A family affair: Aguilar dynasty going strong

One of the borderland’s most beloved ranchera performers is returning to El Paso – and he’s bringing his family, friends and horses with him.

Mexican superstar Pepe Aguilar will bring his Jaripeo Sin Fronteras (Rodeo Without Borders) tour to the Don Haskins Center on Sunday, June 30.

Joining the 50-year-old Aguilar in concert will be his 15-year-old daughter Angela – a rising star in the Latin music world in her own right – his son Leonardo Aguilar, and his oldest brother, Antonio Aguilar Jr.

This show won’t be an ordinary concert. It’ll be a mixture of traditional Latin equestrianism with bull riding, horse shows and charreria competitions with the full-blown spectacle of multimedia rock concerts – smoke, lasers and other special effects.

“It’s basically a modular concept, where you can change the pieces,” Aguilar tells Billboard of the family touring tradition that he adapted in recent years.

“The fundamental parts are the horse shows and the Mexican traditions. In some cities, we’ll have special guests, in others, only the family is going to perform.”

In addition to the Aguilar clan, the El Paso stop will feature fellow Mexican icon Paquita La Del Barrio, trick rider Madison McDonald, Banda Azul Tequila and Mariachi Zacatecano.

The show comes on the heels of his 2018 album, “Fue Un Placer Conocerte: Gracias, Juan Gabriel, Vol. 1,” which pays tribute to the iconic borderland singer/songwriter Juan Gabriel, known as “El Divo de Juárez,” who died just hours before he was to perform in El Paso in 2016.

Aguilar is a ubiquitous figure. His voice drifts through the wind out of cookouts and birthday parties throughout the borderland, and his face is on Telemudo almost as often as Don Francisco.

Aguilar is the son of Mexican cultural royalty: Ranchera and corrido titan Antonio Aguilar and cinematic icon Flor Silvestre – both veterans of Mexican cinema’s golden age in the 1950s.

Aguilar’s parents are considered instrumental in the popularization of mariachi culture and the jaripeo tradition.

Pepe Aguilar was born in San Antonio in 1968 – while both of his parents were on tour.

His father died in 2007, but Aguilar has kept the family’s legacy alive throughout his own prolific career. He has recorded 29 albums in the last 28 years, selling more than 12 million records worldwide.

Stylistically, Aguilar’s music varies between traditional Mexican folk songs and more straightforward and adventurous Latin pop and rock music. Aguilar has stated that his biggest musical influences as a teenager were Pink Floyd and The Who.

In an introduction to an unplugged performance of his hit song “Miedo,” Aguilar said that all humans have two basic feelings that drive us: love and fear.

He goes on to say that much of his music is inspired by these feelings, as they are the only two things humans can’t control and the only feelings that tend to transform into one another.