Jose Hernandez, bandleader of the internationally recognized group Mariachi Sol de Mexico, was born in 1958 in Mexicali, Mexico. Hernandez came from a musical family and he and his five brothers were immersed in the traditional folk music of the region, including mariachi. Hernandez began performing publicly with his brothers as early as the age of three. He was musically active throughout his young adulthood, becoming a bandleader in 1981 with the establishment of his own group, Mariachi Sol de Mexico. Since the 1960s, Hernandez and Sol de Mexico have become the leading ambassadors of mariachi, classical, world, and regional Mexican music with listeners around the world. Filling venues like the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City and the Hollywood Bowl alongside artists such as José Feliciano, Bryan Adams, and Rocio Dúrcal, Mariachi Sol de Mexico have become the genre's most visible performers. Hernandez earned a reputation as a world-class collaborator through his work with artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Lola Beltrán, and Selena, to name a few. Outside of their own genre, Mariachi Sol de Mexico have created inroads to classical music as the only mariachi group to tour those circuits. Toward those ends, Hernandez created the Mariachi Sol de Mexico Symphony Orchestra in the early '90s, going on to perform in the nation's most important venues. Hernandez has become one of mariachi music's most visible proponents, directing L.A.'s Viva Mariachi Festival and forming the Mariachi Heritage Society, an organization seeking to aid youth in connecting with their musical and cultural traditions. Mariachi Sol de Mexico's work can be heard on soundtracks from films like Sea Biscuit, Don Juan de Marco, and American Me. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi