[Source: Entertainment Weekly]

The co-founder of the Grammy-winning, Latin-tinged country band was diagnosed with colon cancer in June 2024.

Raul Malo, the lead singer of the Latin-country band the Mavericks, has died. He was 60.

The band announced the news in a statement on Tuesday via their official Instagram account. “It’s with the deepest grief we share the passing of our friend, bandmate and brother Raul Malo,” the statement reads. “Anyone with the pleasure of being in Raul’s orbit knew that he was a force of human nature, with an infectious energy. Over a career of more than three decades entertaining millions around the globe, his towering creative contributions and unrivaled, generational talent created the kind of multicultural American music reaching far beyond America itself.”

The statement continues, “Though his earthly body may have passed, Raul’s spirit will live on forever in heaven, and here on earth through the music, joy, and light he brought forth. His contributions to American and Latin music will be everlasting, as his songs and voice touched fans and fellow artists around the world.”

Malo’s wife, Betty, also paid tribute to her late husband with a post on Malo’s Instagram page, revealing that he died on Monday night. “No one embodied life and love, joy and passion, family, friends, music, and adventure the way our beloved Raul did,” she wrote. “Now he will look down on us with all that heaven will allow, lighting the way and reminding us to savor every moment.”

The news of Malo’s death comes a year after he was diagnosed with colon cancer. Despite the diagnosis, the singer continued to perform with the band until September, when he announced that he had developed LMD, or leptomeningeal disease, a cancer that affects the brain and spinal cord. The Mavericks canceled their remaining concerts.

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