The Rise of Recorded Tejano Music in the Post-World War II Years, 1946-1964

Author(s): Guadalupe San Miguel Jr.

Source: Journal of American Ethnic History, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Fall, 1999), pp. 26-49
Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Immigration & Ethnic History
Society
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 The Rise of Recorded Tejano Music in
the Post-World War II Years, 1946-1964

GUADALUPE SANMIGUEL, JR.

DURING THE WAR YEARS from 1941 to 1945, all types of Tejano
music recordings were halted due, in large part, to the shortage of mate
rials for the making of records and to the major record companies'
abandonment of regional music. These companies abandoned this music
to concentrate on popular national music in both the United States and
Mexico.1
After the war, however, and for the next two decades, local compa
nies emerged and began to record Tejano music. The recording music

industry as well as the impact of American culture, increased socio

economic opportunities, and other factors led to significant changes in
this music. Among the most important developments were the emer
gence of two different musical styles?the female-based duet and the
orquesta tejana?and the re-emergence and eventual dominance of

conjunto music. The following traces some of these developments and

the forces responsible for them.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF IDEAL RECORDS, 1947

Discos Ideal was the first and most influential of the local recording
companies. Two enterprising businessmen, Armando Marroquin and Paco
Betancourt, established it in 1947.

Marroquin was born on 12 September 1912 and went to college in

Kingsville, Texas
during the late 1920s. Several years later, he married
Carmen Hernandez, a local woman he met while in college, and settled
in Kingsville. Soon thereafter, Marroquin went into the lucrative juke
box business in nearby Alice.2 Jukeboxes were found in cantinas, res
taurants, and other businesses throughout the area.
Betancourt was born on 15 January 1903 in the lower Rio Grande
Valley. In the 1920s he built and operated the Queen Theater on Main
Street in Brownsville, the first theater in the valley to show talking
movies. Sometime in the 1930s he sold it and went into the record
business. He owned and operated the Rio Grande Music Company in

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Miguel 27

San Benito, Texas, a retail record shop. In addition to selling records he

also serviced over a hundred jukeboxes and pin ball games.3
During the 1930s, records by known local artists such as Narciso
Martinez, Gaytan y Cantu, and Lydia Mendoza were readily available
from the major labels like Blue Bird, Vocalion, Okeh, and Decca. Dur
ing the early 1940s, however, these major labels quit recording "re
gional and ethnic" music. The demand for regionally popular artists and
music however increased after the war. Chris Strachwitz, a music histo
rian and aficionado, has argued that a major reason for this increase had
to do with the increased purchasing power of the Tejano population.
"With the end of World War II in 1945," he notes, "millions of workers
all over the country, especially those of rural background who had found
work in the lucrative war industries, were making good wages and were
willing and able to support their favorite regional music, musicians, and

singers."4
Mexican and Mexican American music was not totally lacking. Re
corded Mexican music was available across the border or from Los

Angeles, but a great deal of red tape and too much frustration was
involved in obtaining it.5 The available Mexican music also was not

geared towards the Tejano musical sensitivities. It was comprised pri

marily of vocal
singing guitarwith or mariachi
accompaniment. This
type of musical style had been popular in Texas prior to the Second
World War. But T?janos had acquired different musical tastes over the
years and had become accustomed to the accordion. They wanted to
hear accordion-based conjunto music.6
Determined to supply his jukeboxes with Mexican music loved by

T?janos, Marroquin bought some recording equipment in 1945 and be

gan to record local artists. Afterwards, he contracted with a company in
California to press and distribute his recordings. He used these "home

grown" records in his own jukeboxes or sold them directly to other

regionaljukebox operators in south Texas.7

Marroquin at this point encouraged his friend Betancourt, an indi

vidual familiar with the distribution of records along the border, to join
him in forming the record company. Betancourt agreed and, in 1947,
both of them established Discos Ideal. During the next two decades,
Ideal became the leading producer of Tejano music in the state8 and "the
most representative of the artists and musical culture of the lower Rio
Grande Valley."9 In less than two decades, it recorded hundreds of
songs by a variety of local artists from south and central Texas, many of
which became local, state, or regional hits. A host of popular Tejano

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28 Journal of American Ethnic History / Fall 1999

artists of the 1950s, such as Valerio Longoria, Tony de la Rosa, Paulino

Bernai, and Beto Villa, the "father" of orquesta music in Texas, re
corded for this label.
Ideal also played a significant role in shaping Tejano music by incor
porating women into the Tejano recording industry and by launching
two musical trends then taking place in Texas?the orquesta tejana and
conjunto music. Its most significant influence, however, was in "helping
to establish the dominance of conjunto and orquesta over all other types
of music in Texas."10 This dominance of styles was visibly reflected in
the recorded songs of the female duets. The overwhelming majority of
these duets, for instance, recorded only with conjunto or orquesta ac

companiment.

LAS MUJERES IN TEJANO MUSIC, 1946

The initial recordings took place inMarroquin's home and were done
by his wife and sister-in-law, Carmen and Laura Hernandez. Profession
ally, they were known as Carmen y Laura. Carmen was born in Kingsville,
Texas, in 1921 and came from a talented
family who had sung at family
gatherings for years. Her sister Laura, who had just returned from school
in Mexico, accompanied Carmen on this recording. Laura was born in

Kingsville in 1926.n
The firstsong Carmen y Laura recorded was called "Se Me Fue Mi
Amor." This song laments the absence of a woman's loved one overseas
in the Armed Forces. "Se me fue mi amor... Se me fue a la guerra ...,"
(My love has gone.... He left to go to war) she sings. It discusses her
desire to be with him. One verse states: "Quisiera por el volar, hacia
adonde esta mi bien, volar por las aves, cruzar esos mares, llegar a morir
con el," (Iwish I could fly for him towhere ever he may be, fly like the
birds across the sea, to die along with him) she laments. She asks God
that "si no vuelvo a verlo que me de lamuerte, que es mejor morir" (If I
don't see him again grant me death, for death would be a better fate).12
song was
This important for several reasons. First, it presented a
woman's point of view. In this case, the song dealt with the feelings of a
woman who longed for her significant other who had gone to war. The
women's perspective in this love song was highly unusual given the
limited role that they had in the highly patriarchalMexican American
culture and the relative absence in the recording
of females industry in
general. Women were expected to be housewives, mothers, and wives,
not singers, composers, or performers. While a few women were in

