Courtesy Photo / The Ramón Hernández Archives
The Tejano Music Awards reversed course on plans to give its Lifetime Achievement Award to former Grupo Mazz frontman Joe Lopez.
Following public outcry over a 2006 conviction on charges that Lopez raped his teenage niece, the Tejano Music Awards last month scrapped plans to recognize the singer. What’s more, Lopez lost the popular vote on other TMAs for which he'd been nominated, including Male Vocalist of the Year and Tejano Album of the Year.
Even so, the smaller 5th Annual Guadalupe Tejano Music Awards is moving ahead with plans to bestow Lopez with as many as four trophies at ceremony taking place at Far West San Antonio nightclub on Nov. 19.
Lopez is nominated for four awards at the upcoming show, including Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Tejano Group of the Year. All four categories are determined by popular vote, according to the show's website.
Organizers from the Guadalupe Tejano Music Awards were unavailable for comment Thursday.
Founded in 2019 by Tejano events promoter Andrew Balmarez, the Guadalupe Awards recognize and celebrate the achievements and contributions of Tejano artists, according to media outlet Tejano Nation.
In 2006, a Cameron County jury convicted Lopez on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child on allegations that he raped his teenage niece two years prior, court records show.
Lopez was released on parole in March 2018 and remains on the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry.
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