His fusion of tight tropical rhythms with American rock & roll earned Mike Laure the title "El Rey del Trópico." Born in Jalisco in 1939, Laure grew up listening to an assortment of cross-the-border rockers; he even borrowed the name for his group, Las Cometas, from his favorite, Bill Haley's band. Laure tempered his rock & roll inclinations with Cumbia rhythms learned from Colombia's Sonora Dinamita.