Jimmy Gonzalez, Tejano artist with Brownsville's Grupo Mazz, dead at 67

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Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Tejano singer Jimmy Gonzalez of Grupo Mazz has died
The Grammy Award-winning Tejano artist rose to fame as part of Brownsville's Grupo Mazz.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Jimmy Gonzalez, the frontman for the Grammy-winning Tejano group Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz has died in Texas after becoming ill. He was 67.

A promoter for the group's label, Freddie Records, says Gonzalez died Wednesday morning in San Antonio. Eloy Leija says Gonzalez, who co-founded the group, had health problems related to diabetes.

Leija says Gonzalez was returning to his native Brownsville following a show and stopped in San Antonio to see relatives when he became ill with low blood sugar issues and suffered cardiac arrest. Leija says Gonzalez was transported to Methodist Hospital, where he died.

Services were pending Wednesday.

Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz earned six Latin Grammy awards for Best Tejano Album, most recently in 2014 for "Forever Mazz."

Mazz was formed in the mid-70's in Brownsville, Texas, and emerged as a Tejano crossover band known for their musical innovation, combining traditional Tex-Mex, Mexican and Latin music with synthesizers.

Four of Mazz's albums went platinum, including "No Te Olvidare," "Para Nuestra Gente," "Una Noche Juntos," and "Mazz Romanticos Que Nunca."