By: Francisco Rendon
Eddie Orjuela
Eddie Orjuela has been a stalwart of the Latin music market in North America nearly 30 years, starting with his father’s indie promoter company Pan American Productions, then with Cardenas Fernandez & Associates before it was rolled up by SFX, then forming his own boutique entertainment company, Orjuela Entertainment, LLC.
Although he hails from New York, Orjuela has been a longtime Angeleno and has been in a partnership with Nederlander Concerts for the last seven years, overseeing all of their Latin bookings.
Now, as the live industry prepares to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, Latin artists are among those leading the way, and Nederlander is certainly contributing to this, as they have booked a jaw-dropping seven dates for Grupo Firme at the STAPLES Center in late July and early August, as well as arena dates in Phoenix, San Diego and Bakersfield, Calif.; six arena dates for Los Angeles Az
On the
Billboard charts, the group has six entries on Regional Mexican Airplay, five entries on Hot Latin Songs, and six entries on Latin Airplay. The Lenin Ramirez-assisted “Yo Ya No Vuelvo Contigo” hit Top 10 on both Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay and peaked at No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart dated June 6, 2020.
Currently, Grupo Firme is making the rounds with their single “Enloqueceme,” which is a clever banda-pop version of the OV7 classic, performed by Caz’s brother and second vocalist of the group, Johnny Caz. They’re also making waves with innovative pop-urban collaborations that were born this year, including works with Reik, Carin Leon, C-Kan, and JD Pantoja to name a few.