At SoFi Stadium, the Los Angeles Chargers have a secret weapon when it comes to getting fans on their feet: the first official House Banda in NFL history.
Banda AZ is bringing the powerful sound of traditional banda sinaloense, a festive Mexican music, to LA Chargers game day, turning every performance into a celebration of culture, community, and familia.
But it's more than a banda. Music director Jose Azpericueta and his nephew, lead singer Agustin Azpericueta, say it's a family legacy.
"Banda AZ means my last name. Which means my family. Azpericueta. That's the first two letters of my last name," Agustin Azpericueta said.
"It's been in my family for as long as I can remember. I actually started with my dad back in 1992," Jose Azpericueta said.
Founded in 1992 by Don Agustin Azpericueta Sanchez, Banda AZ has passed its music from one generation to the next.
"A lot of discipline going into performing and being a part of a group, of a Banda of 16, 17 members," Agustin Azpericueta said. "It's hectic, but it's awesome. It's like having a family get-together every weekend."
When that music fills the stadium, it gets fans going. "Oh, I love it. It gets you in the rhythm. It gets you in place, it gets you going," fan Jaime Garcia said.
For some fans, like Garcia, it's a reminder that their culture belongs everywhere, including center stage at one of the biggest sporting venues in the country. The brass, the percussion, the unmistakable sound of banda, all carrying a piece of home.
For Banda AZ, every performance is a chance to share that orgullo, that pride, with the world and to show young Latinos that their roots are something to celebrate.
"They vibe to our music, which represents our heritage," Jose Azpericueta said.
At SoFi, they play for the Chargers, but they also play for their familia, for their comunidad and for everyone who has ever found a piece of home in a song.
"Never be ashamed of your roots," Jose Azpericueta said
