Born under the sign of Aquarius on 23 January 1997, in Sinaloa, Mexico, with American nationality, Carlos Parra was a 26-year-old Hispanic singer of Christian faith at the moment of his untimely death on 7 May 2023. He derived most of his fame from being one of the three members of the band Los Parras, which saw significant success throughout southern USA and north Mexico following their musical ventures since 2017. He’d enjoyed ample recognition throughout his six-year career, earning an army of fans to keep his legacy in dear memory.
Early life & education: A family of musicians
Carlos was raised in his birthplace alongside his twin brother César and an older brother named Cristhian, by their mother and father of unknown names and professions. The young siblings were greatly influenced by Sinaloa’s inhabitants and culture, finding especially great interest in the songs that circulated around the area. They spent good time singing their own versions of the most popular tunes, eventually finding a burning passion for creating their own tracks. The fans consider the brothers rather fortunate for the fact that all three of them had pretty much the same idea and goal in later life, which significantly boosted their cohesion and sync as a full-blown trio. The family at some point relocated to Phoenix, Arizona USA, where the early teenage years of the brothers unfolded.
Regarding his education, Carlos attended North High School in Phoenix, from where he matriculated in 2015. Both he and his twin then decided against pursuing a college degree, as creating music took precedence over everything else. All three brothers found Mexico to be lacking in development prospects, deciding to remain in the US after school and pursue success as a band there.
Career: Chasing a dream
The brothers eventually found their place after moving around the south of the US for a time, settling in Phoenix, where their career would reach full bloom in just a few years. They began making a name for themselves by frequenting local bars and pubs, performing both popular and obscure tracks, most prominently those from the Norteño genre, which, meaning ‘northerner’ in Spanish, denotes a particular type of country and folk music endemic to the north of Mexico. They easily attracted a faithful crowd a year down the line, finding a place of their own among the numerous tribute bands aiming to succeed.
This resulted in their debut album being released in 2017, entitled “Yo Ya Te Olvide” (“I Already Forgot You”). It featured 12 original songs written and performed by the brothers, providing them with artistic independence and setting them apart from the competition. They also published a collection of live performances on Spotify, just before their album, which listeners evidently also wanted, as their takes on already popular Norteño tracks were considered outstanding, including songs such as “Ya Te Perdi La Fe” (“Already Lost Faith In You”) and “Despues De Ti Quien” (“Who After You”). Later in the year, they released a second compilation of live performances as well, with 14 additional famous tracks to choose from.
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2018 became quite a successful year for the brothers, starting off strongly with three impactful singles – “Te Amo Te Amo” (“I Love You I Love You”), “Jugando a la Baraja” (“Playing the Deck”), and “Para Que Lo Notes” (“So That You Notice It”). These were followed by another full-blown album some months later, entitled “11:11,” with 13 more original songs, although two of the previous singles were also included. The rollercoaster continued in 2019, with 10 consecutive single releases preceding their third album entitled “Peda en la Banqueta” (“Party on the Sidewalk”) later in the year, which featured several of their previous tracks and a few new ones, totaling 10.
They resumed with pretty much the same success in 2020, thereby finding it appropriate to change the format for the first time, releasing an Extended Play (EP) early in the year, containing five songs. All of those were brand-new, and one would truly stand out in their entire discography, bearing great significance to their signature on the genre, as “Por Verte Feliz” (“To See You Happy”) is their third most popular track of all time. They put out an additional nine singles that year, finding mixed success from song to song. Their fourth album landed after yet another nine singles in 2021, entitled “Alcoholizados 0.8” (“Inebriated 0.8” [masculine plural]). The number seemed to hold some significance for the trio, as their album had nine songs too, “Sin Evidencia” (“Without Evidence”) being a standout among them.
This success was followed by another six single releases in 2022, the most popular of which is “11:11” – an original song recorded in the spirit of their second album. The brothers evidently took a step back from mass-producing music, choosing to focus on quality rather than quantity, culminating in 2023, when not one track was released during the first four months.
This trend likely would’ve continued, but their plans were all tragically altered when Carlos Parra passed away in early May. They have since then released only one song, entitled “Si, Si Eres Tu” (“Yes, Yes It’s You”) as an in-memoriam piece dedicated to their brother, which came out on 10 May – only four days after his death. The two remaining brothers haven’t been professionally active near the end of the year, and it’s unknown whether they will ever find a way to continue without Carlos.
Over the six years that they had been releasing tracks, the brothers had made an indelible mark on the Norteño genre, with millions of fans eager to support them at every step. Their YouTube channel sits at nearly 1.3 million subscribers, featuring music videos for many of their original releases, as well as some vlog-like posts that shed light on their private lives. Understandably, it hasn’t been active since Carlos’ passing, the latest upload taking place on 10 March 2023. Their Instagram and TikTok, with 1.6 and 2 million followers respectively, have seen slightly more activity since then, although all of it is related to Carlos.
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How did he die? Was it an accident?
Life seemed to be moving in the perfect direction for the entire Parra family until 7 May 2023, when, according to the 9 May report by Arizona’s Family, Carlos unfortunately met a swift end while on the road. All three brothers were in the vehicle at the moment of the crash, but the other two made it out of the incident with minor injuries. According to Jose Brito, a friend who has known the Parras for 16 years and attended North High School with them, the accident occurred when their tire was punctured. Despite their attempts to regain control of the vehicle, the situation took a devastating turn as the machine swerved off the road. Carlos did his best to secure himself with a seatbelt, but failed to find it in the commotion, having had only a few seconds to spare before imminent impact. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Brito only had words of praise for Carlos, adding that his brothers were in slow but steady recovery, the physical part of which would take much less time, as their lead vocalist brother was apparently the light of the family, which causes his loss to be felt that much more dramatically. To honor the memory of their beloved brother, Los Parras hosted a memorial at Legends Event Center in Phoenix at 4 PM on 10 May, providing an opportunity for family, fans and friends to come together and pay their respects. The event aimed to celebrate Carlos’ life and legacy, while offering solace to those mourning his untimely passing.
Evidencing just how dearly missed Carlos became were articles by several high-profile media outlets, such as The Sun, as well as numerous other websites aimed at Spanish-speaking readers, most prominently El Financiero. Even though Los Parras had never recorded a song in the English language, their popularity was so far-reaching that English-speaking media ran stories about them as well.
Love life: Who was his girlfriend?
Carlos was known by all his fans to be in a loving relationship with Instagram celebrity Lillian Griego, who has a career all her own in the entertainment industry, followed by over four million people. They had dated since 2019 prior to becoming engaged on 9 February 2023, which according to the fans, was going to be a perfect marriage full of understanding and affection, seeing as no controversy whatsoever had surfaced about the couple at any point.
Parra’s devotion to Lillian was clearly visible through numerous social media posts, especially in the 10 May video published on his band’s Instagram page, featuring his loving gazes and gesticulation towards her during the recording of what proved to be Carlos’ final song. Lillian’s Instagram page has been inundated with pictures and videos of the two ever since the fatal crash, all of which are worded to describe the desolate feeling that Parra’s passing had left her with, and that no one will ever be able to take his place beside her.
Net worth: How rich was he?
Some of the most reputable media outlets on the matter have estimated that Carlos’ total accumulated wealth at the time of his passing was around $1 million, earned thanks to being the lead vocalist of Los Parras. Their profit derived from numerous releases and occasional tours, plus general sponsors. With the main voice of the band gone, it remains to be seen how the Parra brothers choose to proceed in their professions.
