' (2013).
In early 2016, it was announced its members would go on separate ways, considering a brief break from recording and/or touring, and the band has been on a
temporal hiatus since. Some sources determined that the group had finally broke up afterwards, but Treviño have replied saying "I think people get tired of the same thing; a new album is announced with four singles to promote it, and then going out on tour and then another album. Also, this break serves us to fans missing us on stage." Madero pursued a solo career, while the three resting members formed a new band by the name of ''Desierto Drive'' in 2018.
Background
Formation (1996-1999)
The band started playing covers but they realized they were good at writing their own material, so they started writing songs about friends, parties and love. Those songs were placed on a
demo tape
A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...
, ''Demo 1997'', and distributed to independent labels. Soon after that, After all that their personal friend and independent producer Mario @maracas_records_intl (MarakaZ) Huerta acting as A&R, caught the attention of an independent label, Movic Records, and signed a record deal (by Kiko Lobo).
History
''Debut, second studio albums'' and moderate success (2000-2002)
Panda's debut studio album, ''
Arroz con leche'' was released on September 2, 2000, and drew little attention by people and critics, reportedly selling over 50,000 copies. Their second follow-up, ''
La Revancha Del Príncipe Charro
''La Revancha Del Príncipe Charro'' is the second studio album by Mexican rock band Panda, released on 11 February 2002 through Movic Records.
The band found moderate mainstream success, and was later certified platinum in Mexico with reported ...
'', was released February 3, 2002. It sold well, gaining moderate success and reached platinum in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. The album also contained a cover from
Joan Sebastian
José Manuel Figueroa Figueroa (April 8, 1951 – July 13, 2015), known professionally as Joan Sebastian (), was a Mexican singer-songwriter. He composed more than 1,000 songs, including compositions for artists such as Bronco, Vicente Fernánd ...
and
Alberto Vazquez (singer)
Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic ''Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Albertin ...
's duet song, "Maracas".
The band toured in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
to promote their album. At the end of the tour, they went into the studio to record a third effort. Jorge Garza left the band after the group finished the material and was replaced by another member from Super Azfalto, this time guitarist
rturo Arredondo
''Para Ti Con Desprecio'', plagiarism claims, fan backlash and ''Amantes Sunt Amentes'' (2005-2006)
![808791336 l](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/808791336_l.jpg)
''
Para Ti Con Desprecio
''Para Ti Con Desprecio'' (Spanish: ''For You, With Disregard'') is the third studio album by Mexican rock band Panda, released on 11 May 2005 through Movic and Warner Records, marking their major-label debut.
Produced by Adrian Treviño, the ...
'' was released on May 11, 2005. The record solidified a change in tone, shifting from their previous sanitized, humorous
pop punk
Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...
sound for a more
darker, matured aesthetic elements. It is their most popular album to date in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, although it made them lose fans, now called Anti-Pandas, over
plagiarism
Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
accusations that derived in (supposedly) stealing lyrics and guitar riffs from groups such as
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mi ...
,
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
,
Green Day
Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...
, and
Smashing Pumpkins
Smash may refer to:
People
* Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler
* Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above.
* DJ Smash, DJ and music producer
Art, ...
. The singles "", "Cuando no es como debiera ser", and "Disculpa los malos pensamientos" topped
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's
Los 10+ Pedidos
''Los 10+ Pedidos'' (Pronounced as ''Los Diez Mas Pedidos'' English_(language).html" "title="/nowiki>English (language)">English: ''The 10 Most Requested'']) is a television show broadcast on MTV in Latin America. It has the same concept as the U ...
fora total of 39 weeks. "" was also the most voted video on MTV in 2006. That same year, the band collaborated in the soundtrack of "
Skimo
''Skimo'' is a comedy sitcom made in Mexico. It is produced by Nickelodeon Latin America and Macias Group International. The show first aired on 15 May 2006, and ran at 8:00 pm for the first two seasons. In the third season of the show, it was ...
", a Mexican sitcom from
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
, with the song "Si esto fuese realidad".
At the end of the year, the band released ''Amantes Sunt Amentes'', their fourth album, which reached the top of the Mexican charts within weeks and was certified platinum. To date, the album has sold approximately 200,000 copies, and was close to
Maná
Maná () is a Mexican pop rock band. The band is considered one of the best-selling Latin music artists and the most successful Latin American band of all time with over 40 million records sold worldwide. The group's current lineup consists o ...
first album ''
Falta Amor''.
During this time the band released their second single, "Los Malaventurados no Lloran". The music video has received heavy rotation in
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
.
In February 2007, the band collaborated in the album ''Tributo al más grande'', a tribute album for Mexican
norteña band
Bronco
A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock.
The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...
. The band recorded the song "Oro" with a new rock style. The singer José Madero, accompanied Guadalupe Esparza and Luis Cortes in the song "Amigo Bronco" and led to a great upset.
In mid July, the band released a third single: "Procedimientos Para Llegar A Un Común Acuerdo". Because of the extensive success of the band's previous single, the song was sent to radio stations in all of
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
at the same time. "Procedimientos" quickly debuted in some of the important Latin charts, ultimately reaching the top 10 in many countries.
On November 30, 2007, Panda released "Sinfonía Soledad", their first live album that contains a concert on
Auditorio Nacional in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. It contains their main songs and two new songs dedicated to their fans.
The band was nominated in
Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2006
The annual Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2006 took place on October 19, 2006 in Mexico City at Palacio de los Deportes for the first time.
They were the first MTV awards celebrated in Latin America and the ceremony returned in style after last year ...
