Leopoldo Jorge Méndez Alcayaga (born 21 July 1975 in Valparaíso) is a Chilean-Swedish DJ, singer and producer, known by his stage name Méndez, formerly DJ Méndez. He won the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica for ''Best Southwest New Artist''.

Early life

His father was a political dissident, who left Chile after the Chilean regime began monitoring him. In 1986, Méndez, his two brothers and mother left for Sweden; they lived at various places before settling down in the suburb of

Farsta Farsta is a district in the borough with the same name in southern Stockholm. Farsta is located about eight kilometers south of Stockholm city. The district neighbours to Hökarängen, Sköndal, Larsboda, Farsta Strand and Fagersjö. It is a ...

in Stockholm. He went to school in the Larsbodaskolan, in Farsta Strand, joined a gang and was a small-time criminal, though he always had the goal of making it in showbusiness. After several run-ins with the police, he focused on beginning his career.

Career

After joining a counseling institution called Fasta and meeting sound engineer Jordi Fuste, DJ Méndez started his career as a Latin rapper, making his live debut in a local festival. Mixing hip-hop and traditional Latin American rhythms, he was able to get a record deal, soon climbing charts in Sweden,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

, and even Russia with his first hit "Chiki-Chiki", featured in his debut album ''Latino for Life''. He had met producer Robert Wåtz while working at

Toys R Us A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include Toy block, toy blocks, Board game, board games, and Doll, dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed sp ...

.Jag vill inte vara någon bad boy , Nöjesbladet , Aftonbladet
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Latin American music The music of Latin America refers to music originating from Latin America, namely the Romance language, Romance-speaking regions of the Americas south of the United States. Latin American music also incorporates African music from enslaved Afric ...

in Europe was one factor in the acceptance of his music. Some of his songs like "Estocolmo" feature the attitude and opinion of

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-et ...

immigrants to

Scandinavian countries Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

. His songs are in

Chilean Spanish Chilean Spanish ( es, español chileno) is any of several varieties of the Spanish language spoken in most of Chile. Chilean Spanish dialects have distinctive pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and slang usages that differ from those of Stand ...

with a mixture of English, produced in conjunction with DJ Rob'n'Raz, have melodic choruses by singers such as Emmanuel Contreras, Martin Thors, Pablo Javier Gonzalez Cepeda (better known as Yei) who were both in their studio recordings and in live performances. He is one of the best representatives of Chilean

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and hip-hop and one of the Chilean artists with greater international influence. He won an MTV Video Music Award Latinoamérica and an

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...

. He was runner-up in the Melodifestivalen Sweden 2002, he won a Golden Gull at the

Festival of Viña del Mar A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival con ...

, has taken part in Son Latino Festivals in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Mo ...

, Spain with 350,000 people attending, has performed at a concert for more than 250,000 people in the Red Square of Moscow, Russia, and sung for more than 100,000 people at the Pampilla Festival in

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port List of cities in Chile, city, Communes of Chile, commune and Capital city, capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Seren ...

. In March 2001 he visited his native country, carrying out a successful promotional tour. In 2009, Méndez released the single "Lady" in October and the album "210" in December. In 2012, he released "Playing with fire" a Top 40 single en Chile. He sang the anthem for the 2012 Teletón. In 2013, he sang the main theme of Chilean soap opera "Dos por uno", a song called "Me estoy volviendo loco". He was also a judge in TV impersonators show "Tu cara me suena". That year he starred in TV reality show "Los Méndez", about his family life. In 2013, he performed at Chilean festivals Viva Dichato and Festival de Antofagasta. In 2015 he sang the official songs for the two football tournaments held that year in Chile, the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

and the

2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the sixteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, held in Chile from 17 October to 8 November 2015. Host selection The following four countries bid to host the tournament: * * * * Venues Along with proposing ...

. In January 2017 he took part in reality show "Doble tentación" with his partner Marcela Duque. He currently manages his own label, Macabro Records, where he supports young emerging musicians, and together with his brother, DJ eMe, manages the largest DJ school in Scandinavia, Macabro DJ School. He participated in

Let's Dance 2019 Let's Dance 2019 was the fourteenth season of the Swedish celebrity dancing show Let's Dance. The season premiered on 22 March 2019, and is broadcast on TV4. Presenters were Tilde de Paula Eby and David Hellenius. Contestants Scoring ch ...

, which was broadcast on TV4. In 2020, he participated in

Melodifestivalen 2020 Melodifestivalen 2020 was the 60th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen. The competition was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 1 February and 7 March 2020. Retrieved 3 Septem ...

, collaborating with

Alvaro Estrella Álvaro Raúl Estrella Zapata (born 14 August 1980) is a Swedish singer and dancer with Chilean origin who has participated four times in Melodifestivalen (2014, 2020, 2021 and 2022), the selection process for picking the Swedish entry to the Eu ...

and entering the song Vamos Amigos. They qualified to the final, and finished 11th out of 12 entries on 7 March 2020.

Personal life

Méndez met his former wife Ninoska Espinoza, also Chilean-born, as a teenager. Together they have three children. He is

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, and has a tattoo of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, among others. Later in life he met Marcela Duque and together they have one child, he also has 2 other children with another woman. In total, Méndez has six children. In 2016, he ran for mayor of Valparaiso as an independent candidate representing the New Majority coalition, but did not win the November election.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Dj 1975 births Living people 21st-century Chilean male singers Chilean pop singers Chilean singer-songwriters Chilean DJs Hip hop singers Musicians from Valparaíso Singers from Valparaíso Chilean expatriates in Sweden Swedish rappers Spanish-language singers of Sweden Swedish people of Chilean descent