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Miguel 29

volved in the entertainment

industry, in the early decades of the twentieth
century they were limited to the vaudeville theater stage. On the stage
women assumed roles as singers, comediennes, dancers and chorus girls.
In the late 1920s, the role of women expanded with the rise of recorded
music. Many of them became singers outside of the stage and recorded
songs as solistas (soloists) or as part of a dueto (duets).13 Female duets
such as the Herrera, Posada, and Padilla Sisters either recorded locally
in Los Angeles during the 1920s and 1930s or else visited the United
States from Mexico City.14 Tejanas, for the most part, were relatively
absent from the recording industry.15 The only exception to this pattern of
exclusion was Lydia M ndoza.16 As early as 1928, she recorded with her
parents and a sister as Cuarteto Carta Blanca. In the 1930s she went on
her own and recorded so igswith guitar accompaniment.17
Because of the relative absence of women in the recording industry,
almost the entire range of Mexican and Tejano music came from a
man's point of view. In some cases, when women sang in public, the
lyrics were not changed to reflect their experiences. This led to absurd
situations such as when Las Abaje?as, two sisters by the name of Catalina
and Victoria, sang a song with the following lyrics: "tu carino me hace
falta mujer, ya no puedo vivir lejos de ti, ni pensar que tus caricias
perdi" (I've missed your loving, woman; I can't live far from you now,
nor recall I had lost your affection). The lack of a female perspective, as

ethnomusicologist Chris Strachwitz notes, "did not limit the depth of

heart-felt emotions that these women expressed in their singing, and it is
to their credit that they could turn many of these songs around."18
A second reason for the importance of "Se Me Fue Mi Amor" was
that it gave rise to the "Tejano" sound, a style unique to Texas and
different from traditional Mexican music. Female singers, whether from
Mexico or the Southwest, were accompanied by a variety of ensembles
or instruments but none utilized accordions during the pre-World War II

years.19 Carmen and Laura broke with this female musical tradition and
featured this particular instrument in their recordings.20 This new Tejano
sound gained quick acceptance as indicated by record sales.21
Most of the songs the women performed initially were recorded with
the accompaniment of accordionists such as Narciso Martinez or Paulino
Bernai and with the assistance of bajo sexto players such as Santiago
Alameida and others. Marroquin, however, was quite aware of the dis
dain that the growing Tejano middle class had towards accordion music.
Many of these individuals associated this music with the lower classes.
So as not to offend them he recorded his wife and her sister, as well as

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 30 Journal of American Ethnic History / Fall 1999

other singers too, with the orquesta sound of the saxophone and other
wind-based instruments.22 Among the most popular orquesta musicians
to accompany Carmen and Laura were Beto Villa and Eugenio
Gutierrez.23
The musical style and grouping of Carmen y Laura began a new trend
in Tejano music. In the next decade and a half countless other duets
formed and recorded Tejano music with conjuntos or orquestas Tejanas.
Among the most popular during these years were the following: Las
Abaje?as (Catalina and Victoria), Hermanas Fraga, Hermanas Segovia,
Delia y Laura, Rosita y Laura (Rosita Fernandez and Laura Cantu),
Hermanas Cantu (Nori and Ninfa), Hermanas Guerrero (Maria Luisa
and Felipa), Las Rancheritas, and Hermanas Mendoza (Maria and
Juanita).24
Occasionally, a few vocal duets recorded with the traditional trumpet
and horn sounds of the mariachi style.25 The majority however were

accompanied by either a conjunto or an orquesta tejana.

The female duets toured extensively throughout the Southwest and
Midwest. They did not
tour by themselves nor were they part of
"caravanas" (caravans) like so many recording artists from Mexico. They
were always accompanied by their husbands on the road and toured with
established conjuntos or orquestas. In public appearances the women
would sing in front of the bands for many hours at a time.26
Individual female artists also recorded during this period. The two
most well known Tejana singers during the post-World War II era were
Lydia Mendoza and Chelo Silva. Mendoza began her career in 1928
with her parents and a sister as the Cuarteto Carta Blanca (Carta Blanca
Quartet) when she was twelve years old. In the 1930s she embarked on
a solo career and eventually became the number one pioneer Tejana
recording artist. Unlike other females, she recorded with conjuntos,
orquestas, and guitar accompaniment.27
Chelo Silva was born in 1922 in Brownsville, Texas. She began her
career at the Continental Club in Brownsville and made her first record
ing for Discos Falcon in 1954. Falcon also promoted Tejano music and
became Ideal's main competitor in this decade. Arnaldo Ramirez formed
it in the early 1950s.28
Suva's career was quite distinct from Lydia Mendoza's. Both per
formed in the United States, but Silva was more popular inMexico and
South America. She also was principally known as a singer of boleros
and accompanied usually by a mariachi band. Mendoza, on the other

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Miguel 31

hand, included boleros in her musical repertoire but did not concentrate
on this type of music. She also sang rancheras, valses, and other musical
tunes and was backed-up by either a twelve-string guitar or a variety of
conjuntos and orquestas.29
Two other female artists achieved a modicum of success during these
years?Rosita Fernandez and Ventura
Alonzo. Fernandez, the daughter
of a captain in the Mexican Army, was born inMonterrey, Nuevo Leon.
Her family moved to San Antonio when she was a young girl. At the
age of nine she began singing with her uncles in a group called el Trio
San Miguel. "They thought maybe a little girl would be an attraction to
the public," she said.30 She toured South Texas in the 1920s and 1930s
with the trio. In 1932 she won a radio singing contest which led to a

long career in radio and later television. Fernandez, known simply as

Rosita, made four motions pictures and many sound recordings from the
1940s to the early 1960s.31 Unlike Chelo Silva, Rosita was primarily a
bolero singer. Unlike Silva, Rosita performed both in Spanish and En

glish for a mixed audience. One of her most accessible songs, "Mi
Fracaso," was recorded in 1950 with a conjunto group.32
Ventura Alonzo, like Fernandez, was primarily a local phenomenon
and had a limited impact on Tejano music. However, she was one of the
few pioneering female artists in a male-dominated recording and dance

industry. For this reason alone she deserves to be recognized and ac

knowledged.
Ventura (Martinez) Alonzo was born in Matamoros in 1905. Her

family immigrated to Brownsville in 1910 and later moved to Houston,

where she marriedFrank Alonzo.33 She learned to play the piano at an

early age. When her husband, a self-taught guitar player, discovered his
wife's piano ability, he immediately thought about forming a band.

Needing something more portable she began playing a piano accordion.

Within a couple of months, they acquired two additional musicians and
formed the core of what would eventually become Alonzo y Sus Ran
cheros. Ventura played the accordion for the group. Because of her
ability, she was as the "Queen of the Accordion."
known Unlike other
singers, she did not tour the South Texas circuit nor did she record many
songs. She was primarily a local artist performing for a Houston audi
ence. In 1956, the Alonzos opened La Terraza, a ballroom located in
east Houston. Alonzo y Sus Rancheros was the house band and opened
for other acts. The couple retired from music in 1969.34
The female artists were an extremely important force in the emerging

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 32 Journal of American Ethnic History / Fall 1999

Tejano music industry. They initiated a completely new style and helped
to establish the dominance of conjuntos and orquestas over all other
types of music in Texas. They also increased the social base of Tejano
music by appealing to immigrant, working class, middle class and ac
culturated groups of T?janos. At times, they even provided their own
perspective on Tejano relationships. Their presence then added signifi
cantly to the shape and content of Tejano music during the post-World
War II years.

