History
Austin has a extended history of Tejano and Latin culture that can be traced back again to prior to the early 1920s to musicians such as master acordeonista and Conjunto Hall of Famer Camilo Cantú. Inspired by conjuntos before him like Leopoldo Guajardo, he commenced actively playing the accordion at dance functions in Central Texas. At the time, for the reason that of the deficiency of dance halls in rural regions, most of these events had been held at personal residences. A young Johnny Degollado, who now is a longstanding local figurehead in conjunto music, attended these situations with his loved ones and observed the huge crowds that Cantú’s new music would draw.
In the 1940s and ‘50s, Cantú’s band frequented a former Del Valle dance club referred to as La Polkita, but even though he turned known as “El Azote de Austin” (“the Scourge of Austin”) and a are living songs legend, his tunes was however never recorded. Fortunately, upcoming generations of Tejano musicians in Austin, this kind of as Johnny Degollado, kept Cantú’s legacy alive. In addition to Degollado, the Tejano scene has developed into a community of unparalleled talent that includes all those like Chencho Flores, Leonard Davila, Ruben Ramos, and numerous other folks.
Another pioneer of Tejano tunes and East Austin fixture, Manuel “Cowboy” Donley, normally credited as the “Godfather of Tejano Tunes,” was instrumental in creating the orquesta sound by combining Mexican and American pop songs elements motivated by major band. Encouraged by his father who was also a musician and professor of orquesta, Donley’s tunes profession caught fire in the 1940s and he is frequently credited for elevating Austin’s Latin new music scene to the amount of all over the world acclaim. He was inducted into the Tejano Audio Corridor of Fame in 1986, has recorded more than 150 singles, and has obtained a lot of prestigious awards (this kind of as the Nationwide Endowment for the Arts) equally on a countrywide and neighborhood stage.
Of program, even though there is an countless checklist of names of important figures in Austin Tejano new music record, those who are intrigued in studying much more are welcome to check out the almost 5-mile Tejano Going for walks Trail or Texas Audio Museum, both equally located in East Austin, to find out more about legends in Tejano culture these types of as Cowboy Donley, Nash Hernandez, the Perez & Ramos households, and Matias Velasquez.
As decades have handed, the Tejano style of songs has come to be a cultural area of interest but nonetheless is carried on by people like Los Texas Wranglers, Los Pinkys, and Los A-T Boyz. At present, area fans of Tejano tunes can get pleasure from the vintage appears of Pure Tejano Radio, a 24/7 internet radio station songs working out of Southeast Austin. Readers may also program their trip around situations such as the annual Rancho Alegre Conjunto Tunes Festival. In addition, for in excess of a ten years, the Leonard Davila-founded Austin Tejano New music Coalition and Austin Latino New music Association (ALMA) have been supporting the style, expanding its community, and preserving the historic contributions of Tejano and Latin audio.
The city’s Latin neighborhood is expansive and has only developed through the years. Individuals these types of as Patricia Vonne, Tish Hinojosa, and Rosie Flores led the cost to include things like more women in Latin audio. Furthermore, there are a amount of local musicians and bands of the youthful technology that have been inspired by their Latin roots these kinds of as funk-brass band Cilantro Boombox, Latin funk orchestra Grupo Fantasma, present-day cumbia-synth band Como Las Motion pictures, Austin’s premiere Selena-tribute band Bidi Bidi Banda, multi-award successful female trio Tiarra Women, Latin songstress Lesly Reynaga, and Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Paula Maya.