In 2023, Carin Leon won the 2022 Latin Grammy for the best regional Mexican song for the track Como lo Hice Yo. But you’ll break his heart if you put a lid on his music and call it regional Mexican.
Regional Mexican is the umbrella term that covers the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Its subgenres include banda, country en Espanol, grupero, duranguense, mariachi, New Mexico music, norteno, tierra caliente, and Tejano.
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Carin Leon: Profile Summary
| Real Name | Oscar Armando Diaz de Leon |
| Stage Name | Carin Leon |
| Country of Origin | Mexico |
| Famous As | Musician, Producer |
| Genre | Regional Mexican |
| Age | 34 |
| Birthday | July 26th, 1989 |
| Birth Place | Hermosillo, Mexico |
| Birth Sign | Leo |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Ethnicity | Mixed |
| Height | 5ft 10in |
| Eye Colour | Dark Brown |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Net Worth | $3million (estimated) |
Irked by this tag, Carin Leon had to launch a campaign on Instagram. This was after he spotted a T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase “F— Regional”— as in, f—regional Mexican music—while performing at the 20th annual Premios Juventud in Puerto Rico in 2023.
“Calling it ‘regional Mexican’ is so limiting,” he said.
“And it’s not just the title that’s limiting, but also the mentality that we are closed off to mingling with any other kind of music. We can collaborate with any artist, and we can do it well.
“What we know as regional Mexican music has a big voice, and I think it’s time to tell the world what we’re made of and compare ourselves to anyone else we see. The genre will continue to grow, and as a Mexican, I’m proud to carry that flag in our music.
“Our music is for all kinds of people of all social classes now. We’re not just breaking ground in Mexico anymore. We’re also talking Latin America and now, the world.”
Music is a universal language. Well, the evidence seems to suggest that it is. A Harvard Law study showed that people in Afghanistan or Zimbabwe could understand the emotional and melodic cues in music without knowing the lyrics.
But don’t break his heart by labelling his music.
And Carin Leon’s ability to connect with his audience through his lyrics is truly remarkable. With each song, the Mexican weaves stories that resonate with listeners. His powerful voice, which carries emotions that range from joy and longing to love and heartbreak, characterises his music.
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Who is Carin Leon?
Oscar Armando de Leon Diaz La Huez was born on July 26th, 1989, in Hermosillo, a city in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. Carin, a short form of Oscarin, is a nickname he’s had since childhood. He was born into a family of amateur musicians. However, he’s the only member of his clan to become a professional.
The Mexican-American singer and songwriter is known for his fusion of Latin pop and R&B. His music is influenced by his Mexican heritage and artists like Juan Gabriel, Jose Jose, and R. Kelly.
He has released several successful albums, including his debut album, Mi Nuevo Corazon, and his most recent album, Todo Para Ti. He has also collaborated with a lot of musicians, including Luis Coronel, Camila, and Natti Natasha.
Carin Leon began playing the guitar at age 15, and a year later, he formed his first band with schoolmates. In 2010, he pursued a career in music. He became a founding member, singer, and songwriter of Grupo Arranke, a band popular in Mexico and the United States.
After a seven-year run as frontman of the band, he left in 2018 to release his solo debut, Desvelada con Banda y Mariachi. But to help launch his solo career, he signed to Tamarindo Records, an independent record label owned by Javier “El Tamarindo” González.
He has released several hit songs, including Tú, Me La Aventé, and Borracho de Amor. The songs have helped him amass a large following of devoted fans.
Aside from his music career, Carin Leon has appeared in several TV shows and movies. He played a limited role in the popular Mexican TV series La Doña, which aired on Telemundo.
His talent, dedication, and hard work have earned him a well-deserved place among the top musicians in the regional Mexican music scene. His unique style and passionate performances continue to win over fans of all ages.
In the future, Carin Leon hopes to launch his own record label to sign and develop new talent, especially from his hometown of Hermosillo, Mexico.
