Chalino Sánchez

When he was 15 in 1975, his sister was raped by a rich man known for being powerful and dangerous. Two years afterward in 1977 when Chalino was 17, while at a party, Sanchez saw the man and took revenge into his own hands. Sanchez allegedly took the man's life by shooting him to death.[7] After committing this act, Sanchez Left to Tijuana, Mexico with nothing but his gun and Jesus Malverde chain. During his time in Tijuana, he worked as a "Coyote", someone who smuggles people into the United States.

In 1977, he crossed into the United States and made it to Los Angeles, California to live with an aunt in the Neighborhood of Inglewood. He washed dishes, sold cars, and for a while, dabbled in drug dealing small quantities of marijuana and cocaine, according to friends. He also helped his older brother, Armando, run an immigrant-smuggling business. But that ended in 1984 when Armando was shot and killed in a Tijuana hotel.[8]

Chalino Sanchez also was an undocumented migrant worker in the state of Oregon before finally settling in Inglewood California.

In 1984, he married Marisela Vallejos in a simple and intimate wedding. They first met because she was a friend of his cousin Rosalba. When they got married their first son, Adan Sanchez was already on the way. They shared two children, Adan Sanchez, and Cynthia Sanchez. They were married until Chalino Sanchez's death in 1992.

In 1984, Chalino's brother died in Tijuana, which inspired him to compose his first corrido.[9] Around this time, Chalino was put into jail and it is said that this is where his musical journey began.[10] He began to compose songs for his fellow inmates and anyone that had a story worth telling. Chalino began to earn money through his compositions and would be gifted with guns and "presents" by his customers. Among his many compositions are Lucio Villareal, El Pelavacas,[11] and Jorge "El Coquio" Castro. A small group known as "Los Cuatro de la Frontera" recommended Chalino to go to a recording studio in Olympic Blvd in Los Angeles. The studio was called San Angel Records and was owned by Angel Mariscal. Originally, another artist was meant to sing Chalino's compositions. However, when the man canceled, Chalino decided to sing his own songs.

On January 25, 1992, Chalino Sanchez was hired to sing at Los Arcos night club in the desert city of Coachella, California about 120 miles East from Los Angeles. During his performance to the packed crowd, Eduardo Gallegos, 34, a local Unemployed Mechanic of Thermal, California, under the influence, jumped up on stage and began firing a small .25 caliber pistol at Chalino. Chalino pulled a 10mm pistol from his waistband and began a running gun battle chasing Gallegos. Four hundred people were in attendance and seven to ten people were reportedly hit in the exchange including Chalino and Group Accordionist member Ignacio "Nacho" Hernandez. A local man was killed (Claudio Rene Carranza,20), and Gallegos was wrestled to the ground by a bystander and shot in the mouth with his own pistol. Sanchez was in critical condition after undergoing surgery at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs, where Gallegos was also listed in critical condition. The shooting made the U.S. and Spanish-language newspapers and even got a spot on ABC's World News Tonight. Chalino's sales skyrocketed and he finally began to get some airplay, though only for an old-fashioned, non-narco song, "Nieves de Enero." At his next L.A. appearance, El Parral was packed and had to close its doors by 6:00 pm; some five or six hours before he was due onstage.[13][14][15]

Since his death, his fame and recordings have grown in popularity. Chalino still amasses millions of streams near 3 decades after his death, he is still very popular with young Hispanic listeners.