La Auténtica Banda LL
La Auténtica Banda LL is a banda sinaloense ensemble formed on December 26, 2015, in the municipality of Lolotique, Department of San Miguel, in El Salvador. Known for hits such as “Malditas Redes” and “Mientes Tan Bien,” the band have been hailed as pioneers of Mexican regional music in Central America, winning the love of audiences and critics who crowned them with the moniker, ‘La Que Mejor Suena.”
La Auténtica Banda LL is the brainchild of influential trumpet player Bladimir Copland, a key figure of El Salvador’s tropical music movement with numerous forays into salsa, merengue and more. On one fateful day, Copland was hired to perform a romantic, banda sinaloense inspired serenade that was later unexpectedly canceled, but planted the seeds of a new musical adventure. Copland then reached out to his cousin Francisco Valle so they could develop the project together. Today, the group is comprised of 17 musicians; 9 of them cousins, uncles and more of the founders’ family members, and rounded out by friends and colleagues from their hometown of Lolotique. This particular municipality is known in El Salvador as the land of musicians thanks to the efforts of Father Ismael Antonio Vargas and the music school he founded several decades ago. The band’s distinctive LL initials pay loving homage to Lolotique, as well as the indigenous Lenca community of the region.
The band made their stage debut at Lolotique’s county fair, quickly gaining national renown and subsequently opening shows for legends of Mexican regional music like Los Recoditos and La Trakalosa de Monterrey. The group have taken their energetic live shows to every radio station, television show and stage in El Salvador, paving the way for tours into neighboring countries like Guatemala and Honduras where banda sinaloense enjoys similar fanfare. In 2018, La Auténtica Banda LL traveled to the United States for the first time, performing at Festival Consuma, in Los Angeles, California, and connecting with the nation’s vast Central American diaspora.
Despite the many challenges working musicians have faced throughout the Covi-19 pandemic, La Auténtica Banda LL have managed to remain busy, writing and recording new songs destined for their third studio album. In the coming months the band will be unveil a brand new corrido alongside Mexican singer-songwriter Alex Rivera, and an explosive corrido alterado with Los Pikadientes de Caborca. They are also preparing the release of their next single, “Vuelve,” which was written by popular composer Fabián Pacheco. This latest LP comes on the heels of Malditas Redes (2019) and ¿A Quién Culpamos? (2020), which included a powerful cover of Los Tigres del Norte classic “Tres Veces Mojado,” a striking crossover with Oaxacan ensemble Tierra Mojada, and even received a special award from legendary Sinaloan music organization Galardón Grupero.