THE EMERGENCE OF ORQUESTA TEJANA

A second major development in Tejano music during these years was

the emergence of a new type of musical ensemble that came to be
known as the orquesta tejana in the 1940s. (It acquired other names in
later years, including Tex-Mex in the 1950s and La Onda Chicana [The
Chicano Wave] in the 1960s.)
Orquestas Tejanas were forged in the midst of a society undergoing
rapid economic and ideological transformations. They played a promi
nent role in reflecting and shaping the musical and cultural tastes of a
group of highly urbanized and acculturated Texas Mexicans. A small
number of these individuals also were part of the growing middle class
within the Mexican origin population.35
These individuals found the culture of the less assimilated and work
ing-class Mexican population too
limiting since it did not reflect their
diverse experiences based on increased rates of acculturation, urbaniza
tion, and economic mobility.36 For the most part, they were willing to
play what one scholar referred to as "popular folk dances of the region"
especially polkas, waltzes, and redovas. They, however, also wanted a
more sophisticated sound based on saxophones, pianos, and clarinets,
not on the violins, mandolins or accordions of the existing musical
groups.37 Likewise, they wanted to play other types of dances popular in
the United States
and Mexico, including danzones, mambos, boleros,
swing, foxtrot, and rock and roll. The orquesta tejana allowed them this
opportunity to be ethnic and American simultaneously. Orquestas tejanas
then legitimated the musical tastes of this group and communicated a
middle class, acculturated, and urbanized alternative to the rural-based
conjunto and working-class culture generally.38
Orquestas tejanas existed in the years prior to World War II. These
however were quite different from the ones that emerged in the years

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Miguel 33

after the war. The earlier orquestas were based primarily on either string
or wind instruments or on a combination of both. Some of the more

popular string instruments were guitars, violins, psalteries, vihuelas, man

dolins and contrabass. Two of the most popular wind instruments in
cluded clarinets and trumpets. The former were
as orquestas de
known
cuerda (string-based orchestras); the wind-based orquestas had no par
ticular name. Orquestas de cuerda were popular among the elite and
generally played at their functions. They also were popular among work
ing-class groups and played in a variety of public celebrations. Work
ing-class orquestas however were not as large as those that played at
elite events. Most likely, they were, as the ethnomusicologist Manuel
Pena suggests, "makeshift ensembles" and included whatever instru
ments and musicians were available.39
The orquestas changed significantly over time as a result of shifting
musical tastes among the population.40 The orquestas de cuerda, in par
ticular, disappeared as a distinct musical tradition in the Tejano commu
nity by the early 1940s probably as a result of the decline of its core

constituency?the miniscule group of "Ricos" or "upper class exiled

Mexicans" living in the Tejano community. The wind-based orquestas,
on the other hand, underwent a transformation and re-emerged in a
different form in the mid 1940s as a result of the addition of lyrics to the
songs and changes in the instrumentation of the ensemble and in the

repertoire of dance styles.41 In most cases, the musicians of the post

World War II era eliminated some of the string instruments, especially
the violins and mandolins. They also added new wind instruments to
create the modern orquesta tejana. Of particular importance was the

incorporation of the saxophone in this musical ensemble. The two "in

disputable" kings of orquesta Tejana, Beto Villa and Isidro Lopez, for
instance, emphasized the new sounds of the saxophone in the orquesta.42

Occasionally a small piano or an accordion was used as the key melody

instrument. Most of the orquestas began as small groups but by the
1950s they expanded and included anywhere from eight to twelve mem
bers with as many if not more instruments.
Beto Villa, the son of a prosperous tailor, established the first orquesta
tejana in Falfurrias, Texas during the 1930s. Villa organized his first
band, "The Sonny Boys," as a high school student in 1932. It played no
Tejano music such as polkas, valses, or huapangos and instead special
ized in American big band music. The name of the group as well as the
songs they played reflected the impact of American life on Mexican

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 34 Journal of American Ethnic History / Fall 1999

youths in Texas in a period of constant change along the border, in the

state, and throughout the nation. Nothing is known about the fate of the
Sonny Boys or their impact on local society.43
Sometime between 1932 and World War II, Beto Villa lost interest in
playing only American-type music and began to appreciate the musical
traditions of the border. In 1947, he approached Armando Marroquin of
Discos Ideal about recording a couple of Tejano songs in the orquesta
style. Betancourt was skeptical about the potential success of this type
of recording given the community's preference for accordion-based dance
music. After some prodding, he agreed to the recording session, but
only if Villa had an accordionist in the group. In October 1947, Villa
recorded his first two sides for Ideal. Side A was a polka entitled "Las
Delicias" (Sweet Delights) and side B contained a waltz by the name of

"Porque Te Ries" (Why Do You Laugh).44

Villa's records sold "in bunches" in the south Texas area. Paco
Betancourt, the person responsible for distributing Discos Ideal's records,
called Marroquin from San Benito, Texas and said "Tell him (Villa) to
record some more."45
Villa recorded songs that became hits for the next several years. These
hits assured his position in Tejano music and made him one of the most

popular musicians in the industry. "His name and music," notes Manuel
Pena, "quickly became legendary." Wherever he performed during the
1940s and 1950s, Villa drew large numbers of fans and continually
packed the public dance halls that became extremely popular throughout
Texas after the Second World War.46
The indisputable king of orquesta tejana during the post-World
second
War II period was Isidro Lopez from Corpus Christi. Lopez learned to

play the saxophone and clarinet in high school. Although he graduated

from high school and managed to attend college for a year, Lopez strongly
identified with the less educated
working-class population in the barrios
of "Corpitos" and with conjunto music. Nonetheless, he was strongly
influenced by the urbanized, acculturated, and middle-class ideology of
his orquesta peers. The music he played reflected these twin influences.47
Lopez began to record for Ideal in 1954. Similar to Villa, he played
popular folk dances of the region but with orquesta instruments. Lopez
recorded highly sophisticated polkas and rancheras. Some of the most
important hits during the 1950s and 1960s were "Desiluci?n" (Disillu
sion); "D?gamele" (Tell Her); "Sufriendo y Penado" (Suffering and Griev

ing); "Emoci?n" (Emotion); "Pasajera" (Transient), and many others.

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Miguel 35

He also expanded the traditional repertoire of Tejano musical groups

and specialized in the recording of boleros. Lopez recorded over sixty

singles and eight LPs under the Ideal label during these two decades.48
Beto Villa and Isidro Lopez were only the beginning of a new influx
of orquestas. In the next decade and a half a host of other groups emerged
in various cities and towns including Balde Gonzalez, Eugenio Gutierrez,
Chris Sandoval, Mike ?rnelas, Dario Perez, and Pedro Bugarin from
Arizona.
One of the most interesting singers of this period was Balde Gonzalez,
a blind, pianist-singer and composer from Victoria, Texas. He did not
follow in Villa's or Lopez's footsteps and record Tejano tunes. He re
corded mostly boleros in Spanish and fox trots. Although Gonzalez

represented the most "elite" of all the orquesta musicians of the 1940s
and 1950s he remained rooted in his culture by singing in Spanish and

by recording styles popular in Latin America. He became known for a

smooth, crooner style in his performance reminiscent of Agust?n Lara
and constantly used the piano in his recordings.49
Eugenio Gutierrez, from a small town called Runge, also was unique
in that he recognized the importance of the accordion for T?janos and
used it in his recordings. Gutierrez recorded several orquesta hits that
included Pedro Ayala, a notable accordionist of the 1940s and 1950s.50
Not all the existing orquestas recorded during these years. Despite the
lack of record deals, many of them were well received by the public. In

Houston, for instance, at least four extremely popular orquestas Tejanas

existed between 1946 and 1960: (1) The Tommy Flores Orchestra,51 (2)
Eloy Perez and the Latinaires,52 (3) Gaston Ponce,53 and (4) Alonzo y
Sus Rancheros Orchesta.54 Other cities such as Corpus Christi,
Brownsville, and San Antonio also had a number of orquestas Tejanas
that only recorded occasionally or not at all and were extremely popu
lar.55

EVOLUTION OF ORQUESTAS TEJANAS

were not con

Orquestas tejanas like most other musical ensembles
stant; they changed over time. In the beginning orquestas were small
and the music they played was instrumental. They also utilized the
accordion.56 Beto Villa's initial recordings reflected these developments.
Within the next several years at least three major changes were made to

orquestas and orquesta music.

