Latin music's sleeper hit of the year, Mach and Daddy's "La Botella," sneaks its audible attack. Stealthily, the tropical percussion, signature reggaeton rhythm and hooky chorus sung almost as an impromptu party refrain have invaded your brain. Once you hear it, there's no shaking it.

"La Botella" transformed Panamanian brothers Pedro "Mach," 26, and Martin "Daddy" Machore, 23, into international sensations. The song, from the siblings' 2005 debut album, Desde Abajo, first conquered Panama, then Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Central America and Mexico, where it spent a staggering 10 weeks at No. 1.

"We were on the charts with Shakira and Maná, right alongside them," Daddy says by phone from Mexico. "It was amazing to be next to artists of such longevity. We are filming a program in Mexico, and the kids are singing it and everybody loves it."

"La Botella" eventually made its way over to the United States, where it peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Latin singles chart. Stateside, Desde Abajo has sold 17,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"It's a huge market in the United States, and the Latinos in the U.S. have really supported us," Daddy says.

The duo is to make its Dallas performance debut Sunday during the 28th annual Fiestas Patrias Festival, which also features stage turns by Grupo Montez de Durango, Beto y Sus Canarios, Los Invasores de Nuevo Leon, Alegres de la Sierra, Pegasso, Gloria Trevi, Voltio and others.

What separates Mach and Daddy from Voltio, Daddy Yankee, Ivy Queen and most reggaeton artists is that the pair blends reggaeton's ubiquitous beat with tropical styles, not hip-hop.

"We mix reggaeton with bachata, merengue, vallenato, salsa and socca. It's very Latin music," Daddy says.

That connection to salsa comes from the brothers' upbringing in Panama City, about two hours from the country's hopping Atlantic Coast music scene. The pair's father, Armando Machore, kept busy with Calipso Panama, a tropical group in which the elder Mr. Machore sang and composed songs. He spread music to his nine children, four girls and five boys.

"There was always music in our house, from when we woke up until we went to bed," Daddy says. "My dad was instrumental in showing us about instruments, the guitar, the keyboards. We were both in Calipso Panama. Mach played percussion, and I played the keyboards. We moved on to reggae, and we both got into it big, from reggae roots to reggae socca."

They gravitated to El General, the pioneering reggae rapper from Panama who took his distinctive blend of dancehall reggae and Latin-flavored hip-hop to international success. El General, born Edgardo Franco, is considered an architect of the reggaeton sound.

"He was a phenomenon," Mach says. "His songs, his rhythms and the way he rapped marked the beginning of a new genre worldwide. He was fundamental. El General was the first from Panama to become a worldwide star. He was the first to break out. He's a huge influence for all of us."

While working on a new CD, which should be out next year, Mach and Daddy are touring, both promotionally and musically. Two other cuts from Desde Abajo, "Las Solteras" and "Me Voy de Fiesta," have emerged as key tracks. Of course, "La Botella" remains their calling card.

"That song, and many other reggaeton songs, is all about party themes, rumba, young people," Daddy says. "It's all part of a new genre for the world."

E-mail mtarradell@dallasnews.com

Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with Mach and Daddy at 8:30, at Texas Stadium, 2401 E. Highway 183, Irving. Free. 214-525-0400.