Cornelio Vega y su Dinastia

Cornelio Vega, Jr. is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and the frontman of his father’s Mexican Regional group Cornelio Vega y Su Dinastia. The youngster became an internet music sensation during his teens. His and the band’s brand of norteño music embodies everything from mariachis and romanticas to corridos and cumbias. Cornelio Vega, Sr. taught his son to play accordion, guitar, drums, and bass at an early age. In 2014, under his dad’s tutelage, he ventured into the world of professional music as second vocalist with Cornelio Vega y Su Dinastia. Initially, the group’s repertoire consisted of material written by Vega, Sr. (the brother of fellow musicians Chuy, Freddy, and the late Sergio "El Shaka" Vega). But young Cornelio began to stand out on his own with his renditions of cumbias and corridos. He also began his own YouTube channel, singing his own songs accompanied only by his guitar playing. Feedback was positive and his early videos racked up tens to hundreds of thousands of views on their own. In 2015, he composed the track “Adicto a Ti” and presented it to his father, who rearranged it and recorded it. The track became a radio hit and shifted the focus of the band: Vega, Jr. became the lead vocalist for Dinastia. Early the next year, he was a runaway favorite on the reality television talent show Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento. Some months later, he posted a video for the original song “El Primero.” Before the year was out, it had racked up over ten million views and earned him a record deal with Gerencia 360. Since “El Primero,” Vega, Jr.’s collected videos have been viewed over 70 million times. In late 2017, Cornelio Vega y Su Dinastia issued their debut album Problema. ~ Thom Jurek