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Carin Leon’s Musical Career
Carin Leon is a Mexican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He began his musical career in his hometown, playing in local bands, and later moved to Guadalajara to pursue his dreams.
In 2018, he gained national attention with his hit single Tú, a viral social media sensation. The following year, he released his career-defining track, El Malo. The album has the hit track Me La Avente, featuring a mix of Corrido and romantic ballads.
The collection received airplay across Mexico and the Southwestern United States because of its seamless meld of Mexican regional subgenres.
From polkas and bandas to mariachis, rancheras, and corrido (sometimes in the same song), Carin Leon’s hyper-traditional music, filled with strings, horns, accordions, acoustic guitars, bass, and snare drums, resonated not only with older fans.
The younger generation, who also preferred stylistic divisions not remotely connected to genre territoriality, was captivated, too.
Since then, Leon has become one of the rising stars in the regional Mexican music scene, collaborating with artists like Lenin Ramírez and Grupo Firme and releasing successful singles such as Borracho de Amor and Bandido.
Carin Leon may have jammed with Lenin Ramirez and others on stage. But if he could bring back a musician from the dead for a duet, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, whose songs are the basis of modern regional Mexican music, would be the chosen one.
“Because of the way that he wrote,” he said.
“It’s so simple but so real. I think he has some of the most natural and heartfelt compositions I’ve heard. They are songs that connect with any audience and that anyone can understand, but they have so much significance and content inside them.”
Carin Leon showed he, too, has a lot of content in him when, in January 2020, he released the 34-track digital collection Borrachera con Taka Takas. He followed it with the live Encerrados Perro Enfiestados in April. In May 2021, he released the full-length Inédito. The single Otra a Tu Salud anchored it.
In 2022, the live albums Pistiembre Todo el Año and Cura Local followed. He later released the live single El Rezado with Enigma Norteño. In May 2023, he released Colmillo de Leche, his fifth studio album.
The 18-tracker saw him collaborate with different musicians. He featured Camilo on Ni Me Debes Ni Te Debo, Pablo Alborán on Piedra Papel, and Angela Aguilar on Vete Yendo.
The album entered the Top Latin Album chart at number ten and peaked at number three. He was a guest performer on Kany Garcia’s Te Lo Agradezco in July. Two months later, he had a duet with Maluma on the single Segun Quien (Chisme).
Before you overthink it, Segun is not the Yoruba word that means Victory. Segun, with the Quien, is a Spanish adverb that means Depending on Who. While the word in brackets, Chisme, means Gossip!
July 2022 also saw his second album, Indispensable, hit the Latin Airplay chart at ten. It became number one in a week’s time. The collection got to number five on the Mexican Regional Albums list.
Google’s Year in Search List 2022 saw many Latinos in the U.S. curious about Carin Leon’s La Boda del Huitlacoche. “What is Huitlacoche” was among the top 10 most-searched terms that year.
According to Carin Leon, “huitlacoche” is a corn fungus. However, there’s also a bird called Cuitlacoche, which he attributes to his song.
“Basically, the story is that two birds get married: The Huitlacoche and the Urraca,” a representative of Carin Leon told Billboard.
La boda del Huitlacoche is a popular Mexican song by Los Broncos de Reynosa. It was recorded in 1998. Carin Leon dropped his playful version in December 2020. It took two years for the song to gain traction on social media, generating more than 250K video creations on TikTok.
“This song is well known in Culiacan, Sinaloa, and it’s more like regionalism,” Carin Leon said.
“Hence that not-so-polished live sound—we wanted to give it a more folkloric sound to remember our culture.”
In July 2022, the song hit the top 10 on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart. It got the Greatest Gainer honour, assisted by a 97 percent increase in audience impressions to 4.37 million. The song made its debut at No. 27 on Latin Airplay, becoming Carin Leon’s highest debut among seven chart entries.
With a unique sound that blends traditional corrido with modern pop and hip-hop influences, Carin Leon has established himself as a fresh and exciting voice in Mexican music.
