Who Was Chalino Sánchez And What Is His Relationship With Snoop Dogg

Recently the American rapper made a trend of a regional music singer who was known in the 80s and early 90s.

Rosalino Sánchez Félix, better known as “Chalino” Sánchez, is recognized as one of the pioneers of narcocorrido and Mexican regional music. His story is shrouded in many legends including shootings, tragic deaths, and a musical career that pointed to be very promising.

Chalino was born on August 30, 1960, in Sinaloa. He had 6 other siblings in total and his family was characterized by being of low income; On the other hand, this future singer would have to live with the absence of his father, since he died when he was just 6 years old. Although he spent the first years of his life in northern Mexico, Chalino would have to cross into the United States as undocumented when he was already a teenager.

It is said that he settled in the Californian city of Inglewood, where his aunt lived. There he dedicated himself to many jobs, both legal (such as washing cars and being a dishwasher), and illegal (they say he sold drugs such as marijuana and cocaine, as well as being a “coyote” on the border). What was maintained even by members of his family, is that Chalino had a certain inclination towards music and, since he was a child, he had the dream of becoming a famous singer.

Even so, it is unknown if in these years (late 70s and early 80s) he made any compositions. His true inspiration would come through another tragedy that overshadowed his family: in 1984 his older brother, Armando, was found in a Tijuana hotel. He had been shot to death. The same composer admitted that this was the necessary trigger to get closer to music and make a song to commemorate Armando and from there he would not stop.

There is a version that indicates that, in the same year that his brother passed away, Chalino was imprisoned. The reasons are not known, but that inside the prison he began to make corridos that alluded to stories of his fellow prisoners and of any person who had something interesting to tell. The payments that they made to the singer varied between each case, being that they gave him money or even that they rewarded him with weapons.

Be that as it may, at some point in his life there was someone who recommended to the Sinaloan to go to Estudios San Ángel, located in the city of Los Angeles. There he recorded his first demos and would continue to release songs until, at some point in his life, he crossed paths with Pedro Rivera, father of Lupillo and Jenni Rivera. However, his true rise to fame would occur in 1992 during a very local presentation in the city of Coachella.

Chalino Sánchez

And it is that apparently on that occasion, while Chalino was giving his concert, a man (located by the name of Eduardo Gallegos), took the stage with a gun in hand and shot the singer and, in the middle of what is presumed that it was a state of alteration, to other spectators of the enclosure. Here also the versions vary, since it is said on the one hand that Gallegos was sent to kill Chalino and others say that the man in question was under the influence of a prohibited substance.

In any case, although he managed to shoot the singer from Sinaloa, he not only did not die, but he was able to draw a pistol and defended himself by firing shots as well. Although Chalino was hospitalized for a time, he managed to survive and from that moment his name began to become a legend among the Mexican population on the border and the Spanish-speaking population in the United States. His music began to sell much better.

However, this story would come to an end suddenly. A few months after the Coachella incident occurred, on May 15 Chalino was in the city of Culiacán. After giving a concert in a nightclub in that city, and the singer was in a vehicle accompanied by some of his relatives, he would be approached by an armed group traveling in vans.

Hence it is said that these men when addressing the singer, presented themselves as people who worked in the police. A supposed commander wanted to see him to talk to him about something; Chalino, who did not want to give problems to his family and the rest of his companions, willingly agreed and left with this group. However, during the early hours of the next day, witnesses would find Chalino’s body in a water channel, still in Culiacán. He was reportedly shot in the head.

The recognition of Chalino was still present for many years. So much so that his own son, Adán Sánchez, followed in his footsteps and became a singer like his father. But the legend not only stayed there since the story of Chalino not only reached many through various rumors that run around him but because it continues to be liked by many people.

One of them, to the surprise of many people, is nothing more and nothing less than the American rapper Snoop Dogg. The 49-year-old musician has already demonstrated on several occasions his inclination for Mexican music, specifically that of the regional genre. Proof of this was his peculiar collaboration with the MS Band in 2020 with the song What a Curse.

Now, through his social networks, he showed everyone his love for this musical genre, in addition to his knowledge in the field. In a video posted on his Instagram account, while the rapper was smoking some marijuana, it is possible to hear in the background Nieves de Enero, one of Chalino Sánchez’s best-known musical themes. Thus, after singing it, Snoop Dogg concluded the video with a “Viva México!”

Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.

Leave a Comment