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 36 Journal of American Ethnic History / Fall 1999

Beginning in 1950, the first of several changes was made when Beto
Villa dropped the use of the accordion and added new brass and wind
based instruments. He also increased the size of the band from around
eight to eleven members.
"Beto made the orquesta real big," noted
Reymundo Trevino, a piano-accordionist who had been with Villa for
years, "and those of us who couldn't read music, we were fired."57 The
reasons for these changes are unclear but most likely he wanted a differ
ent type of sound that corresponded more with the orquesta style of
American and Latin American big bands such as Glenn Miller and
Xavier Cugart.58
Isidro Lopez also abandoned the use of the accordion by the end of
the decade, added new instruments, and increased the size of the orquesta.
Some groups, such as Eugenio Gutierrez and Ventura Alonso y Sus
Rancheros, however, did not abandon or substitute the accordion for
another instrument. Both of them were fond of the "squeezebox" and
continued using it for many years. The latter group, in fact, used it until
the latter part of the 1960s, when its members retired from the music
scene.59

The second major innovation to orquesta music was the addition of

lyrics to the polka and the vals (waltz) by Isidro Lopez in 1954. Lopez
was influenced by the canci?n ranchera, popularized inMexico by the
mariachi. The canci?n ranchera was literally a song with lyrics that
often dwelled on abandoned lovers and treacherous women.60 The canci?n
ranchera was usually sung to the accompaniment of violins, guitars, and
trumpets. This lyrical or vocal singing tradition was popularized by the
Tejana duets in the mid-1940s and incorporated into conjunto music by
Valerio Longoria in 1948 (to be discussed in the next section). The
increasedpopularity of this tradition probably encouraged Lopez to in

corporate lyrics into the orquesta ensemble. This innovation brought

him tremendous and immediate success. By the late 1950s, practically
all the orquestas included lyrics in their musical tunes.61
A third major innovation was
the broadening of the musical repertory
to include not only songs and dance styles from Mexico but also from
Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States. The orquestas, as
noted earlier, played the popular "folk dances" of the region. The "bread
and butter" for many of these groups, in many cases, was the polka and
the ranchera.62 Over the years, however, orquestas Tejanas added some
of the more popular Latin American and Caribbean musical styles into
their repertoire including the mambo, bolero, rumba, and danz?n. One

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Miguel 37

of Beto Villa's biggest hits, for instance, was "Mambo #7," recorded in
1948. In the 1950s, Eugenio Gutierrez recorded an extremely popular
porro (a Latin American dance tune) entitled "Mi Marianita" while Isidro
Lopez recorded "La Hiedra" (Ivy), a danz?n. Balde Gonzalez and Lydia
Mendoza, on the other hand, recorded several boleros that became hits.63

Orquesta leaders likewise added some American tunes such as swing,

rhythm and blues, and rock and roll to their repertoire. This suggested
an increasing impact of American culture on Tejano music. The follow
ing selection is representative of the types of musical tunes incorporated
into Tejano music by orquestas of the 1940s and 1950s: (1) "Pachuca
Blues," blues, Beto Villa Orquesta, January 1950, (2) "Mala Cara," rock
ranchera, Isidro Lopez, 1950s, and (3) "No Esperar Mas De Mi," cancion
blues, Balde Gonzalez, 1950s.64
Although orquestas Tejanas incorporated American tunes into their
repertoire, they did not record in English nor did they play primarily
these types of songs. Unlike Mexican Americans in other parts of the
southwest, they remained true to their roots and either sang in Spanish
only or continued playing polkas and rancheras.65
Because these developments
of the orquestas Tejanas increased in
both size and influence and quickly began to compete with conjuntos for
audiences.

THE RE-EMERGENCE OF CONJUNTO MUSIC

Another major development that occurred after the Second World

War wasthe re-emergence of conjunto music. The establishment of
local recording companies and the recording of vocal singing facilitated
its reintroduction into the Tejano community by female duet groups.
Post-World War II recordings of conjunto music began in 1946. In
this year, Marroquin recorded music played by none other than Narciso
Martinez. Although born in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico in 1911,
Martinez began to play the accordion when he was still very young. He
also started recording Tejano style accordion music in 1936 after a
music storeowmer from south Texas, Enrique Valentine, introduced him
to Eli Oberstein, the "roving record director" for the Blue Bird label.
Oberstein was in San Antonio to record all kinds of regional music for
his label.66 That initial recording at a San Antonio hotel room soon led
to many others because of the audience's excellent reception to his
music.67

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 38 Journal of American Ethnic History / Fall 1999

All of his recordings during the 1930s were instrumental in nature. So

were those he did in the post-war years. Two important hits recorded in
1946 by Narciso Martinez were the polka entitled "La Cuquita" and the
vals (waltz) entitled "Ausencia"
(Absence).68
Martinez a resurgence
initiated in conjunto music during the post-war
years. Within a decade large numbers of conjuntos were formed through
out the state; many of them got record deals with Discos Ideal or other
local recording companies. Among the most popular conjuntos during
the 1940s and 1950s were
the following: Tony de La Rosa, Juan Lopez,
Valerio Longoria, Ruben
Vela, Flaco Jimenez, Conjunto Trio San Anto
nio, Los Pinquinos del Norte, Los Donnenos, and Conjunto Bernai.69
Tejano companies also recorded conjunto groups from Mexico. These
groups are usually referred to as norte?o groups because they come
from northern Two of the first groups
Mexico. recorded by regional
companies were
Los Alegres de Teran and Los Hermanos Torres-Garcia
(later they became Los Pavos Reales). The former group, called the
"father" of norte?o conjunto by Chris Strachwitz, began to record in
1948; the latter in 1949.70 Los Alegres de Teran was comprised of two
brothers, Eugenio ?brego and Tomas Ortiz. Both of them came from
the little village of General Teran just southeast of Monterrey in the
state of Nuevo Leon but, in the mid-1950s, they moved to McAllen,
Texas.71 Los Alegres de Teran was probably the most widely known
and respected of the norte?o conjuntos during these years.72

INNOVATIONS AND CHANGES IN CONJUNTO MUSIC

Conjunto music did not remain static. From the mid-1940s to the
early 1960s, it changed significantly and acquired both a stable form
and a particular identity. This evolution occurred as a result of several
innovations introduced at different periods in time during the 1940s and
1950s.
At least one major innovation was made to conjunto music during the
1940s. The first occurred in 1948 when Valerio Longoria introduced
vocal singing.73 Longoria was born in Kenedy, Texas, a small commu
nity about sixty-five miles north of Corpus Christi. He came from mi
grant and rarely attended
families school. "Fui poco a la escuela. Era
muy duro para mi padre; mejor me llevaba a trabajar" (I had very little
school. It was hard on my father, he would rather take me to work with
him).74

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Miguel 39

Despite the lack of formal education, Longoria was a talented child.