Carin Leon is touring the U.S. to promote his latest album, Colmillo de Leche. The collection was entirely written and recorded with musicians from his birthplace in Hermosillo, Mexico.
He performed on Thursday, September 14th, 2023, at the Honda Centre in Anaheim before making his way to L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena on the 16th.
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Carin Leon’s Songs
Carin Leon can sing norteño and banda, but also soul and blues. One of his songs, Primera Cita, has an R&B quality that makes him stand above his contemporaries. Ask how he developed his vocal style is not out of place.
“I think of myself like a chef, in that I play with flavours of blues, soul, flamenco and obviously rock,” he said.
“I think rejecting genre labels happened a long time ago for me. I can find colours in any kind of music and take direction from there. Of course, I took after my father and grandfather, but undoubtedly, José Alfredo Jiménez, the greatest exporter of ranchera, played a big part.
“I have also been inspired by singers like Alejandro Sanz or the Cuban singer Silvio Rodríguez.”
Some of his popular menus, sorry, songs include:
Tú
Ajustando Cuentas
Me La Aventé
Tóxico
Baraja De Oro
Que Me Ibà a Decir
Súbete A Mi Moto
Tienes Razón
Solo Con Verte
El Gitano
Dime Cómo Quieres
Como La Primera Vez
Me Divierto
Tarde O Temprano
La Mejor De Todas.
Malo
Mi Niña Traviesa
Golpes De La Vida
Alguien Mejor Que Yo
El Rey Del Amor Prohibido.
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Carin Leon’s Net Worth
Carin Leon’s net worth is around $3 million. He has earned most of his income from his music career, including album sales, streaming royalties, and live performances. He has also earned money from brand endorsements and sponsorships.
While his net worth is not as high as some of his peers in the music industry, it is still quite impressive considering his relatively nascent career. With continued success, his net worth is likely to grow even further in the future.
Carin Leon’s Social media
Carin Leon is active on various social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. He has close to 4 million followers on Instagram. His fan page on Facebook has also gained over 2 million likes with over 8 million followers. With a mere 32k followers, it seems his fans are not too keen on Twitter or Elon Musk. Or both!
Carin Leon’s Awards
Carin Leon has won several awards in a career he started professionally in 2010. The crème de la crème is the Latin Grammy Award for Best Regional Mexican Song in 2022 for the song Como lo Hice Yo.
Some of his other awards and nominations are:
Billboard Latin Music Awards
2023 Nominee Billboard Latin Music Award
2023 Regional Mexican Artist of the Year
2023 Regional Mexican Song of the Year for Que Vuelvas
2022 Nominee Billboard Latin Music Award, Regional Mexican Artist of the Year
2022 Regional Mexican Song of the Year for El Toxico
2022 Winner Premio Lo Nuestro, Banda Song of the Year, Regional Mexican for El Toxico
2022 Nominee Premio Lo Nuestro, Artist of the Year – Regional Mexican (Artista Del Año – Regional Mexicano)
2022 Nominee Premios Juventud, Mejor Fusión Regional Mexicana for Como Lo Hice Yo
2022 Nominee Premios Juventud, Álbum Regional Mexicano del for Inédito
2022 Winner Premio ASCAP, Winning Songwriters & Publishers for El Tóxico
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Carin Leon’s Height
For a Mexican, Carin Leon is a tall man. Standing at a height of 5ft 10in, three inches above the average Mexican man, Carin Leon is indeed tall! This makes him an imposing figure on stage, and he can often command the attention of the audience with his presence alone.
His height also makes him stand out from other Latin pop artists, who are often shorter in stature. While his height may not be a defining feature of his music, it is still an interesting fact about him. Some fans even say that his height contributes to his stage presence and charisma.
Carin Leon’s Family
Carin Leon’s family is quite large and close-knit. He was born into a Mexican-American family and had many siblings and extended relatives. His parents, who are of Mexican descent, played a big role in shaping his love for music.
