Loca Pasión Bandleader Shares Vision Behind La Mafia Tribute Band

SAN ANGELO, TX — Joey “JMZ” Jimenez, bandleader of Loca Pasión, a tribute to La Mafia, recently shared the story behind the creation of the project during an interview with Bo Corona on Q99.5 FM, just days before the band headlines the Tejano radio station’s 12th Birthday Bash on September 27 at Angelo Civic Hall.

A lifelong La Mafia fan, Jimenez said the tribute idea sparked in December 2023 while he and his wife — also a devoted La Mafia follower — were baking Christmas cookies and listening to the legendary group’s classics. “We must have heard about eight or nine songs in a row that I was like, oh, my God, these are jams,” Jimenez explained. “But I thought to myself, man, they don’t play none of these songs. That’s when I blurted it out: I should start a La Mafia tribute band.”

Jimenez, who has toured with A.B. Quintanilla y Los Kumbia Kings and Siggno, revealed he had been invited to join La Mafia on three different occasions but was unable to accept due to his touring commitments. “Trust me, it would have been my dream to be in La Mafia,” he said. “But at the time, it just didn’t make sense to make the transition.”

That dream instead transformed into Loca Pasión, born from Jimenez’s desire to honor the group’s golden era of the 1980s and 1990s — the sax-driven sound that made La Mafia an icon of Tejano music. After quickly enlisting bassist Dusty Reyes, another die-hard fan, Jimenez sought the blessing of La Mafia’s own Armando Lichtenberger Jr. “I wanted to move forward with their blessing,” Jimenez said. “Mando told me he knew I would give it the integrity and the drive it deserves.”

Originally, Jimenez planned to name the band Los Mafiosos, in homage to La Mafia’s loyal fan base. But with Lichtenberger’s advice, the name shifted to Loca Pasión, inspired by the group’s hit “Mi Loca Pasión.”

The band officially announced its formation on January 1, 2025, after spending all of 2024 rehearsing and dissecting every detail of La Mafia’s sound. “What I think is connecting with the fans is the authenticity of the sound,” Jimenez said. “There’s only one La Mafia, and there will never be another. But when we go on stage, we’re going to take you back to that golden era of what made everybody love La Mafia from the get-go.”

Loca Pasión will headline Q99.5 FM’s 12th Birthday Bash alongside Grupo Proyecto and Ma$$oro. Jimenez promised an unforgettable night for fans. “We’re going to be playing all of those amazing, timeless, classic ’80s and ’90s Tejano songs that everybody fell in love with from La Mafia. Get ready to dance the night away. San Angelo, Texas, get ready for the biggest birthday bash to hit — Loca Pasión, a tribute to La Mafia.”

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