Cardenas/Fernandez, once the best known event promotion partnership in the U.S. Latin world, broke up seven years ago in an acrimonious dispute.
Now, former partners Ivan Fernández and Henry Cárdenas have again joined forces, pairing up their respective companies – Viva Entertainment and Cárdenas Marketing Network (CMN) – for individual events. Already, the two companies have worked jointly music festivals in Chicago and have plans for at least 12 more shows throughout the year, including upcoming dates by regional Mexican star Joan Sebastian, ranchera singer Vicente Fernandez and balladeer Luis Miguel.
Cárdenas/Fernández existed for 16 years, beginning in the mid 1980s. Since their split, the former partners have continued to have successful event promotion businesses, with CMN exploring other arenas like theatre. The company produced “Celia!” the musical, which was seen off-Broadway and is now touring the United States.
Cárdenas and Fernández met up again last year at a panel during the Billboard Regional Mexican Music summit and began conversations about possible collaborations. Both companies are based out of Chicago, although CMN also has offices in Miami.