His mother, Anna Maria Leon, is a former professional dancer and singer, and his father, Carlos Leon, is a musician. His two younger brothers, Jordan and Jesse, are also musicians. Carin Leon’s family is a big part of his life, and they have been an enormous source of support and inspiration throughout his career.
Though he’s now based in the U.S., one album that always reminds him of Mexico is Tríptico (Vol. 3) from señor Silvio Rodríguez.
“It brings me a warm feeling of home,” he said.
“We were a family of few shoes, and the truth is that at this moment, thank God, life smiles on us differently, and we realize that happiness isn’t having money. Oftentimes, we were even happier when we didn’t have two nickels to rub together.”
That’s his extended family. Let’s talk about the nuclear.
Carin Leon didn’t feature in Toni Braxton’s hit track Unbreak My Heart, and he couldn’t mend fences with his wife, Alejandra Esquer. The couple married in December 2021. By February 2023, the rumour mill was in overdrive. The musician put a brake on it.
“I have been separated for a long time,” he said.
“But the truth is that my heart is super good. All the changes are for the better. We are happy with what is happening to us in our career.”
We can’t say if his two children are happy with what is happening to them.
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Carin Leon’s Age
Carin Leon is 34. He was born on July 26th, 1989, in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. This makes him one of the younger Latin pop artists in the industry. But he has already made a big impact on his music. He has often been praised for his maturity and depth, which is evident in his lyrics and songwriting.
Despite his relatively young age, he has already achieved outstanding success and seems poised for even greater things in the future. His fans are eager to see what he will accomplish as he continues to grow as a musician.
Carin Leon’s Concerts
Carin Leon has been performing live concerts since he was a teenager. He often tours around the world, playing shows in Mexico, the United States, South America, and Europe. He has also been a part of several big music festivals, including Coachella and Lollapalooza.
We know his high energy and engaging concerts, with a lot of crowd participation. We often see him singing, dancing, and interacting with the audience, making for an unforgettable experience. Many fans have described his concerts as “magical” and “transcendent”.
“When you make good music, no human power can prevent something from working,” he said.
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Conclusion
Carin Leon has significantly impacted Mexican music in terms of his popularity and influence on the genre. He has helped to popularize the regional Mexican genre, and his music has been credited with helping to shape the sound of modern Mexican pop music.
His songs often incorporate traditional Mexican instruments and rhythms. While also incorporating elements of modern pop, rock, and hip-hop. He has also collaborated with a lot of Mexican musicians, helping to bring more visibility to Mexican music. He has helped to introduce Mexican music to new audiences around the world.
But “What if”?
While asking, “Why”? can open our eyes to new opportunities. Asking “What if” can open new doors. Carin Leon, however, slammed the door when the question came up.
“Music took us by the hand in a very natural, very casual way, and it never let us go, so I can’t imagine doing something that isn’t music,” he said.
His fans can’t imagine that, too.
FAQs About Carin Leon
How did Carin Leon get famous?
Carin Leon became famous through his music and performances. He was born in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico in 1989. He was raised in a household where he was exposed to traditional Latin music from a young age.
What is Carin Leon’s real name?
Carin Leon’s real name is Oscar Armando de Leon Diaz La Huez. Carin is short for Oscarin, a nickname he’s had since childhood. His mother, who gave him the nickname “Carin”, said the name suited him because he was always very caring and kind.
How old is Leon Carin?
Carin Leon is 34. He was born on July 26, 1989, in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. He grew up in a close-knit family who instilled in him a strong sense of faith and spirituality. Carin Leon began performing and writing music at a young age and has been involved in the music industry for most of his life.
How much does Carin Leon charge for a concert?
The cost of a Carin Leon concert can vary depending on the venue, the location, and the size of the show. However, on average, a ticket to a Carin Leon concert can cost anywhere from $50 to $200.
It is worth noting that ticket prices may also vary depending on whether the concert is sold out or not and whether it is a seated or standing-room-only event. Tickets to Carin Leon’s shows are usually quite affordable, and his fans can often find tickets at a reasonable price.
