Tejano music or Tex-Mex Music (Mexican-Texan music) is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Hispanic populations of Central and Southern Texas. In recent years, artists such as Selena, often referred to as "The Queen of Tejano", La Mafia, Jay Perez, and Mazz, Jennifer Pena have transformed Tejano music from primarily a local, ethnic form of music to a genre with wide appeal in North America, Latin America, Europe, and beyond.

Origins

In the 1690s Spain settled the area that is now known as Texas. In 1718, San Antonio was established as a midway point to the missions of east Texas.

In 1745, Spain settled the area we now call the Rio Grande Valley, thus was born the Tejano (a Texan of Spanish heritage). Because of the remoteness of Texas at the time and its proximity to Louisiana, Tejano culture was very much tied to the Cajun culture, and its influence can still be heard in the region's music.

In the 1850s Europeans that came from Germany (first during Spanish time and 1830s), Poland and what is now the Czech Republic migrated to Texas and Mexico, bringing with them their style of music and dance. They brought with them the waltz, polkas and other popular forms of music and dance. However it was not until the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917) that forced many of these Europeans to flee Mexico and into South Texas, that their musical influence was to have a major impact on Tejanos.

At the turn of the century, Tejanos were mostly involved in ranching and agriculture. The only diversion was the occasional traveling musician who would come to the ranches and farms. Their basic instruments were the flute, guitar, and drum, and they sang songs that were passed down through the generations from songs originally sung in Spain and Mexico. One of these musicians was Lydia Mendoza, who became one of the first to record Spanish music as part of RCA's expansion of their popular race records of the 1920s. As these traveling musicos traveled into areas where the Germans, Poles and Czechs lived, they began to incorporate the oom-pah sound into their music. Narciso "El Huracan del Valle" Martinez, known as the father of Conjunto music, defined the accordion's role in Conjunto music.

Central to the evolution of early Tejano music was the blend of traditional forms such as the Corrido and Mariachi, and Continental European styles, such as Polka, introduced by German and Czech settlers in the late 19th century. In particular, the accordion was adopted by Tejano folk musicians at the turn of the 20th century, and it became a popular instrument for amateur musicians in Texas and Northern Mexico. Small bands known as orquestas, featuring amateur musicians, became a staple at community dances.

Norteño/Conjunto accordion pioneer Narciso Martínez learned many tunes from German and Czech brass bands and transpose them to his accordion. Narciso (1911–1992) gave the accordion playing a new virtuosity in the 1930s, when he adopted the two button row accordion. At the same time, he formed a group with Santiago Almeida, a bajo sexto player. Their new musical style, known as Conjunto, soon became the popular music of the working class Tejano. Flaco Jiménez (1939-), the son of an accordionist and grandson of a man who had learned the instrument from a German immigrant, carried on Martinez's tradition of accordion virtuosity and became a fixture on the international World Music scene by the 1980s.

In the 1950s and 1960s, rock and roll and country music made inroads, and electric guitars and drums were added to conjunto combos. Also, performers such as Little Joe added both nuances of jazz and R&B;, and a Chicano political consciousness.

The 1960s and '70s brought a new fusion of cultures and the first La Onda Tejana Broadcasters. Popular Tejano musician and producer Paulino Bernal of the legendary Conjunto Bernal discovered and introduced to the Tejano music scene the norteno band Los Relampagos Del Norte with Ramon Ayala and Cornelio Reyna on his Bego Records. His Tejano influence on their early recordings popularized this hot new act all the way until their breakup in the mid 1970s. Ramon Ayala still enjoys success on both sides of the border. Cornelio Reyna enjoyed a very successful career as an actor and singer and resurfaced in the Tejano scene with a major hit with his collaboration with Tejano artist La Mafia. He toured constantly until his recent death. In the 1960s and '70s the first La Onda Tejana broadcasting pioneers hit the airwaves including Marcelo Tafoya (first recipient of the Tejano Music Awards "Lifetime Achievement Award), Mary Rodriguez, Rosita Ornelas, and Luis Gonzalez these four were shortly followed by an influx of broadcasters including the famous Davila family of San Antonio. This central Texas support by popular broadcasters helped fuel the flames of La Onda.

