Leonardo Yañez

Composer. 1907 - 1993 Born in Cananea, Sonora in 1907, Yañez worked first in the mines, but failing eyesight turned him to music. By 1925, he was playing violin, piano, trumpet, saxophone and guitar in orchestras, trios and mariachi groups. In the 1950s, he worked as a mariachi playing his violin in Rafael Romero’s Agua Prieta Copacabana nightclub. When Romero’s horse, Relámpago, won the famous race, Yañez penned the song about the excitement of the day. The song has been played worldwide and has been recorded by a wide range of artists. His music took him north of the border where he played in cities across the U.S. before settling in Douglas. Yañez kept writing corridos, cumbias, boleros and other music about places and events on both sides of the border until his 1993 death. His family still lives in Douglas.