He learned to play the guitar at six years of age and the accordion at
seven; his first paid performance was at eight years of age. He continued

playing conjunto music until he was drafted into the army at the begin
ning of World War II. Upon his discharge from the army, he resumed
his playing. Longoria recorded his first pieces in 1947 under the Corona
Records label from San Antonio.75 Two years later, he switched record
labels and went to Discos Ideal, where he stayed for about eight years.76
It was at Ideal, notes Pena, "that Longoria left his mark as the most
innovative conjunto musician until that time."77
The addition of lyrics to conjunto music, as noted above, was a selec
tive process. They were only added to two dance forms: the polka and
the vals.78 This development, in turn, led to the creation of the ranchera
Tejana and the vals ranchera. The former was a polka with lyrics, the
latter a vals with lyrics.79
The incorporation of lyrics into conjunto music had a significant im
pact on the vocal
singing and on
tradition orquestas Tejanas. With re
spect to the former, it decreased its popularity by encouraging the merg
ing of the vocal singing tradition into the conjunto. This development
also had the effect of excluding women from Tejano music since most
of the groups engaged in vocal singing were male only. The addition of
lyrics to Tejano music likewise had a significant impact on the evolution
of the orquesta Tejana and served to increase its popularity among the
population. The rise of Isidro Lopez in the mid 1950s and other groups
such as Balde Gonzalez and Eugenio Gutierrez was, in large part, due to
the incorporation of lyrics and the vocal singing tradition into this type
of music.
In the 1950s several additional innovations were made to the conjunto.
First, there were instrumental changes. Most groups added a modern
dance band drum, substituted an electric bass guitar for the stand-up
bass or tololoche, and introduced speakers and microphone.80
Longoria was the first to add the drum but itwas Tony de la Rosa that
popularized it in the late 1950s. De la Rosa was born in 1931 in Sarita,
twenty-five miles from Corpus Christi. He learned to play the accordion
as a teenager by listening to Narciso Martinez on the radio. At sixteen
years of age he went to nearby Kingsville to play his accordion in the
cantinas or beer taverns. He played in cantinas until 1949 when he did
his first recording under the short-lived label of Arco, a company from
Alice, Texas.81 The following year, he switched over to Discos Ideal

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 40 Journal of American Ethnic History / Fall 1999

and began to turn out a series of hits that lasted for decades and that
made him the most popular conjunto in Texas during the 1950s.
The addition of the modern dance band drum was quite different from
the tambora de rancho used by conjuntos prior to the 1930s. The latter
was a noisy contraption and had little, if any impact on the emerging
conjunto. The former, however, "created an entirely new dimension in
that it altered the function of all the other instruments in the conjunto."
Manuel Pena best describes this impact in the following manner:

The drum "settled down" the tempo, especially for polkas and freed the
bajo sexto and the accordion from the constant necessity of attending
simultaneously to melody, harmony, and tempo. With the drums taking
over the primary function of rhythm and "keeping time," both the accor
dion and the bajo were left to explore new modes of articulation.82

Although introduced in the early 1950s, the drums did not become a
standard feature of the conjunto until the latter part of the decade be
cause many people felt that they were too overpowering. "People laughed
at us, because no one used drums," Tony de la Rosa said in an interview
in 1978. "People thought itwas like a circus. Even the recording compa
nies didn't want drums," he added.83
De la Rosa also added the other instruments to the modern conjunto
ensemble. In the early 1950s he introduced amplification with the bajo
sexto and then switched the stand-up bass or tololoche for an electric
bass guitar.84
De la Rosa likewise was responsible for initiating a new style of

playing the accordion that significantly impacted Tejano dancing. An

official publication of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Anto
nio, Texas, noted the impact Tony de la Rosa's manner of playing the
accordion had on Tejano dance styles:

(It was) his stylized staccato accordion playing, with its unique combina
tion of mechanical precision and harmonical-like-wailing that were of
special significance because it slowed down the tempo of the music which
had come to be played extremely fast. This new, slower sound directly
created a dancing style known as (el) tacuachito.85

These changescatapulted Tony de la Rosa to the top of the Tejano

music industry by the end of the decade and led to the consolidation of a
basic form to this ensemble.
A second major change occurred in the musical repertoire of conjunto

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Miguel 41

groups during the 1950s. Conjuntos generally played a diverse selection

of polkas, valses, redowas, shotises, and mazurkas.86 Sometime during
the 1950s, different groups added rancheras and boleros to their reper
toire. By the end of the decade, the ranchera in conjunction with the

polka and the bolero, became the core of conjunto music.87 Other musi
cal selections such as the redowa, shotis, and mazurka, continued to be

played, but less frequently.

During this period a few conjuntos also began to specialize in certain
types of dance tunes.88 Tony de la Rosa was one of them. He specialized
in polkas and acquired the name "The King of the Polkas." Although he
played other dance tunes, especially boleros and rancheras, Tony de la
Rosa was most known for his lively polkas such as "El Circo" (The
Circus, his first
big hit), "Sylvia," "Los Frijoles Bailan" (The Beans
Dance), "La Grulla" (The Crane), and "Atotonilco."89
A final set of innovations was introduced by Conjunto Bernai in the
late 1950s.90 It introduced three-part harmony, the full use of the accor
dion, and the virtuosity of accordion and bajo sexto. These innovations
made Bernai the leading conjunto by the early 1960s.91
Despite its popularity, Conjunto Bernai had little impact on other
conjuntos during this period because of several possible reasons. First,
most of these groups were not interested in adding more voices or
instruments to the traditional conjunto. Second, most of them were satis
fied with either one or two singers or with playing the accordion in less

complex ways. Third, the Tejano dancing population made few de

mands for complexity in the music or for virtuosity in its musicians.

They were satisfied with the basic conjunto ensemble comprised of an

accordion, a bajo sexto, an electric guitar, and an American drum and

playing dancing music for their own pleasure.

NORTE?O CONJUNTOS

The innovations mentioned above were incorporated primarily by

conjunto groups on the Texas side of the border and for the Mexican
American community. Norte?o groups, that is, conjuntos from Mexico,
for the most part, did not incorporate many of these innovations right
maintained their own from the Tejano conjunto
away.92 They identity
groups.
Similar to Tejano conjuntos, norte?o groups became extremely popu
lar in the Mexican origin community primarily because of the large

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 42 Journal of American Ethnic History / Fall 1999

numbers of immigrants residing north of the border. National recording

companies in Mexico, like those in the United States, ignored these
regional groups. Independent record companies however picked up the
slack and promoted norte?o music in south and central Texas. More
research on norte?o groups in Texas, however, needs to be conducted in
order to get a better sense of their popularity in the community.

