Pandora (musical group)

Pandora are a female Mexican singing group formed in 1981 under the name Trebol by sisters Isabel Lascurain and Mayte Lascurain and their cousin Fernanda Meade. The group was renamed "Pandora" upon signing with EMI Records in 1984.

Pandora
OriginMéxico
GenresLatin pop
Years active1985-present
LabelsEMI Music México, Sony Music Entertainment México
MembersFernanda Meade
Isabel Lascurain
Mayte Lascurain
Past membersLiliana Abaroa

Background

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During their school years, the Lascurain sisters and some friends participated as a group in various music festivals, calling themselves "Las Jeans". Later, Fernanda Meade, their cousin, joined Isabel and Mayte to form a trio called "Trebol". Under this name they recorded an album for RCA Victor in 1981 entitled El día que me quieras (The Day That You Love Me).

From 1981 to 1984 the group established itself doing backup vocals for artists such as Emmanuel and Pedro Vargas (who is the sisters' godfather), and backup vocals for the group Timbiriche. On 29 November 1984, the group signed a record deal with EMI and became Mexico's first all-female musical trio in thirty years. The artistic director of EMI Capitol Mexico, Luis Moyano, renamed the group "Pandora" after the first woman created on Earth in Greek mythology.

In May 1989, Meade left the group to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Liliana Abaroa. Meade returned to the group in 1997 and has continued with them since.[1]

Fame and legacy

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Their signature song is a composition by singer-songwriter Hernaldo Zúñiga titled "¿Cómo te va mi amor?" (Eng.: "How have you been my love?") which was recently included on the VH1 countdown of the 100 Best Songs of the 80s in Spanish at number 16.

Pandora peaked at number one in the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks in 1993 with their rendition of "Without You", titled "Desde el Día Que Te Fuiste", taken from their cover album Ilegal. The album received a nomination for Pop Album at the Lo Nuestro Awards of 1993 and Pandora won for Pop Group of the Year.[2] The following year, they appeared as guest artists on Plácido Domingo's Grammy-nominated album, De Mi Alma Latina.[3][4]

Pandora's music can be classified as Latin Pop, though some of their later albums feature much more traditional Mexican composition. Pandora borrows heavily from other performers and songwriters. The trio has covered many songs of Juan Gabriel, Manuel Alejandro, and Hernaldo Zúñiga. These covers make up a large part of their performance repertoire.

After issuing Pandora Otra Vez in 1986, Fernanda Meade, Isabel Lascurian, and Mayte Lascurian had the opportunity to perform live in the U.S. while participating in a tribute to Plácido Domingo at Los Angeles' Universal Amphitheater, moving to Europe to make Huellas a year later.[5] While touring America to promote Hace Tres Noches Apenas, a traditional Mexican music album, Pandora's live performance at Mexico City's Metropolitan Theater was recorded on 8 May 1998, released as Pandora 1985/1998.[5]

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut, the three original members of Pandora reunited in 2010 to release a new album, Pandora - De Plata, which consisted of covers, duets, and re-recordings of their old hits.

Discography

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Studio albums
  • Pandora (1985)
  • Otra Vez (1986)
  • Huellas (1987)
  • Buenaventura (1988)
  • 999 Razones (1989)
  • Con Amor Eterno (1991)
  • Ilegal (1992)
  • Con Amor Eterno Vol. II (1993)
  • Confesiones (1995)
  • Hace Tres Noches Apenas (1997)
  • Vuelve a EstarConmigo (1999)
  • En Carne Viva (2002)
  • Por eso... Gracias (2004)
  • De Plata (2010)
  • En el Camino (2013)
  • Pandora 30 (2015)
  • Navidad con Pandora (2016)
  • Más Pandora que nunca (2019)
Live albums
  • Pandora 1985/1998 (1998)
  • En Acústico (2006)
  • XXV Años En Vivo (2011)
  • Inesperado Tour (2022)

Awards

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Grammy Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
1985 "Cómo Te Va Mi Amor" Latin Pop Performance[6] Nominated
1992 ...Con Amor Eterno Latin Pop Album, Vocal or Instrumental[7] Nominated

Lo Nuestro Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
1990 Pandora Pop Duo or Group Nominated
1991 Pandora Pop Duo or Group Nominated
1992 Con Amor Eterno Pop Album of the Year Won
Pandora Pop Duo or Group Won
1993 Ilegal Pop Album of the Year Nominated
Pandora Pop Duo or Group Won
1994 Pandora Pop Duo or Group Nominated
1998 Pandora Pop Duo or Group Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Grupo-pandora.com Archived 2013-05-31 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Lannert, John (March 30, 1993). "Secada Lead Latin Noms Following Grammy Win". Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 10. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 10. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  3. ^ Lannert, John (January 21, 1995). "Latin Notas". Billboard: 36. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  4. ^ "De mi alma latina". AllMusic. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Pandora". Allmusic. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  6. ^ Hunt, Dennis (January 9, 1987). "Grammy Nominations: Highs and Lows: Winwood, Gabriel and Simon Garner Most Nominations". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  7. ^ "The Grammy Nominations". Los Angeles Times. January 9, 1992. p. 3. Retrieved July 24, 2014.