popular. At one event, they met Jesús “Palillo” Martínez, who took an interest in the group. He hired them to play at the Follies Berger Theater as an orchestra-show playing mambo, cha-cha-cha, danzón, bolero and tango. At this time, their name was changed to Sonora Santanera at the suggestion of Martínez. While in Mexico City, they also studied with the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes.Shortly after this, they were given the chance to audition to cut a record with CBS, and did so under the Sonora Santanera name, which include now-standards such as La boa by Carlos Lico and Félix Reyan and Los aretes de la luna by Dolores Quiñones. They also became part of the talent pool on this label in 1960. Hits on this album such as La boa and Los aretes de la luna made them famous and they began to tour Latin America and parts of the United States. The only female singer to ever appear with the group was Sonia Lopez in 1962. She is best known for the songs “El ladron” or “Corazón de acero”. However, after less than a year, she decided to leave Santanera to go solo. Sonora Santanera remained popular through the 1960s, especially with the working classes of Mexico City, even though some of the first personnel changes began at this time. Internacional Sonora Santanera continued the tradition of Colorado although it acquire new, younger musicians such as Hugo Rey, Gabriel Alejandro, Benito López and José Paredes. Lorenzo Hernández, who would later take the lead of the group, began as a bassist in 1963. Almost everything revolved around Carlos Colorado until his death 1986, when the group's tour bus crashed. Since then, changes to the style have been minimal. However, the loss of Colorado caused division in the original band, causing some members to split off and form another band called Los Santaneros. The remaining members renamed themselves Internacional Sonora Santanera, and had the support of Colorado's widow. During their career, they have received numerous awards, recognitions and gold and silver records and have traveled extensively in the United States, Central and South America. They have released sixty recordings, with their music featured in many films and television shows. They have received awards such as Las Lunas del Auditorio and were featured on a national lottery ticket in 2010. In 2009, the band was included in the Salón de la