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Singer Julion Alvarez poses for a photo during a press conference for the new production 'De Hoy En Adelante, Que Te Vaya Bien' at Hotel Presidente Intercontinental on November 24, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Jaime Nogales/Medios y Media/Getty Images)
The King of the Box Office will make his return to the United States on April 19 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, after an enforced absence from the country lasting almost eight years.
Julión Álvarez rose to prominence in the first decade of this century as a player of Norteño-Banda, a type of country music popular in Northern and Central Mexico. By the early 2010s, he was omnipresent in Mexico, and making inroads to the U.S. market.
Álvarez and his band became the first Regional Mexican music act to book a stadium tour of the U.S. in 2016. It was a milestone for Domestic reception of the country’s music, until it was cut short by legal issues.
In 2017, Álvarez was accused of violating the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act by associating with Raul Flores Hernandez, the leader of a drug trafficking organization linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. As a result, he was banned from all commercial activity in the U.S. Not only was the tour canceled, Álvarez’s music was pulled from online platforms as well.
Álvarez categorically denied any connection to the smuggler. Still, he was unable to cross the border for five years.
That lasted until 2022, when Álvarez announced that he had been removed from the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals list. After that, his music returned to streaming platforms, and he was free to resume playing shows in the U.S.
In a press conference, he claimed that law enforcement had made the link to the cartel based on business ties which he had believed to be above board. “In 2013, I associated myself with a construction company that builds homes, but I had no idea that these people were being followed by the government.”
Then, last year, Álvarez’s album, “De Hoy en Adelante, Que Te Vaya Bien,” brought the singer his first Latin Grammy for best Banda album, after three prior nominations.
The show at SoFi Stadium will mark Álvarez’s first performance in the country since he was allowed to return. Pre-sale tickets will be available Nov. 14 via Ticketmaster, at 8 a.m. PT.
