Los Dug Dug's - Early Years

Early Years

In 1960 a seven-member rock and roll band known as Xippos Rock was formed by several high school kids in the city of Durango in the state of Durango. The band was formed by two friends from high school, Roberto Miranda and Moises Munoz. Miranda was the lead guitar and Munoz was the bass player. While studying in he university of their home town, Durango, in the center of Mexico, after a while they invited Armando Nava, they always see him carrying a guitar in his bike so they talked to him to join the band. Nava had a cousin Jorge Luján that was very close to him and Nava teach him how to play the guitar, then he was invited to the play in the band, after a while SERGIO ORRANTE, the drummer, join the band,in a few months FRANCISCO ALCALDE join the band as a singer,at the very last moment JORGE DE LA TORRE join the band as a second singer,they did not have electric guitars, neither drums, but play with acoustic guitars with pick ups home made pick ups and as drums they used a still chair, they even play at a local radio station with a chair and acoustic guitars and some events in local places and theatres, like Ricardo Castro Theatre (known as Cine Principal back then) and in several parties. The songs they used to play in those early years were covers from Mexican rock bands such as LOS TEEN TOPS,LOS LOCOS DEL RITMO, LOS REBELDES DEL ROCK, ETC, ETC,

Armando Nava's father was a sales person and wished to take his family to TIJUANA, Baja California, and as a salesman he used to travel a lot. One day, after a year or so, ARMANDO wanted to go back to DURANGO and try to take the band "XIPPOS ROCK " to TIJUANA. He talked to his mother, MRS NAVA, to let the band travel with them back to TIJUANA. At the time MR NAVA was in Tijuana. The line-up consisted of: ARMANDO NAVA (LEAD GUITAR), Jorge Lujan (vocals and guitar),JORGE DE LA TORRE (VOCALS), SERGIO ORRANTE (DRUMS), and MOISES MUNOZ (bass guitar).they started playing in mazatlan,in OBREGON SONORA, and they changed their name to LOS DUGDUGS, and decided to continue their journey all the way up to Tijuana, while after two months in Tijuana the drummer (SERGIO ORRANTE)decided to go back to Durango and continue with his regular life as high school student.

They got a gig in a streep bar named Sans Souci in Tijuana, just in front of the well-known Mike's Bar. Then they got a chance at Mike's, where they became the main act, not only in Tijuana but in the whole Mexico-California border. The Dug Dugs were the first group to sing covers and original songs in English, creating what would be known as La Onda Chicana, movement that would include bands like Bandido, Three Souls in my Mind (currently known as El Tri), Peace and Love, El Ritual, among others.