Leonel García and Noel Schajris have been the voices behind emotions so many of us felt but did not always know how to put into words. Their melodies have accompanied first loves, painful goodbyes, long-distance relationships, reunions and those quiet moments when a song says exactly what is in your heart. Sin Bandera is more than an iconic duo, they have become part of the emotional soundtrack of multiple generations.
But after more than 20 years of creating music together, the emotions they write about have evolved. Their newest album, ESCENAS, reflects a different stage in their lives, one shaped by experience, emotional maturity and a deeper understanding of what love means. Across its 10 songs, the duo explores not only romantic love, but also family, the people who matter most, the passage of time and the realization that life itself is made up of moments we cannot get back. It is a more introspective side of Sin Bandera, while still preserving the emotional songwriting that has defined their career.
That evolution is now at the center of “ESCENAS TOUR,” which brings the duo to audiences across the United States, including highly anticipated performances at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in San Diego on September 25 and the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on September 27.
Sin Bandera recently stopped in Los Angeles, where Visión Music Magazine had the opportunity to sit down with Leonel and Noel for a conversation about their music, their evolution, the songs that shaped their career and the experiences that continue to inspire them.
SIN BANDERA ON “ESCENAS,” THE PASSAGE OF TIME AND THE MUSIC THAT CONTINUES TO CONNECT GENERATIONS
You’re back on U.S. stages this September. How does this return feel, bringing the classics that have become the soundtrack to so many love stories, while also sharing the new songs from ESCENAS with your Latino audience?
Noel: This is possibly the most important tour we’ve done in the history of our group. On top of that, it feels very special, and it’s a very special album. We’ve really enjoyed the tour. We also had 40 shows before starting this tour, so it feels like we’re already halfway through the season, and the team is hitting it out of the park.
Leonel: And coming to the United States is always really cool because you can’t help but think that you’re coming to a country full of talent, full of incredible artists. Many of the artists you admire the most have come from here. The people who live here are used to seeing very high-quality shows, so it’s always a challenge. It keeps you alert and makes you want to come and do the best you possibly can. Because here, regional music, R&B, rock, soul, funk, everything coexists, and it’s all happening at the same time.
Here in Los Angeles, where we’re going to perform, you have vibrant cities full of music, lots of festivals, and radio stations with very interesting curators. It’s a fascinating country, and it always excites you to come and perform here.
Your music has transcended generations and has become the soundtrack to many people’s lives, even more so now with the digital world. Have you found that your audience is multigenerational at your shows?
Noel: We do a beautiful exercise at every show where we ask people, “Raise your hand if you’re seeing us for the first time.” At most of the shows, around 70% of the audience raises their hands, except in Puerto Rico, where it was 50/50.
I call this audience Generation Z because I really like what’s happening with this generation. They’re bringing back these beautiful formats, CDs and vinyl. They’re slowly bringing back physical formats and the experience of owning an album. They’re singing along to the two songs that are the singles from this album, “Qué culpa tiene ella” and “Nunca,” and, of course, all the songs that make up our history. But there are also many surprises, including songs we hadn’t performed on our most recent tours. It’s been beautiful, a really wonderful experience.
On September 27, we’ll be at the Kia Forum here in Los Angeles. It’s an iconic venue, and it will be the first time we perform there on our own as a band, so this is a very special tour.
It will also be a highly anticipated musical moment for the Hispanic community, especially for those looking to reconnect with the musical legacy of Sin Bandera during a moment of peace and joy.
Leonel: Yes. We know times have changed, and we haven’t been here as much as we would have liked. Now streaming is king. If people listen to you there, they listen to you, and if they don’t, they don’t. But we want to continue building bridges and reaching new audiences. At the same time, the older generations who introduced you to music, like my parents did for me, can bring those artists back into your life. You see an artist and think, “My parents used to listen to them,” and from there, the audience continues to expand.
It’s not that the people who used to listen to you stop coming. They keep coming, but now their children, their nieces and nephews, and the new generations are coming too.
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How has it been playing and singing the new sounds and lyrics from ESCENAS?
Leonel: You have to expose the audience to new music, even if you’ve been doing this for 26 years. There are people who come to see you who are 26 years old themselves. Even though people come to see your musical career, you have to give them something new. You have to say, “Thank you for your patience,” because maybe many of them won’t know these songs yet, but that’s what it’s all about, continuing to grow.
CD sales also increased over the last year. That’s an indication that people want to own something, to have it at home, to read the lyrics, and to listen to the entire album. Even with streaming, people are starting to listen to more complete albums.
Noel: It takes time for people to discover our new music because they tend to stick with the promotional songs. There’s so much information and so much saturation. That’s why I think there’s a return to physical formats. They allow you to enjoy the music and create a more human connection with the audience.
In this new album, ESCENAS, there is a strong reflection on the passage of time and the awareness that life is finite. For example, in “Ha sido bueno,” you approach it from a place of gratitude, recognizing that you’ve had a good life, good health, and the opportunity to celebrate everything you’ve experienced.
Noel: That’s why this album is so special. It’s about two 52-year-old men reflecting on the scenes of a life that have become meaningful to them. The priorities in life: family, children, love in all its forms, remembering what it feels like to have your heart broken for the first time and how strong that experience makes you afterward.
And in “Incendio,” there is another perspective, the idea of people who come into our lives and whom we think will be there forever, but who are actually temporary, as reflected in the lyric, “Sometimes someone who filled you with peace, someone you told, ‘I know you’ll never leave,’ turns out to be temporary.” How have your experiences at this stage of your lives influenced this new way of understanding time, life, and love?
Noel: That’s a line that made me cry. My brother sent it to me on WhatsApp. I already had a melody for the song and the idea that it would be called “Incendio,” and then this genius poet sent me that line. I told him, “You just made me cry.” It was 6 a.m., I was on my way to a show, and I was reading that message.
Leonel: I wanted to make a song about the people who aren’t in your life forever, people who are only going to be there for a period of time. Someone temporary.
SIN BANDERA: TWO DECADES OF HEARTBREAK AND ROMANCE MELODIES TO US STAGES INCLUDING SAN DIEGO AND LOS ANGELES
With ESCENAS, Sin Bandera continues to explore a new chapter in its music, bringing together the emotional honesty that has defined the duo for more than two decades with a more mature perspective on love, life and the people who matter most. The 10-track album is available now on all major streaming platforms, giving listeners the opportunity to experience this latest chapter from Leonel García and Noel Schajris.
That new music will soon come to life onstage as part of “ESCENAS TOUR.” For Southern California fans, Sin Bandera will perform at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in San Diego on September 25, followed by a highly anticipated performance at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on September 27. Both dates offer fans the opportunity to experience the new material alongside the songs that have become part of the soundtrack to their lives.
Now it’s your turn to be part of the next scene. Get your tickets to “ESCENAS TOUR” and experience Sin Bandera live as they bring more than two decades of music, memories and new stories to the stage.
Don’t miss Sin Bandera live in San Diego and Los Angeles.
Tickets available now at LiveNation.