GROWTH AND DOMINANCE OF CONJUNTO MUSIC

Despite the coexistence of female duets, orquestas, and conjuntos, by

the 1950s the latter became the dominant form of music in the commu
nity throughout the state. Pena's comment about the dominance of
conjunto music inWeslaco, a border town in South Texas is probably
applicable to the rest of the state. "At this time (1950s) conjunto music
reigned supreme at la placita (town plaza), and performers like Ruben
Vela, who were very much in demand, were regularly featured." Delia
Gutierrez Pineda, who had been a featured singer in her father's orquesta
in the 1940s and 1950s, also agreed that conjuntos were more popular
than orquestas by the 1950s.93
The dominance conjunto music was due to at least five major
of
reasons. First, itwas
due to the role played by local independent Tejano

companies committed to recording this type of music after the Second

World War. Asmentioned earlier, major recording companies aban
doned the field of regional music during the war years to concentrate on

popular national music in the United States and inMexico. This led to a
void in the recording of all forms of regional Mexican music in the
United States. Beginning in 1946, small independent recording compa
nies that Mexican origin individuals founded were established in various
parts of the state. Among the largest and most prolific was Discos Ideal
but there were others. Between 1946 and 1956 at least eight other com

panies throughout south Texas and Mexico recorded Tejano groups,

including Rio (San Antonio), Arco (Alice), Del Valle-Oro (McAllen),
El Toro (Mexico), Rovi (Mexico), DLV (Monterrey, Mexico), Corona
(San Antonio), and Falcon (Texas).94 Although these record companies
supported different musical styles, they concentrated on conjunto music.
Because of their in conjunto,
increasing some musical
interest en
sembles and traditions began to disappear from the public arena. One of
these was the string band tradition. It waned and became an insignifi

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Miguel 43

TABLE 1
A Selective List of Dance Halls, 1948-1957

City Dance Halls

Houston 1. Pan American Nite Club

The Carousel

2. Alice La Villita
The VFW hall

3. Corpus Christi Coliseum

The Exposition Hall
The Carousel Club

Source: Author's personal knowledge (based on twenty years of attending Tejano

dances.)

cant part of the community's musical tastes.95 As noted above, vocal

singing also experienced a significant decline.
A second reason for the emerging dominance of conjunto music was
the growth of cantinas throughout the state. Prior to the 1940s, there
were, as Strachwitz notes, "hardly any beer joints or night clubs," where
conjunto musicians could play. Most of them played out in the street or
at dances and house parties.96 After the Second World War, the number
of cantinas in large cities such as Houston or small towns like Kingsville
and Alice increased. These
places provided a source of income for

conjunto musicians and an avenue for their particular type of music.

A third, and probably more important reason for the dominance of

conjunto music, was the emergence of dance promoters, public dance

halls, and paid admission dances. The latter especially increased signifi

cantly during these years. In both rural and urban areas of the state,

aspiring entrepreneurs began to see the probability of profit in the pro

motion of all forms of Tejano music, especially conjunto. These indi
viduals rented a variety of dance halls, hired various bands, and charged
admission to see them. Public
paid admission dances emerged in 1948
and grew after that period (see Table 1).
A fourth reason for the dominance of the conjunto was the appear
ance of the new dance
style popularly known as el taquachito, a slower
and more expressive way of dancing polkas and rancheras. Before it
was danced with a quick loop in the manner of Polish or German polka
dancing. Afterwards, a swaying motion replaced the hop and skip.97

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 44 Journal of American Ethnic History / Fall 1999

A final reason
for the emerging dominance of conjunto music was the

rapid increase in the number of working-class individuals within the

Mexican origin population. The bracero program, undocumented immi
gration, as well as high birth rates among the Mexican origin population
led to a phenomenal growth of working-class individuals who loved this
music.

Urbanization also played a role. Agricultural workers and those living

in south Texas moved in large numbers to the cities and to urban areas.

They brought their love of conjunto music to the cities and to other parts
of the country. The increase in the number of cantinas and public dance
halls and of conjunto music in general was, in large part, a direct result
of their migration to the city.

CONCLUSION

During these years there were significant developments in Tejano

music in general and in both conjunto and orquesta music in particular.
Between 1946 and 1964, the Tejano music scene changed dramatically
as a result of the impact of American culture, regionally recording com
panies, increased socio-economic opportunities, and other factors. Two
new musical ensembles
emerged and competed for audiences with

conjunto By the latter

music. part of the 1950s, both the female duets
and the orquestas had lost out to the growing dominance of accordion
based music. The latter, in fact, was on the way to becoming the most
listened to music
in the Tejano community. But the emergence of rock
and roll in the Anglo-American community during the late 1950s and
other changes in the Tejano community quickly led to the development
of new musical forms that again challenged the dominance of conjunto
music and led to significant changes in the existing orquesta. This how
ever is another story that needs to be told at a later time.

NOTES

1. Manuel Pena, The Texas-Mexican Conjunto (Austin, Tex., 1985), pp. 70-71.
2. Chris Strachwitz, liner notes, Tejano Roots: The Women (1946-1970) Arhoolie
Records, CD 343, 1991, p. 5.
3. Ibid., p. 6.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid., p. 5.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.

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Miguel 45

8. Pena argues, without concrete evidence, that Ideal actually became the "lead

ing producer of Chicano music in the southwest." See Pena, Texas-Mexican, p. 73.
9. Strachwitz, Tejano, p. 4.
10. Pena, Texas-Mexican, p. 75.
11. Strachwitz, Tejano, p. 1.
12. "Se me Fue Mi Amor," ranchera, Carmen and Laura, in Strachwitz, Tejano.
(1946-1970).
13. It is unclear how long female vocal singing has been popular along the
border but Charles Loomis of the southwest Museum made over forty non-commer
cial cylinder recordings of the Villa sisters, Rosa and Luisa, accompanying them
selves on guitar and mandolin in Los Angeles as early as 1904. Strachwitz, Tejano,
p. 3.
14. A group known as the Herrera Sisters recorded for the Sunset label in Los
Angeles in the mid-1920s. By the early 1930s the Posada sisters, Lupe and Vir
ginia, recorded locally. A group known as the Aguilar Sisters from Mexico also
made frequent appearances in Los Angeles during these years. Strachwitz, Tejano,
p. 3. See also Steven Loza, Barrio Rhythm: Mexican American Music in Los Ange
les (Chicago, 1993), pp. 34-35.
15. For the listing of male musicians playing a variety of musical styles see
Texas-Mexican Border Music, Vol. 1: An Introduction, Arhoolie Records, LP9003;
Texas-Mexican Border Music, Vol. 2: Early Corridos-Part 1, Arhoolie Records,
LP9004; Texas-Mexican Border Music, Vol. 3: Early Corridos-Part 2," Arhoolie
Records, LP9005; Texas-Mexican Border Music:
Acorde?n, 1, Vol. 4: Norte?o Part
"
The First Recordings, Arhoolie Records, (Formerly Folklyric Records), LP9006.
16. One other possible recording artist in the pre-World War period is Rosita
Fernandez. Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, Fernandez began to sing with her
uncle's group, El Trio San Miguel, after the family moved to San Antonio around
1916 or 1917. She was extremely popular in San Antonio but and was regularly
featured on radio during the 1920s and 1930s. She also toured south Texas during
this period and performed in a variety of places like Robstown, Alice and Falfurrias.
She might have recorded some songs during the 1930s but I have not come across
any of them yet. The only recordings by Fernandez that I have located were done in
the 1950s. For several songs by Fernandez as a soloist and as part of a duet see the
wonderful CD entitled Tejano Roots: The Women (1946-1970), Arhoolie Records,
CD 343. For general information on Fernandez see Kelly Shannon, "San Antonio's
premier singer Rosita Fernandez still charms Texas listeners after 65 years," Cor
pus Christi Caller-Times, 25 December 1995.
17. For the initial recordings by Mendoza and her family see Mexican-Ameri
can Border Music, Vol. 2: Lydia Mendoza, 1928-1938, Arhoolie Records, CD7002.
18. Strachwitz, Tejano, p. 5.
19. Pena, Texas-Mexican, p. 1.
20. Isaac Figueroa, a neighbor, played the accordion in the first recordings.
Narciso Martinez and Paulino Bernai played the accordion in later years. See

