2 Mexican stars work in harmony despite contrasts – Sebastian and Aguilar blend true grit, slick showmanship

“Joan Sebastian and Pepe Aguilar, two of Mexico’s favorite sons, hail from two different Latin music worlds. So they initially seemed like an odd fit on a bill that paired them Sunday night at the Allstate Arena.

Born in Juliantla, Guerrero, in the early ’50s, Sebastian left his seminary studies at age 17, kicked around in a series of odd jobs and eventually landed in Chicago as a car salesman. In the late ’70s, he broke into the music industry by performing for Hispanic crowds in the Southwest. Specializing in a common man’s tales of self-sacrifice and redemption, sung in banda, norteno and ranchera styles, Sebastian has become one of Latin music’s leading stars and producers.

Pepe Aguilar, however, belongs to a Latin music dynasty. Born in Texas during the ’70s to legends Flor Silvestre and Antonio Aguilar — the Mexican equivalent of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans — he grew up in the state of Zacatecas but embraced American pop music from an early age.”

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