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Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

[b]Omar A. Rodriguez Lopez[/b] (b. 1 September 1975, Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, band leader, and filmmaker, eldest brother of [url=https://discogs.com/artist/2434252]Marfred[/url], [url=https://discogs.com/artist/408661]Marcel[/url], and [a=Rikardo Rodriguez Lopez]. He is best known as the founding member of [b][a=At The Drive-In][/b] (1994–2001, 2015–18) and [b][a=The Mars Volta][/b] (2001–2012; reunited in 2019) in collaboration with [a=Cedric Bixler-Zavala], also leading a prolific solo career with [b][a=Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group][/b] and several other ensembles and side projects. He co-managed [l=Gold Standard Laboratories] (2001 to 2007) and [l=Rodriguez Lopez Productions] (2007–2016) labels, signed to German-based [l=Clouds Hill] since 2021. Rodríguez-López is managed by [l=Raw Power Management] in Los Angeles. Omar dated Mexican singer and actress, [a=Ximena Sariñana], between 2008 and 2011, and remained private about his personal life since then. Born in Puerto Rico to a musician and psychiatrist, [a=Angel Marcelo Rodriguez-Cheverez] and [a=Frances Rodriguez Lopez] (1950—2012), Omar spent most of his childhood in El Paso, Texas. The family briefly moved to South Carolina in the early 1980s, where his brother Marcel was born. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez began playing bass at twelve, switching to electric guitar a few years later. In the early 1990s, he first met vocalist [a=Cedric Bixler-Zavala] while practicing with [a=Paul Hinojos]; they became lifelong friends and permanent collaborators since then. Omar and Cedric often played with other local musicians in El Paso, such as [a=Julio Venegas] and [a=Jeremy Michael Ward]. In 1992, Omar Rodriguez dropped out of high school, touring with his recently established hardcore punk band [b]Startled Calf[/b], featuring [a=Ralph Dominique Jasso] on guitar, [a=Jimmy Hernandez] on bass, and [a=George Fraska] on drums. The short-lived project disbanded shortly after the inaugural tour.