Strachwitz, Tejano, p. 1.
21. Although no exact figures are available, their records sold quickly. Ibid.
22. Ibid., p. 4.
23. Ibid., p. 7.
24. All of these groups are featured in Tejano Roots: The Women, 1946-1970,
Arhoolie Records, CD 343, 1991
25. The Hermanas Fraga, for instance, recorded the song "Amor Pendiente" in
1948 with a group called Mariachi Mexico del Norte. Hermanas Segovia recorded

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 46 Journal of American Ethnic History / Fall 1999

"No Quiero Esperar" in 1950 with Mariachi Ideal, a "house band" at Ideal Studios.
All of these songs can be found in Tejano Roots: The Women, Arhoolie, CD 343,
1991.
26. See picture of Carmen and Laura with Narciso Martinez in Strachwitz,

Tejano, p. 6.
27. For a history of this fabulous career of Mendoza see Chris Strachwitz and
James Nicolopulos, compiler, Lydia Mendoza: A Family Autobiography (Houston,
Tex., 1994). Her recordings can be found in the following: Lydia Mendoza: La
Gloria de Texas, Arhoolie Records, CD 3012 andMexican-American Border Music
Vol. 2: Lydia Mendoza, "1928-1938. "Arhoolie Records, CD 7002.
28. Strachwitz, Tejano, p. 21. Pena notes that the company originally was called
Mira Records. He no date as to when it was renamed Falcon. However he
gives
does state that this label "eventually became the largest and most successful Chicano
recording company ever." Pena, Texas-Mexican, p. 66-67.
29. Strachwitz, Tejano, p. 21.
30. Fernandez, known simply as Rosita, made four motion pictures and many
sound recordings but she was best known in San Antonio for her participation in the
Fiesta Noche del Rio, an annual San Antonio River festival. From themid-1970s to
the 1990s, Rosita performed at this fiesta. In addition to the fiestas, she has also
performed in front of movie stars, presidents, especially President Lyndon Johnson,
and the pope. Kelley Shannon, "San Antonio's Premier Singer Rosita Fernandez
Still Charms Texas Listeners after 65 Years," Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 25
December 1995.
31. Ibid.
32. Song # 7 in Tejano Roots: The Women, Arhoolie, CD 343, 1991.
33. Her maiden name was Martinez. Carol Rust, "Queen of the Accordion,"
Houston Chronicle, 14August 1996.
34. In addition to playing in the band, Ventura Alonzo also took up tickets at
the door, washed and ironed her husband's "white starched band shirts he wore
onstage," and negotiated all contracts with bands during the dozen years they ran
the dance hall. See Rust, "Queen," 1996, p. 6D.
35. Manuel Pena, "Orquesta Tejana: Its Formative Years," liner notes, in

Orquestas Tejanas: The Formative Years, Arhoolie Records, C-368, 1992, p. 1.

36. Ibid.
37. Many of these musicians were formally trained at home or at school. The
two kings of orquesta Tejana during this period, Beto Villa and Isidro Lopez, for
instance, both learned to play the saxophone at school. Pena, Orquestas, pp. 2-3.
Pena argues that in the 1940s and 1950s, the working-class population sometimes
equated musical sophistication with "high-class" snobbery. The term "jaiton" a
derisive Hispanicized cultural label coming from "hightone" came into use to dis
tinguish this style from the conjunto. The conjunto style in turnwas referred to by
scholars as "lo ranchero." In my view, the term "jaiton" is too loaded and does not
reflect the orquesta musician's own notion of the type of music they played. Rather
than use the term "jaiton" I prefer to use a less
judgemental
one In my of "urbano."
view "urbano" more accurately reflects type of music
the played by orquestas
Tejanas and contrasts quite well with the "ranchero" style. On the use of "jaiton"
see Pena, Texas-Mexican, pp. 117, 139; Pena, Orquestas, pp. 2-3.
38. This argument on Pena's views by emphasizing the urban and
expands
acculturated of orquesta Tejana. For his of orquesta as mostly
aspects interpretation
a "middle-class" alternative to conjunto see Pena, Orquestas, p. 1. See also Pena,
Texas-Mexican, pp. 134-162.

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Miguel 47

39. Pena, Texas-Mexican, p. 31.

40. Strachwitz, liner notes vol. 4, n.d. Richard Garcia argues that many of these
"exiles" left Texas as soon as conditions in Mexico permitted. S. Sanchez
George
argues that significant numbers of Mexican immigrants, especially those that had
prospered in the U.S., left the country during the early years of the depression,
primarily from 1929 to 1931. The "solos," or single men, and the destitute and
disillusioned left the country under pressure after 1931. See Garcia, "Class, Con
sciousness, and Ideology?The Mexican Community of San Antonio, Texas: 1930?
1940," Aztlan, 9 (1978): 23-69; and Sanchez, Becoming Mexican American (N.Y.,
1993), pp. 216-217.
4L Chris Strachwitz, "The Roots of Tejano and Conjunto Music,"(liner notes)
in Tejano Roots: Raices Tejanas, Arhoolie Records, CD-341, 1991, p. 3.
42. Pena, p. 2, refer to these two individuals as the king of orquestas
Orquestas,
during its formative period.
43. Pena, Orquestas, p. 2.
44. Ibid.
45. Ibid.
46. Ibid.
47. Ibid.
48. Ibid.
49. Some of his old songs are available on a CD issued by Arhoolie Records in
1992. See Orquestas. Tejana, Arhoolie, 1992.
50. Some of his songs can be found in Orquestas Tejanas: The Formative
Years, Arhoolie Records, C-368, 1992.
51. The Flores Orchestra used to play at theWhite Swan Cafe on Navigation
Boulevard during the late 1940s. For a picture of this group in 1949 see Monica
Garcia Coll., HMRC, cited in Thomas H. Kreneck, Del Pueblo: A Pictorial History
ofHouston's Hispanic Community (Houston, Tex., 1989), p. 142.
52. This group, at one point, had 3 saxophones, 1 tololoche, 1 drum, 2 trumpets,
1 set of maracas. For a picture of the group taken during the late 1940s see Kreneck,
Del Pueblo, p. 143.
53. Gaston Ponce used to play in several nightclubs around Houston including
the Pan America Nite Club in the late 1950s. For a photo of this group in the late
1950s see G.T. Valerio Coll, inKreneck, Del Pueblo, p. 146.
54. The group was comprised of the Alonzo family, including Ventura Alonzo
(piano accordionist), Frank Alonzo, (guitarist), and Frank Alonzo, Jr., (bass fiddle).
In the 1950s it had 3 saxs, 2 trumpets, 1 drummer, 1 guitar, 1 tololoche, and 2
singers. For a photo of them in the 1950s see Kreneck, Del Pueblo, p. 147.
55. As a young child growing up in the 1950s in Corpus Christ, for instance, I
remember the Galvan Orchestra formed by the Galvan brothers, a talented group of
siblings who played a variety of instruments. The Galvan Orchestra did not record
their music but like other groups throughout Texas were extremely popular for
several decades in that city.
56. The instrumental nature of orquesta music and the use of the accordion in
this emerging style is illustrated in the following tunes by Beto Villa: Rosita Vals,
1947, and Las Delicias, Polka, 1948. Found in Orquestas Tejanas: The Formative

Years, Arhoolie Records, C-368, 1992.

