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\n\tRaul Malo<\/a>, the operatic vocalist and co-founder of the Grammy-winning, Latin-tinged country band the Mavericks<\/a>, died Monday. He was 60. A rep for the Mavericks confirmed his death to Rolling Stone<\/em>, adding that the cause of death was cancer.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s with the deepest grief we share the passing of our friend, bandmate and brother Raul Malo,\u201d the band said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cAnyone with the pleasure of being in Raul\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNo one embodied life and love, joy and passion, family, friends, music, and adventure the way our beloved Raul did,\u201d Malo\u2019s wife Betty added. \u201cNow he will look down on us with all that heaven will allow<\/a>, <\/em>lighting the way and reminding us to savor every moment.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMalo was diagnosed<\/a> with colon cancer in June 2024. In September 2025, the singer announced<\/a> that he was fighting LMD, or leptomeningeal disease, a cancer that affects the brain and spinal cord.<\/p>\n \n\tGifted with one of music\u2019s most robust and dynamic voices, Malo was known as \u201cEl Maestro\u201d among his bandmates and fans. His singing style, powerful and emotive, had the ability to both stun an audience into silence and spur them to their feet. And with world-class musicians behind him, including Malo\u2019s co-founders in the group, bassist Robert Reynolds and drummer Paul Deakin, the Mavericks earned a reputation as the most eclectic and entertaining of performers. They could be a country band, a rock group, or a dance unit, depending on their tastes.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIf you ask 10 different people what the Mavericks mean to them, you\u2019re going to get 10 different answers,\u201d Malo told Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a> in 2015. \u201cAnd then you\u2019re going to hear our records and hear one song, and you\u2019re going to think this band is like this. Then you\u2019re going to hear the next song, and go, \u2018Holy shit, this band is nothing like that song that I just heard.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n