, winning the categories Best Group or Duet, Best Alternative Artist, and Breakthrough Artist. The band performed "Narcicista Por Excelencia" during the show. In
Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2007
The annual Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2007 took place on 18 October 2007 in Mexico City at the Palacio de los Deportes for the second time in a row.
On 25 July 2007 the local government announced they will invest 10 million pesos on the show's ...
, the band was nominated for three categories, but only won Best Alternative Artist.
Controversy
In 2005, the Mexican magazine ''R & R'' published an article stating that several Panda songs, mainly from the album ''
Para Ti Con Desprecio
''Para Ti Con Desprecio'' (Spanish: ''For You, With Disregard'') is the third studio album by Mexican rock band Panda, released on 11 May 2005 through Movic and Warner Records, marking their major-label debut.
Produced by Adrian Treviño, the ...
'', were similar to songs from other bands of similar genres (some lyrics were virtually translations), such as:
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mi ...
,
Green Day
Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...
,
MxPx
MxPx () is an American pop punk band from Bremerton, Washington, founded in 1992 as Magnified Plaid. As of 2016, current members include Mike Herrera on lead vocals and bass guitar, Yuri Ruley on drums and percussion, Tom Wisniewski on lead gui ...
,
Blink 182
Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...
,
Sum 41
Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCas ...
, and
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
.
After the scandal, reporters have often mentioned this to the band when they are interviewed. In the interview published on February 31, 2006, on ''Versus'', a T.V. show from ''Telehit'', the band members appeared defensive when asked about the plagiarism, and responded in contradictory ways. Kross, drummer for the band stated: "We didn't steal, it was coincidentally, I don't know... It was not done purposely, it was not made with any malicious intent, so I don't know, the subconscious betrays you ...".
With the release of their fourth album ''
Amantes Sunt Amentes
''Amantes Sunt Amentes'' (Latin for ''Lovers Are Lunatics'') is the fourth studio album by Mexican rock band Panda, released on 2 October 2006, through Warner Bros. and Movic Records. To promote the album, three singles were released. The first ...
'' and the growth in popularity of the band on MTV in other countries, they preferred to change the subject when asked about plagiarism. Bassist Ricardo Treviño said: "There are people who say: ''You either love or hate Pxndx''. I think that those who love us are the majority, so why would we argue about these things?". The group acknowledged that all the bad publicity was publicity in the end in their song "¡Ah Pero Cómo Vendo Cassettes!", that roughly translates to "oh, but I still sell lots of records".
The accusations of plagiarism caused many people to reject Panda. These groups call themselves ''Anti Pandas'', and have expressed their position through different websites (
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
,
MySpace and
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
), as well as festivals where Panda plays. The ''Anti Pandas'' say that the list of plagiarism of Panda stands at more than 35 songs.
Panda has been booed in different festivals, such as the 2007 edition of Rock'N'Exa, where the public threw bottles, trash, and other things at them while they played.
The same thing happened in 2008 at the
Vive Latino
Vive Latino - Festival Iberoamericano de Cultura Musical is an annual music festival held in Mexico City. It is one of the most important music festivals in Mexico, featuring a great variety of groups of many genres.
The event takes place in Foro ...
,
[Vive Latin]
Chronicles VL08: Scenario Verde. Part III
, 2008 and the Third International Rock Festival in Rio, although they have an outgrowing fan movement in major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, not to mention most of Latin America and throughout the world.
Members
Closing members
*José Madero (''Pepe'') - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, Moog synthesizer, piano, keyboards (since 1996)
*Arturo Arredondo - lead guitar, vocals (since 2004)
*Ricardo Treviño - bass guitar, backing vocals (since 1996)
*Jorge Vázquez (''Kross'') - drums, percussion (since 1997)
Former members
*David Castillo (''Chunky'') - drums, percussion (1996)
*Jorge Garza (''Ongi'') - lead guitar, vocals (1996–2004)
Touring members
*Fernando Salinas - rhythm guitar (2005-2010)
*Marcelo Treviño - piano, keyboards, Moog synthesizer, vocals (2005–2012)
*José Hernández - lead guitar (2004)
*Rodrigo "Bucho" Montfort - keyboards, piano, Moog synthesizer, vocal (2012-2013)
Discography
![Panda poster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Panda_poster.JPG)
* ''
Arroz Con Leche'' (2000)
* ''
La Revancha Del Príncipe Charro
''La Revancha Del Príncipe Charro'' is the second studio album by Mexican rock band Panda, released on 11 February 2002 through Movic Records.
The band found moderate mainstream success, and was later certified platinum in Mexico with reported ...
'' (2002)
* ''
Para ti con desprecio
''Para Ti Con Desprecio'' (Spanish: ''For You, With Disregard'') is the third studio album by Mexican rock band Panda, released on 11 May 2005 through Movic and Warner Records, marking their major-label debut.
Produced by Adrian Treviño, the ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Amantes Sunt Amentes
''Amantes Sunt Amentes'' (Latin for ''Lovers Are Lunatics'') is the fourth studio album by Mexican rock band Panda, released on 2 October 2006, through Warner Bros. and Movic Records. To promote the album, three singles were released. The first ...
'' (2006)
* ''
Poetics
Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry.
History
The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...
'' (2009)
* ''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...
'' (2012)
* ''Sangre Fría'' (2013)
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panda (Band)
Pop punk groups
Mexican rock music groups
Musical groups from Monterrey
Mexican alternative rock groups
Rock en Español music groups
Capitol Latin artists
People involved in plagiarism controversies
MTV Europe Music Award winners