Acate
—  Comune  —
Comune di Acate
Acate Location of Acate in Italy
Coordinates: 37°02′02″N 14°29′39″E / 37.03389°N 14.49417°E / 37.03389; 14.49417
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Province	Ragusa (RG)
Frazioni	Marina di Acate
Government
• Mayor	Giovanni Mario Caruso
Area
• Total	101.4 km2 (39.2 sq mi)
Elevation	199 m (653 ft)
Population (31 December 2008)
• Total	8,962
• Density	88/km2 (230/sq mi)
Demonym	Acatesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	97011
Dialing code	0932
Patron saint	St. Vincent Martyr

Acate (Sicilian: Acati) is a small town and comune in the south of Sicily, Italy, part of the province of Ragusa. It is located in the Dirillo River valley, 34 kilometers from Ragusa.

Until 1938 it was called Biscari, and its history dates back until the 14th century. During World War II it was the location of the Biscari Massacre, in which American troops killed numerous unarmed German and Italian soldiers.

Twin towns[link]

• Chambly, France

Sources[link]

This Sicilian location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

La Mafia is a four-time Grammy Award-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of Houston, Texas and has charted a course as a Latin music band.

History[link]

La Mafia was founded in 1980 in Houston, TX. Vocalist Oscar De La Rosa & producer/keyboardist/accordionist Armando Lichtenberger Jr. created an original style that survived various changes in the music industry. The band consists of Tim Ruiz on bass, David de la Garza on keyboards and background vocals, Joe Gonzales on drums and Viktor Pacheco on Guitar in 2007. The band has won 2 Grammys & 2 Latin Grammys was nominated in 2009 for a Latin Grammy for the album Eternamente Romanticos.

La Mafia, seeking to expand their musical horizons, began touring extensively in Mexico and Latin America beginning in the late 1980s. The practice of Mexican-American artists performing in Mexico on a large scale was unheard of before La Mafia. Back home, La Mafia has performed in front of three record-setting crowds at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at the Houston Astrodome.

Discography[link]

Since 1993, La Mafia has recorded each of its hits at its own Urbana Recording Studios, including the million-selling Estas Tocando Fuego and Ahora y Siempre. The band has recorded 35 albums and CDs, not including dozens of compilation and greatest hits releases.

Awards and recognitions[link]

La Mafia received Grammy Awards for its CDs Un Millón de Rosas and En Tus Manos and Latin Grammy Awards for its CDs Para El Pueblo and Nuevamente. It also has received eight Premio Lo Nuestro Awards and 12 Tejano Music Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the latter, numerous Billboard awards and was listed in the top 10 Billboard Latin Artists for the entire decade of the 1990s, ranking La Mafia as the most successful Latin artist Houston has ever produced.

La Mafia vs Kumbia All Starz[link]

In the summer of 2008 Oscar De La Rosa, leader of La Mafia challenged A.B. Quintanilla and his group Los Kumbia All Starz to a battle of the bands. A.B. Quintanilla responded by making a video saying that he accepted and that the battle would be held at Robstown, Texas on August 2, 2008. A press conference was held in San Antonio, Texas on July 30, 2008 where both groups answered questions to the fans. The two stages were set side to side and the rules were each group had to sing 3 songs in a row. The battle began as they tossed a coin to see who would sing first. Oscar called heads and heads it was, so he elected A.B. Quintanilla to go first. For his first 3 songs he chose 3 Tejano songs he wrote and he got his two special guest singers Elida Reyna to sing the first two and Jesse Turner of Siggno to sing the third one. Then La Mafia sang "Estás Tocando Fuego" and two more 1990s Billboard hits. For Kumbia All Starz's second turn, their lead singer DJ Kane and Ricky Rick performed the hit single "Shhh!" and two other songs with the dancers from DJ Kane's group when he was a solo singer, John and JD. La Mafia then performed with 3 more songs. Kumbia All Starz sang 3 more songs, then A.B. Quintanilla asked Oscar De La Rosa if they could sing one more song, and Oscar agreed, and so Ricky Rick and Melissa Jiménez got on stage and performed the hit song "Rica Y Apretadita". La Mafia then sang 3 of their biggest hits, including the classic "Me Estoy Enamorando", and after that the crowd was screaming for more, so they sang one more song. At the end of the night La Mafia was declared the winner.^[1]

Members[link]

• Oscar De La Rosa - vocalist
• Armando Lichtenberger Jr. - accordion & keyboards
• Tim Ruiz - bass
• Joe Gonzales - drums
• Viktor Pacheco - guitar
• David De La Garza - keyboards & background vocals

Former members[link]

Leonard Gonzales (brother of Oscar De La Rosa [Gonzales]) -guitar Robert Gonzales - guitar & bass guitar Marion Aquilina - guitar Israel (Speedy) Villanueva - bass guitar Adolf Alonso - bass guitar Rudy Martinez - bass guitar Tony Rodriguez - drums Mario Gonzalez - drums Adam Mosqueda - drums Michael Aguilar - drums Jesse Moreno - Sax Jesse Peralez - Sax Rick Patino - Sax-Trumpet

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• La Mafia at Allmusic