Manitu (band)
Manitu is a Hispanic pop band consisting of three brothers: Lex Mateo Sanchez, born on November 26, 1984, Lukas Michael Sanchez, born on July 5, 1988, and Marcos Isaak Sanchez, born on April 8, 1990. There are two other hired musicians who are not full members of the band.
The Sanchez brothers are originally from El Paso, Texas, but were raised from their early childhood in Manitou Springs (Colorado Springs), Colorado, hence the name Manitu. They were born into a musical family; their father Adolfo played guitar, all of their uncles were musicians, their grandmother was an accomplished classical pianist, and their great-grand father made a living as a musician mostly in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Lex showed an early interest in music and began composing and recording ideas at his home. He recruited his brother Lukas to play bass and the youngest Marcos to play drums on his demos. Lex played guitar and sang. Later Marcos began to also sing on the demos.
They began their formal musical career when they were introduced to producer Kiko Cibrian by one of their uncles, drummer Daniel Sanchez, who saw them perform at a family reunion. At the time of their introduction to Cibrian, Marcos was almost 16 years old. Kiko Cibrian was immediately interested in working with the brothers after they auditioned for him in San Diego, California in 2006. Cibrian subsequently secured a recording contract for Manitu with Sony BMG Latin in Mexico City. The eldest brother, Lex, left the group for two years while they were recording their first album to provide volunteer missionary service in Mesa, Arizona. He was replaced as a band member by Victor "Guyy" Delgado, however Delgado was subsequently rejected by Sony-BMG Latin and ousted from the band. Lex Sanchez was again auditioned by label executives and re-signed as a band member in April 2009. The band's first single, "Perdido", was released in all of Mexico in May 2009 and their first album, Un Mundo Nuevo, was released in August 2009. "Perdido" rose to the top ten on the Monitor Latino Pop charts within the first three months after its release. Manitu launched a promotional tour of Mexico, from Tijuana, Baja California to Mérida, Yucatán in 2009. They have appeared in numerous television shows, newspaper and magazine articles. Marcos' hobbies include skateboarding and rock climbing. Lukas' hobbies include basketball and cross country running, and Lex is an avid rock climber. The band moved to Mexico City in early 2009. They are managed by Westwood/Day 1 Entertainment in Mexico City.