"La Onda" continued to surge in the early to mid 80s with the fusion progression of tejano music coming to the forefront regionally with "tejano ballad" songs like Espejismo's hit "Somos Los Dos", written and sung by McAllen native Rudy Valdez, and La Sombra with their Tex-Mex English & Spanish brand of tejano. As the 80s faded away and ushered in the '90s, Houston based artist La Mafia, already with over a dozen Tejano Music Awards under their belt, originated a new Tejano style later to become a Tejano standard. La Mafia combined a pop-style beat to the popular Mexican-style cumbia and achieved success never before seen in the Tejano industry, becoming the first Tejano artist to sell over one million albums with "Estás Tocando Fuego" in 1992. With extensive touring from as early as 1988, they eventually opened the doors for such artists as Selena, Emilio Navaira, Jay Perez, and Grupo Mazz. Electronic instruments and synthesizers increasingly dominated the sound, and Tejano music increasingly appealed to bilingual country and rock fans. In the wake of her murder, Selena's music received attention from a mainstream American audience as well. Selena or the "Queen of Tejano Music" became the first female Tejano music artist to win a Grammy and her album Ven Conmigo became the first Tejano album by a woman artist to go gold.

Since 1998 Tejano music has seen a decline of Tejano radio stations across the USA, possibly due to any number of factors, perhaps even including the huge influx of migrant workers from Mexico. Another factor may be the copycat sound that began after the success of Intocable; now there are so many Intocable sound-alikes that the music has become stale. As a result, many radio stations across the US especially in Texas have converted over to Norteño/Banda music. This has caused Tejano internet radio to become popular, but at the same time it stifles the growth of new Tejano fans because it is no longer in the public mainstream. Whether Tejano will keep growing is yet to be seen with the new age of internet, and a few companies promoting internet Tejano communities.

The elements of Tejano

Tejano music was born in Texas. Although it has influences from Mexico and other Latin American countries, the main influences are American. Contemporary classic Tejano artists such as Emilio and Raulito Navaira, David Lee Garza and Jay Perez exhibit influence from rock, blues, funk, and country. It is important to understand that Tejano music has various categories of music and bands. Three major categories are Conjunto, Orchestra and Modern. A Conjunto band is composed of accordion, bajo sexto, bass, and drum. Examples of Conjunto Bands are Esteban "Steve" Jordan, The Hometown Boys and Jaime de Anda y Los Chamacos. An Orchestra consists of bass, drum, electric guitar, synthesizer, and a brass section on which it relies heavily for its sound. It can also have an accordion in the band at times. An example of an Orchestra is Ruben Ramos and the Texas Revolution, The Liberty Band and The Latin Breed . A Modern Tejano band consists of synthesizers, drums, electric guitar, bass and at times an accordion. It relies heavily on the synthesizer for its sound. Modern bands are La Mafia, Selena and her band Selena Y Los Dinos, Shelly Lares, Jay Perez, and Jimmy Gonzalez Y Mazz. Other categories consist of Progressive, Pop and Urban Tejano music. All of these categories are classified as Tejano.

With the keyboard, drum and the bajo sexto, a 12 string bass guitar from Spain, Tejanos now had a sound they could begin to call their own. In the 1940s, Valerio Longoria introduced lyrics to conjunto music, further establishing the Tejano claim to this new sound. Tejano music did retain some of its roots in the old European styles. Polkas and waltzes were still popular, and also popular was the German habit of dancing in a circle around the dance floor. It can also be noted that Country-Western is also danced in the same manner, but only in Texas.

In the 1950s, Isidiro Lopez further revolutionized the Tejano sound by emphasizing less on the traditional Spanish that Valerio used and using the new Tex-Mex instead. This created a newer sound and took us one step closer to the sound we have today. In the 1960s and '70s Little Joe and the Latinairs, later renamed La Familia, The Latin Breed, and others infused the orchestra sound into the Tejano sound, taking their influences from the Pop, R&B; and other forms of music. In the late 70s and early 80s, there was a new sound emerging with up and coming groups like McAllen's Espejismo, lead by songwriter/lead singer Rudy Valdez, and more notably Brownsville natives Joe Lopez, Jimmy Gonzalez y El Grupo Mazz introduced the keyboard sound to Tejano which was influenced by the Disco sound of the era, and during that period, La Mafia became the first Tejano band to put on Rock Style shows for their generation.

