Aliados De La Sierra

Only two years in the game, Aliados De La Sierra have enjoyed a quick rise to the top of the duranguense scene. But their beef with fellow Chicago natives Alacranes Musical has left many of their fans divided.

In early 2007, ex-Alacranes vocalist Sergio "Hershey" Federico and drummer Adan Cervantes formed Aliados along with keyboardist Eduardo Navar of Brazeros Musical. The band was later rounded out by vocalist Jose Luis Muro, multi-instrumentalist Roberto Tello, saxophonist Pedro Celis and Juan Alfredo Rosas on tambora. The "splinter" group released its debut Con Los Ojos Cerrados and scored instant hits with covers of two love songs, Te Amo and the album's title track, originally made popular by pop-roquera Gloria Trevi.

But the band soon became fodder for gossip TV when Federico and Navar got into a fistfight with four members of Alacranes Musical at a Los Angeles hotel – and in the middle of an industry gathering. Head Alacrán Memo Ibarra credits the scuffle with helping the former bandmates patch up: "We fixed things, we sat down and talked about it... everything turned out OK."

Curiously, only two months after dropping their debut, Aliados released their Greatest Hits – a live album recorded in Chicago. After touring the U.S. and México, the group are currently working on their sophomore studio release.