Germán Lizárraga

After decades playing and later leading one the of top-selling Mexican numbers, Germán Lizárraga brought back the eclectic "sinaolense" style of the legendary Banda el Recodo founded in 1951 by his father Cruz Lizárraga to a new generation of followers. The talented clarinet player formed his own 18-piece ensemble, called Banda Estrellas de Sinaloa (named after the northern Mexican state), and recorded a self-titled album featuring the hit single "Estoy Sufriendo." The 13-track disc debuted at number 16 on Billboard's Latin albums chart in August 2002. ~ Drago Bonacich