Conjunto legend Cha Cha Jimenez dies at 64 | legend, cha, conjunto – TheMonitor.com

RIP Cha Cha.

Conjunto legend Abelardo “Cha Cha” Jimenez Sr. died early Wednesday morning after battling liver cancer. He was 64.

Read more via Conjunto legend Cha Cha Jimenez dies at 64 | legend, cha, conjunto – TheMonitor.com.

Servando Ramos and ‘acordeón con corazón’ | Houston Music | 29-95.com

Here is a very nice article on Servando Ramos and the Texas Outlaws. (I’m just now finding this article , written on June 3, so keep in mind that the event that is mentioned in the article has already passed).

Servando Ramos, despite the accordion and cowboy hat, doesn’t classify his vibrant sound as Tejano or norteño. When he’s onstage, it’s all about feeling.

“I would say acordeón con corazon. It’s just from my heart,” he says. “I have different flavors inside of me — Tejano, Tex-Mex, conjunto. We all like rock music, too. My dreams is to not separate the Tejanos from the Mexicanos. I would like to bring them together at a dance. Everybody have fun together. That’s what I try to do, without saying it, through my music.”

Read the rest of the article via Servando Ramos and ‘acordeón con corazón’ | Houston Music | 29-95.com.

Texas Gets The Accordion Bug And Never Looks Back : NPR

It’s a well-known story — the one where European conquerors ravaged the New World with disease in the 15th century. That story repeated itself, in a very different way, in the early part of the 20th century in Texas.

Only it wasn’t illness that German and Czech settlers were spreading to unsuspecting Hispanics, Creoles and Cajuns. This time, it was a musical instrument from which they would not recover

Read the rest of the article, which includes photos and audio clips, via Texas Gets The Accordion Bug And Never Looks Back : NPR.

Grammy gold: Little Joe y la Familia win 4th award; Lady Antebellum night’s big winner – TDTNews.com – Temple Daily Telegram

Check out this article in Little Joe’s hometown paper on his Grammy win.

by Nekesa Mumbi Moody
Published: February 14, 2011

 Temple-based band Little Joe y la Familia took home another gold statuette on Sunday night.

The Recording Academy chose the band’s grassroots album “Recuerdos” (Memories) for best Tejano album. It was la Familia’s fourth Gram­my and ninth nomination.

Read more via Grammy gold: Little Joe y la Familia win 4th award; Lady Antebellum night’s big winner – TDTNews.com – Temple Daily Telegram.

The Music Beat: West Side sound revisited – San Antonio Express-News

By HECTOR SALDAÑA – STAFF WRITERPublished: 12:00 a.m., Wednesday, January 19, 2011

What is the West Side sound?

With the death of Royal Jesters co-founder Oscar Lawson earlier this month – and the recent deaths of Esteban “Steve” Jordan, Los Aguilares’ Emilio Aguilar, the Royal Jesters’ Dimas Garza as well as Randy Garibay, Rocky Morales and Doug Sahm – the particulars get fuzzier with each passing year.

Read more via The Music Beat: West Side sound revisited – San Antonio Express-News.

Songs from the heart from a son to his father – San Antonio Express-News

This is a nice article, written prior to the Grammys,  about Sunny Sauceda and his grammy-nominated CD which was dedicated to his father. 

By Hector Saldaña

Published: 12:00 a.m., Sunday, February 13, 2011

Mario Sauceda admits he can’t really remember much about the precious photograph that graces the cover of his son’s Grammy-nominated tribute album, “Homenaje a Mi Padre.”
In the Polaroid, Sauceda is sitting on a bed playing his Fender Precision bass at home while his baby son (Sunny is in Pampers) hugs tight the neck of the instrument.

Read more via Songs from the heart from a son to his father – San Antonio Express-News.

Juan Tejeda – 30th Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival en San Antonio 2011 (via Conjunto music y más)

Camaradas: you’re seeing the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center’s landmark 30th Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival en San Antonio 2011 Tentative Schedule first right here on conjuntoislife. This year we’re having an historic 30th Annual Gala Celebration Fundraiser on Thursday night where we will be paying  tribute to all of those pioneering conjunto musicians who have been inducted into the Conjunto Music Hall of Fame, including those we will be inducti … Read More

via Conjunto music y más

Conjunto Music icon, Flaco Jiménez and friends (via Conjunto music y más)

The beloved Grammy-winning conjunto accordionist and Texas Tornados co-founder has decided to end his solo recording career with a statement: the down-home album “Flaco Jimenez Con Sus Amigos,” made with childhood friends. He says it’s his last solo album. No equivocation. “It’s time,” said Jimenez, 71. “I’m not going to quit. But as far as solo albums, this is the last one.” Coming from the man most responsible for exporting conjunto out of the … Read More

via Conjunto music y más

newtondailynews.com | Former Newton resident nominated for major award

 This is an article in the Newton Paper about a young man who worked with Ham and Alfredo Guerrero on the Grammy Nominated Tortilla Factory CD “Cookin“.

“I knew this dude named ‘Alfredo,’” Fields said. “I heard him asking for some days off to fly to L.A. to work on some music, and I said to myself, ‘I need to get to know this guy.’”

“Alfredo” turned out to be the son of Tortilla Factory founding member Tony “Ham” Guerrero. After hearing Fields’ chops, Guerrero gave him opportunity to work post-production on the group’s come-back album “All That Jazz (2008).”

“I didn’t know much about Tejano,” said Fields. “I was lucky to be let in to a part of someone else’s legacy.”

