Maná: Photos From the Billboard Español Cover Shoot

The street that leads to Luna Líquida Hotel Boutique, above the center of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is steep and cobbled, ending in a modest gate painted sky blue with the number 409 embedded in a yellow tile on the wall.

It’s the kind of place you find only if you’re looking. And it’s exactly how Fher Olvera, lead singer of legendary Mexican rock band Maná, imagined it when he bought it in 1994, after the group’s first major hit finally allowed him to purchase the house of his dreams: a small, rustic property with an ocean view.

Exactly 30 years have passed since Maná debuted on the Billboard charts in January 1994 with Dónde Jugarán los Niños, an album of songs about love and spite, set to rock and reggae beats that revolutionized what was known as rock en español. It peaked at No. 2 on the Top Latin Albums chart. As a result of that success, Olvera bought this house, and he and the rest of Maná — drummer Alex González, guitarist Sergio Vallín and bassist Juan Calleros — hunkered down here to write the albums that would cement their position as the most successful Spanish-language rock group in the world.

Just days before the band takes its México Lindo y Querido Tour to Latin America and Spain, Olvera spoke about the secret of its success and what he really thinks about reggaetón and the new wave of regional Mexican music.

Check out these exclusive photos from the cover shoot below and read the Billboard Español cover story written by Leila Cobo here.

Samantha Xu

Billboard