Espinoza Paz

It took Espinoza Paz ten years to go from working in the fields of California to hearing one of his songs playing on the radio. But it only took another year for the singer-songwriter whose real name is Isidro Chávez Espinoza to blow up.

The Sinaloa-born Paz began writing songs as a teen in Mexico, using an acoustic guitar he bought with money his father, a farm-worker, sent from the U.S. In 1996, unable to break into the Mexican regional scene, Paz joined his father in Sacramento, California and became an agricultural worker. The humble, self-taught guitarist spent his days picking produce and his nights composing songs. When his mother passed away, he returned to México and contemplated staying for good.

Staying turned out to be the right move. In 2006, Paz penned two standout tracks for El Coyote y Su Banda Tierra Santa: Prohibido and Para Impresionarte. Confident in his ability to go it alone, he released his debut, Paz en Tu Corazón (Peace in Your Heart) a year later. But it was another El Coyote track, Besitos En El Cuello, and Mil Heridas, a cantina-ready lament performed by Banda Cuisillos, that would eventually become his breakthrough hits. Since then, he has collaborated with artists like La Arrolladora Banda el Limón, Julio Chaidez, Jenni Rivera, El Chapo De Sinaloa and Duelo.

The charming singer released his second album, El Canta Autor del Pueblo (The Songwriter of the People), earlier this year. Today the former gardener acknowledges he "may not be the best singer," but on ballads like El Próximo Viernes (Next Friday) and "Amigos Con Derecho" (Friends With Benefits), Paz insists it's coming "straight from my heart."