Some of the major artists and bands of the past couple of decades include Ruben Ramos, Selena, La Mafia, Bobby Pulido, Laura Canales, David Marez, Xelencia, La Fiebre, La Sombra, Culturas, Elsa Garcia, Gary Hobbs, Fama, Pete Astudillo, Ram Herrera, La Diferenzia, Patsy Torres, Michael Salgado, Intocable, Los Palominos, Jennifer Peña, Duelo, Los Arcos, Rebecca Valadez, and several regional local bands.

In the last few years or so there has been an increasing Mexican influence on Tejano music resulting in a sound more like Norteno. The Accordion, while a historically popular instrument in Tejano music, has gone from a secondary or specialty instrument to a "must have" instrument. Today, groups like Jaime de Anda Y Los Chamacos, Sunny Sauceda, Eddie Gonzalez, and La Tropa F emphasize the accordion.

At the turn of the 21st century, the Tejano influence has declined in part due to decreased promotion, the rise in regional Mexican and other Latin music, the breakup or retirement of established performers, and the emergence of few new performers. Most Tejano artists who performed throughout the 1990s during the music's peak who are still performing today have rarely played to the same widestream attention in recent years. Regardless, today's Tejano music, while far more pop-oriented than its Depression-era roots, is still a vital regional musical style in several Tejano communities as well as in other parts of the United States.

The term Tex-Mex is also used in American rock and roll for Tejano-influenced performers such as the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados featuring Flaco Jiménez, Freddy Fender, Augie Meyers, Doug Sahm; Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs; Los Lobos and Latin Playboys; Sunny and the Sunliners; Louie and the Lovers; The Champs with "Tequila"; Ry Cooder; Calexico; Cecilia with Viva Texas; The Mars Volta; Los Lonely Boys.

Texan accordion music has also influenced Basque trikitixa players.

Contemporary Swedish-American composer Sven-David Sandström has incorporated Tejano music stylings in his classical music.

References

External links

Live Tejano Music

Tejano Music News

See also

Chicano Rock

Conjunto/Norteno Music

Johnny Canales

Latin American music

Music of Texas

Tejano Magazine

Tejano Music Awards

Category:American styles of music Category:Alice, Texas Category:Music of Texas Category:Hispanic American music

Michael Salgado is a popular Tejano artist.

Tejano singer/accordionist Michael Salgado gained prominence in the mid-'90s by looking back to the norteño sound influenced by Ramon Ayala, and introduced the style to the younger generation. He organized his backing band—brothers Ernie and James on guitar and drums, respectively, with bass player Joe Tanguma—when he was just 19, and begin hitting the Latin music charts in 1995 with his single "Cruz de Madera." Salgado's 1996 album En Concierto introduced his most popular single extant, the Top 20 hit "Sin Ella." Mi Primer Amor followed in 1997

Discography

Albums in order from newest to oldest

Vino Especial

# A Grito Abireto # Undido en la Tristeza # Llego Borracho el Borracho # El Tuerto # Vino Especial # Sufriendo Penas # Yaquecita # Puro Cuento # Que te vaya Bonito # Luis Pulido # Que tristeza yo Traigo # Corazon Seco # El Viboron # Esta Soledad # Me Despido

Volver Volver

# No Quiero Seguir Sufriendo # Que Bonito # Ahora Que Tengo Dinero # La Yegua Ajena # Volver Volver # Hay Unos Ojos # Tu Tienes La Culpa # Me Toco Perder # Cuenta Aparte # Dile # Mal Pasado De Amor # Hasta El Fin # Quedo Triste Y Abandonado # Leyenda Macabra # Tristes Corazones # Me Cambio Por El Dinero # Aunque Estes Tan Lejos

El Zurdo De Oro

# Te Quiero Te Extraño # Dueña De Mi Corazon # Prision De Botellas # El Panadero # Me Agarro Contigo # Sirveme Otra Cantinero # Rosalva De Leon # Perdoname # Morena De Mi Vida # Pobre Desdichado # Tu Retrato # Entre Botellas De Vino # Por Tu Culpa # Corrido # Me Ha Robado El Corazon # Harto