Read more via newtondailynews.com | Former Newton resident nominated for major award.

Hector Saldaña: ‘Perfect” time for Tejano (via MySA)

It’s impossible to stage a Tejano package concert like “Esta Noche Live!” at the San Antonio Event Center on Saturday without laying it all on the line.

Featuring Latin Grammy winners Michael Salgado, Elida Reyna y Avante and rising accordion star A.J. Castillo of Austin, “Esta Noche Live!” aims to raise the bar, generate buzz and bring a big-tent mentality to a beloved genre admittedly in the doldrums

(The event is THIS Saturday 1-29-2011). Read more via . Hector Saldaña: ‘Perfect” time for Tejano

Urban Tejano: Grammys beckoning, Tortilla Factory reopens for the next generation of business Austin Music – AustinChronicle.com

Tony “Ham” Guerrero’s story begins in San Angelo, the real cotton fields of Western songs. Its chapters are soundtracked by time-worn vinyl records – treasured artifacts of another age. Illustrated by a half-century stash of photos, posters, clippings, and mementos, Guerrero’s tale embodies Chicano pride told through family and band.

Read more via Urban Tejano: Grammys beckoning, Tortilla Factory reopens for the next generation of business Austin Music – AustinChronicle.com.

Emilio Navaira en Firma de Autografos – TejanoPower

Como parte del lanzamiento del CD+DVD titulado El Regreso del Rey que sale bajo el sello Apodaca Records mismo que se grabó durante su pasada actuación del 2 de octubre en el Far West Rodeo, Emilio ofreció ayer una firma de autógrafos a sus más fieles seguidores que no dudaron en acudir a la convocatoria con la única finalidad de poder abrazarlo y tomarse una foto con él.

via Emilio Navaira en Firma de Autografos – TejanoPower.

Robarte Un Beso… un sencillo sin disco, ni disquera. – TejanoPower

Intocable se lanzará al ruedo en solitario, es decir, que su próxima grabación discográfica será independiente.

Read more and view the video via Robarte Un Beso… un sencillo sin disco, ni disquera. – TejanoPower.

Reynas Tejanas: Stefani Montiel – TejanoPower

Check out Tejano Power’s article on Stefani…

Damos la bienvenida a esta sección denominada “Reynas Tejanas” donde estaremos presentando a la belleza, voz y talento que caracteriza a las divas de la Onda Tejana.

Hoy, Stefani Montiel

Read more via Reynas Tejanas: Stefani Montiel – TejanoPower.

Tejanos unite for hunger awareness project (via Tejano Beat)

Most of Tejano’s biggest names filled San Antonio’s Keith Harter Studios on Friday for a special recording and video to raise awareness for the hunger problem in the Hispanic community. AARP and LatinPointe collaborated on the project that brought together artists including Stefani Montiel, Shelly Lares, Ram Herrerra, Los Texmaniacs, Raulito Navaira, recent Grammy-nominee Joe Posada, and more!  According to a press release from LatinPointe: “The … Read More

via Tejano Beat

At 83, Tejano music pioneer still playing (via Austin360.com)

Laura Skelding/AAS STAFF

The son of a violinist, Manuel Donley struggled in school, dropped out when he was 13 and then washed dishes at El Toro restaurant, saving some of his earnings to pay for a beat-up guitar. He taught himself to play and started performing for tips as soon as he knew two chords. ‘The guitar, that was my passion,’ he says. He was honored as a Mexican American Trailblazer by the Austin History Center this year

Read the rest of the article (which also includes a video) via At 83, Tejano music pioneer still playing.

Winning Latin Grammy was ‘ultimate dream,’ Elida Reyna tells Festiva | reyna, elida, fought – Entertainment – TheMonitor.com

Tejano singer Elida Reyna fought back tears as she read a list of “thank yous” to her friends and family. This wasn’t the first trophy she’d ever received, nor was it the first awards ceremony she’d ever attended. But it was her first Grammy.

Read more via Winning Latin Grammy was ‘ultimate dream,’ Elida Reyna tells Festiva | reyna, elida, fought – Entertainment – TheMonitor.com.

Conjunto cult hero Wally Gonzalez (via Conjunto music y más)

With song titles like “Heche A Mi Suegra Al Rio” (“I Threw My Mother-in-law in the River”), “El Ticketito” (“The Speeding Ticket”), “Que Me Entierren En El Wal-Mart” (“I Hope They Bury Me at Wal-Mart”) and “Las Mujeres y Las Novelas,” (“Women and Soap Operas”), Gonzalez sings about anything and everything. Wally Gonzalez is a Conjunto icon! Read this article and go to http://www.conjuntoislife.com to see videos! Read the article here!  Conjunto cult her … Read More

via Conjunto music y más

Tejanos nominados al Grammy 2011 – TejanoPower

Estos son los candidatos en la Categoria Mejor Album Tejano de los premios Grammy, los más importantes de la industria musical estadounidense, anunciados el miércoles por la noche, y que se entregarán el 13 de febrero en Los Angeles.

Read more via Tejanos nominados al Grammy 2011 – TejanoPower.

El Musico: Trey Martinez great nephew of Narcisco Martinez teaches conjunto music (via Conjunto music y más)

“Conjunto music is cool because it’s created here in Texas and what’s even cooler about it is it was created here in La Paloma” Trey Martinez great nephew of Narcisco Martinez teaches, creates conjunto music.  Read more here: El Musico: Trey Martinez. … Read More

via Conjunto music y más