57. Pena, Orquestas, p. 2.
58. Chris Strachwitz, "The Roots of Tejano and Conjunto Music,"(liner notes)
in Tejano Roots: Raices Tejanas, Arhoolie Records, CD-341, 1991, p. 3.
59. Carol Rust, "Queen."

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 48 Journal of American Ethnic History / Fall 1999

60. Pena, Orquestas, p. 2.

61. For a sampling of these tunes see The Formative Years,
Orquestas Tejanas:
Arhoolie Records, C-368, 1992; Tejano Roots: Raices Tejanas, Arhoolie Records,
CD-341, 1991; and Beto Villa, Arhoolie Records, CD-364, 1992.
62. Pena, Orquestas, pp. 2-3.
63. Gonzlez's bolero was entitled "No Te Preocupies Por Mi," and Lydia
Mendoza's was titled "Feliz Sin Ti". Both of these were recorded in the 1950s. See
Orquestas Tejanas, Arhoolie Records, C-368, 1992.
64. All of these songs can be found in Orquestas Tejanas, Arhoolie Records, C
368, 1992.
65. For a history of musical developments in southern California see Loza,
Barrio Rhythm, 1993; and David Reyes and Tom Waldman, Land of a Thousand
Dances: Chicano Rock V Roll from Southern California (Albuquerque, N. Mex.,
1998).
66. Valentine gave Martinez his nickname "El Hurac?n Del Valle" (the Hurri
cane of the Valley). Strachwitz, Texas-Mexican Border Music, Vol. 1: An Introduc
tion, 1930-1960, 1974, p. 7, LP9003.
67. Strachwitz notes that Martinez was not the first accordion to record
player
but he was the first to appeal to a large audience perhaps largely due to his ap
proach to playing conjunto music. He played mostly the high end of the accordion
and left the bass work to his bajo sexto player. See Strachwitz, Introduction. For
these initial recordings by several other accordionists see Texas-Mexican Music,
Vol. IV: Norte?o Accodion, Folklyric LP 9006.
68. Tejano Roots: Raices Tejanas, Arhoolie Records, C-341, 1991.
69. For a list of these groups and their recordings see Arhoolie Catalogue (El
Cerrito, Calif, 1996).
70. Strachwitz, Introduction, p. 10; For the songs of Los Hermanos Torres
Garcia see Tejano Roots: Los Pavos Reales, Hits, CD 410 or Cass410, n.d..
Early
71. With a few minor exceptions, Los Alegres de Teran made most of their
records for Falcon and Discos Columbia. For a list of some of their albums see
Strachwitz, Introduction, p. 11.
72. Ibid., p. 10. Several additional norte?o groups were formed in the 1960s,
including Los Tremendous Gavilanes, Los Norte?os de Nuevo Laredo, Los Hermanos
Prado, El Palomo y el Gorion; Los Huracanes de Teran, and Los Rel?mpagos del
Norte. For a list of these groups see ibid., pp. 7-12.
73. Pena argues, without any evidence, thatValerio Longoria, in the late 1940s,
introduced boleros, a song type originally from the Caribbean, into conjunto music.
Pena, Texas-Mexican, p. 83.
74. Ibid., p. 82.
75. His first pieces in 1947 were a polka entitled "Cielito" and a corrido, "Jesus
Cadena." That same year, he recorded one of his most successful songs, the canci?n
ranchera "El Rosalito." See ibid.
76. Longoria's popularity declined after he left Texas in 1959. He went to
Chicago for eight years and then to San Jose, California. Although he made some
records for local companies in Illinois and California he was not able to duplicate
his earlier success. Ibid., 84-85.
77. Ibid., p. 82.
78. Pena argues that Longoria was responsible for popularizing what he called
the canci?n corrida among and the canci?n ranchera in vals tempo. Be
conjuntos
cause of the confusion of terms, I refer to the former as a ranchera, and the latter as
is a polka a vals
a ranchera vals. A ranchera in my view with lyrics whereas

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Miguel 49

ranchera is a vals with lyrics. The ranchera tejana is different from the ranchera in
Mexico in that the former is an accordion-based song with a polka beat while the
latter is vocal singing with mariachi accompaniment.
For an example of as polkas with
79. of the labeling rancheras lyrics and of vals
ranchera as a vals with see Narciso Martinez: Father the Texas-Mexican
lyrics of
Conjunto, Arhoolie Records, 1993, CD-361. See especially song #10 and #15.
80. Guide Gonzalez, "Tony De La Rosa: No More Time to Fish," The Corpus
Christi Sun, 19 January 1978.
81. His first were a of polkas: "Sarita" and "Tres Rios." Pena,
recordings pair
Texas-Mexican, p. 86.
82. Ibid., p. 87.
83. Gonzalez, "Tony De La Rosa."
84. Ibid.
85. Cited in "A Tribute to Tony de la Rosa: Conjunto Music Pioneer," La Voz
de Uvalde County, June 1997, p. 5. Pena recognized the impact de la Rosa had on
"
Tejano dancing in the mid-1980s. He stated, For audiences the drums added a
much more solid pulse that in my estimation had much to do with hastening the
of the new dance of el tacuachito." Pena, Texas-Mexican, p. 87. On a
adoption style
comparison of techniques used by de laRosa and Longoria in playing their accordi
ons see ibid., p. 88.
86. For a sampling of all of these styles in one conjunto see Narciso Martinez:
Father of the Texas-Mexican Conjunto, Arhoolie Records, CD-361, 1993. Most of
the songs in this CD were recorded between 1946 and 1957.
87. See picture of Carmen and Laura with Narciso Martinez in Strachwitz,
Tejano, p. 6.
88. Juan Lopez, for instance, acquired the name of "El Rey de la Redova." (The
King of the Redova.) For this conjunto's songs see Tejano Roots: Juan Lopez "El
Rey de la Redova," Arhoolie Records, CD 407, n.d.
89. Chris Strachwitz has collected 24 original hits from the years 1953-1964 in
the following CD: Tejano Roots: Tony De La Rosa, Atotonilco, Arhoolie Records,
CD 362., n.d.
90. For a collection of Bernai hits between 1954 and 1960 see Tejano Roots:
Conjunto Bemal "Mi ?nico Camino" Arhoolie Records, CD-344, n.d.
91. Conjunto Bernai also was unique in that it added rock and roll to its reper
toire. See La Novia Antonia, rock ranchera, Bernai, 1957. The Roots of Tejano and
Orquesta.
92. Los Alegres de Teran, for instance, did not incorporate the dance band drum
or the electric bass into the group. Pena, Texas-Mexican, p. 98, note 8.
93. Ibid., pp. 140-141. As a youngster growing up in Corpus Christi during the
1950s I also remember the overwhelming popularity of conjunto music in that city.
Although Beto Villa and Corpus Christi's own Isidro Lopez were popular, more
music was heard at Tejano weddings, quiencieneras, community dances,
conjunto
and public celebrations.
94. For a list of these some of which do not have an address, see
companies,
Strachwitz, Introduction, pp. 9-12.
95. Chris Strachwitz, liner notes, Texas-Mexican Border Music: Vol. 5-The String
Bands, End of a Tradition, Folklyric Records, LP9007.
96. Strachwitz, Introduction, p. 1.
97. Pena, Texas-Mexican, p. 87.

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