Julian Torres is the first ranchera music artist to sign with Snoop Dogg’s label

Mariachi singer Julian Torres makes history by being the first Mexican ranchera artist to be signed to Snoop Dogg's Death Row Records label. 

In the past, Snoop Dogg has shown his love and appreciation for Mexican culture. In many instances, he has shared videos singing to Banda music on his social media. He has also released songs in spanish language with Banda MS and even Lupillo Rivera. Therefore, it is no surprise that he would sign a Mariachi band to his label.

Recently Torres has been featured on ESPN, Telemundo, KCAL, L.A Times, Spectrum, Univision Televisa 24/7, Visión Latina, Despierta América and many podcasts like True Hustle, Foocommunity, among some great radio coverage like Buena Vibra, La Vale, The Cruz show and many others. 

Since Torres was in the womb, his Mexican Parents from Jalisco and Zacatecas had instilled the love for Mexico’s music and traditions. As a child Torres lived in Hawthorne, Calif. and by the age of three, he was already singing to “La Mochila Azul.” Torres was destined to be a singer just like his father, music was in his DNA. 

Torres grew up listening to his father singing all of the traditional singers of the Mexican golden era, such as Vicente Fernandez, Antonio Aguilar, Pedro Infante, Javier Solis, Lola Beltrán and a lot of other women. He also looked up to his father as a singer. Torres has always had a wide range of music taste that includes mariachi, jazz, country, pop and even hip-hop. “I'm a huge fan of music, my playlist varies and it’s a little different,” he said.

When it comes to pop, he likes to listen to Chayanne, Luis Miguel, Ricardo Montaner and Rocio Durcal. Torres also said he grew up listening to a lot of oldies like the Chi-Lites and Heatwave. “I like to listen to many voices that I love just like Luciano Pavarotti and I do my best to try to imitate them,” Torres said.

As a kid Torres remembers one day working with his father, when he saw a group of marichi kids perform. It was then and there that he knew that’s what he wanted to be, a mariachi singer. He started his career by singing in community events, church carnivals, park festivals and city events. Torres would always wear his Charro suit when he would go to the events at Pico Rivera Sports Arena to watch the Charreria. 

Growing up, Torres had a mentor, Maestra Laura Sobrino who unfortunately passed away a couple of years ago. Torres said she was a big supporter of his. He said that she would always ask him when he was going to become a solo singer and she would always encourage him to try to pursue his dream as he got older. “When my mentor passed away that ignited me to pursue and return to my original love of singing solo,” he said.

Torres told CALÓ News that his soloist journey wasn’t easy and it took a lot of networking and patience. He first had to create a presence for himself at events, restaurants and even social media. Torres said he only used instagram for family and friends and that he initially started off with 12 followers. As of today Torres has 28.7k followers on instagram. He said that he eventually went viral on social platforms at a Dodger stadium game and at Kobe Bryant's memorial service where he sang outside the Staples Center.

Torres has traveled and performed in many prestigious venues both in the US and abroad, across many stages such as: Disneyland, Downtown Disney, Dodger Stadium, Sábado Gigante, Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, Fox Performing Arts Theater, Ford Amphitheater, Teatro Metropolitan, CDMX and for our military troops overseas in Okinawa, Japan. 

One of his fondest memories as a kid was winning a raffle by the WIC program, which is for women, infants and children. He and his family had won the opportunity to throw the first pitch at a Dodgers game. “At 6 years-old, I remember throwing the first pitch and looking back at my mother, and telling her ‘mom I’m going to sing here, I feel like I’m going to sing here one day mom.” And eventually that day came true and it became one of his proudest moments because he was able to to sing both the American and Mexican National Anthems in the presence of his parents at Dodger Stadium. Another highlight for Torres was performing for the 2022 MLB All Star and Celebrity Games. 

The singer said that his biggest support system has always been his parents, his wife and his fans. “All the people who listen to my music are very important to me and my journey. For all the people that smile and come up to me to take pictures those are my biggest support system too,” he said.

Torres also shared with CALÓ News that one of his biggest performances was singing in his parents' country at the Teatro Metropolitan in Ciudad De México. “This event showcased some of the best singers from Mexico and the United States. It was just an amazing experience,” he said. 

Another amazing experience for Torres was making history as the first mariachi act to get signed on a record label. “I sometimes can’t even believe it because Death Row Records is related to Snoop Dogg, it's related to Hip-Hop and Tupac. It’s also a label where we’ve heard the negative part of the label but it’s a very important historic label,” Torres said. “Being linked to Snoop Dogg is also amazing and getting to be the first mariachi was just out of luck.”

During a presentation on ¡Despierta América! Snoop Dogg shared why he decided to sign Torres and Mariachi Cenzontle to be part of his company. According to Snoop Dogg, he “loves Hispanic music,” and it was an easy decision to do business with Torres. 

Fredwreck was the one who discovered Torres  singing “Amor Eterno” outside the Staple Center during a tribute to Kobe Bryant and two years later he offered to record him via Instagram. Farid Karam Nassar, better known by his stage name Fredwreck, is a Grammy Award -winning American hip hop recording artist, DJ and record producer. 

Torres' new production titled “Julián Torres y Mariachi Cenzontle” is a 6-song EP that is now available on all digital platforms and was also produced by Fredwreck who has worked with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Britney Spears and many more. Next month, Snoop’s label will be releasing a limited edition vinyl of Torres’ EP and will be available at Snoop Dog’s store.