Espinoza Paz was born on 29 October 1981 in La Angostura, a small town in the north of the state of Sinaloa, Mexico. He was 11 years old when he wrote his first song, which was dedicated to a girl with whom he had a crush. By the time he was 13, he had already written 20 songs; however, it wasn’t until his father sent him money from the United States that he decided to buy his first guitar and teach himself to play it. In 1996, he emigrated to Sacramento, California, where his love for music grew while he earned a living washing tomatoes and picking oranges, olives and grapes in Dixon, California. Several months later, he decided to return to Mexico, where he suffered the hardest experience of his life: the passing of his mother, Mrs. Maria de la Paz Espinoza. From that point on, Paz embarked on what seemed like a never-ending journey to become a successful musician. He returned to the United States and worked as a gardener in Oregon for about a year. Tired of traveling, he then decided to concentrate on his career as a songwriter, and being convinced of his calling, he returned to Mexico once again. His "muse" was a friend from California, Daniel Sheree Kent. Their platonic relationship inspired many of his songs. For the next eight years, he knocked on doors and sang in regional bands, always looking for "the opportunity" as he poured his feelings and experiences into his songs.
Success
His big break came when he showed some of his creations to El Coyote—a popular Sinaloan banda singer—who recorded his songs "Besitos En El Cuello" ; "Prohibido" ; and "Para Impresionarte", all of which immediately became hits. In December 2006, Paz met Martin Fabian, a well-known personality within the radio and music industry, who immediately foresaw the extraordinary talent within the young singer-songwriter. They soon began collaborating on his debut album "Paz En Tu Corazón". This project was released in 2007 in association with Nueva Generacion Music Group. Another independently released album, "Amigo Con Derechos", followed in 2008 before Paz was offered a recording contract with the major labelUniversal Latino, which released his first major label album "El Canta Autor del Pueblo" in 2008 on its Machete Music subsidiary. This album featured eight previously released favorites such as "El Celular" and "Amigo con Derechos" plus four new recordings. The single from this album, "El Proximo Viernes" reached #14 on Billboard Magazine's "Hot Latin Tracks" chart. Soon Paz was penning songs for a long list of regional Regional artists, including Sergio Vega, La Arrolladora Banda El Limón, Banda Cuisillos, Julio Chaidez, Banda de Jerez, Jenni Rivera, Chuy Lizarraga, Adair Elizalde, El Potro de Sinaloa, Calibre 50, Montez de Durango, Julión Álvarez, El Chapo de Sinaloa, and Duelo, among numerous others. In 2010 he released the album "Del Rancho Para El Mundo" which included the smash hit "Al Diablo Lo Nuestro". The album was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award and was certified Gold. In 2011 he released another Gold selling album: "Canciones Que Duelen". This album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Latin Albums Chart and included the hit single "Para No Perderte". The album was also released in a deluxe version with a DVD containing several live performances. In 2012 he released "Un Hombre Normal", a compilation album featuring some of his biggest hits, remixes and several new recordings. The title track would eventually reach #1 on the Latin Charts. During this time Paz decided to release an album of all Mariachi songs with the group Mariachi Sol De Mexico. The album which was originally titled "Las Facturas del Destino" was re-titled and was not released until 2016.
Brief Retirement
In 2012, Paz shocked fans by saying he was going to retire, after a lawsuit from his former manager. In early 2014, he switched labels from "Nueva Generacion Music Group" to "Anval Music". During this time, Paz's popularity began to decline and although he released numerous singles, he did not release a studio album until 2016.