Entre Copas

# La Cruz De Vidrio # La Condena # Esta Noche Me Encuentro Borracho # El Indio # Maldita Suerte # El Bilongo # Mi Cielo Gris # Mi Ultimo Trago # Llore Llore # Voy A Navegar # Lleno De Recuerdos # Prefiero Morir # Copa Tras Copa # La Ultima Botella # La Novedad

Tu Musica...Sin Fronteras

# Tu Recuerdo # Mi Ultima Parranda # Dime Si El # No Me Llores # Maldiciendo Tu Destino # Que Te Bendiga Dios # Enseñame Olvidarte # Dicen # Porque No Vienes Ya # Por Ella # No Te Puedo Olvidar # Linda Muñeca # Lagrimas De Mi Barrio

Sangre de Rey

# Sangre de Rey # Agarrame Compadre # Quiero Ver # Porque Eres Mujer # Pormesas Falsas # Cuando Te Fuiste # Comelona # Mi Tenampa # Pase Internacional # Que Pensaran De Mi # Para Que Presumes # Tu Partida

Mejores Tiempos

# Sufriendo El Castigo # Ya No Voy Aguantar # No Puedo Olvidarla # No Me Amenaces # Macario Leyva # Ojitos # Comprendeme # Desde Que Tu Te Fuiste # Su Nombre En La Cruz # No Puedo Mas # Se Me Olvido Otra Vez

Otra Vez A La Cantina

# Cruz Grabada # Otra Vez A La Cantina # A Mover El Bote # Como Haces Falta # Nomas El Pilar Quedo # El Chonte # Amor Prohibido # Que Traigan Botellas # El Hijo De Sue # Tu Mereces Ser Feliz # Paloma Querida # Luz Elia La De Chihuahua

Puro Pueblo

# Ya Volare Volare # Te Fuiste # Yo Quiero Saber # Mi Chatita # Dos Cruzes # Un Cancionero Lloro # Amor # Corazon # Corazon Ya No Llores # Sera Que Tu # Disfrasando # Cantinero

Homenaje A Cornelio Reyna

# Golondrina a Cornelio Reyna # Callejon Sin Salida # Ya No Llores # Por El Amor A Mi Madre # Te Vas Angel Mio # El Embrujado # Me Caiste Del Cielo # Mi Tesoro # Sufro Por Ti # Ni Por Mil Puñados De Oro # El Disgusto # Que Bonita Chaparrita

De Buenas Raices

# La Media Vuelta # Junto A Mi # Palomita Blanca # Nuestro Gran Amor # Me Estas Partiendo El Alma # Que No Recuerdas # Llorar Llorar # El Besito # Un Poquitito De Amor # Lamento Hispano

En Concierto...

# Si Quisieras # Cruz De Madera # Sin Ella # Amigo # El Dia En Que Te Fuiste # Recordando A Los Relampagos # Mi Lindo Padre # Muñeco # Si Tu Te Vas # El Gallo Desplumado

Cruz De Madera

# El Dia Que Te Fuiste # Cruz De Madera # Muñeco # Esta no soy de ti Noche # Si Tu Te Vas # No Me Hagas Menos # Feliz Con Otro # Usted No Me Conoce # El Gallo Desplumado # Mi Lindo Padre

External links

Biography at Yahoo Music

Category:Accordionists Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Name	Emilio Navaira
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Emilio Navaira III
Born	August 23, 1962
Origin	San Antonio, Texas, USA
Instrument	Vocals, rhythm guitar
Genre	Country, Tejano
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1993-present
Label	Columbia/CBSCapitol/EMI Latin Capitol NashvilleRCA/BMG LatinRCA/Ariola
Associated acts	Ednita Nazario
Url	http://www.emilioyrio.net/

Emilio Navaira III (born August 23, 1962) is an American musician of Mexican heritage, who performs both country music and Tejano music. Known primarily by the singular name Emilio, he has also charted more than ten singles on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks charts, in addition to six singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Emilio is also one of the few Tejano artists to have significant success in both the United States and Mexico, and has been called the "Garth Brooks of Tejano." His biggest country hit was the #27 "It's Not the End of the World" in late 1995, and his highest-charting single on any chart is "Por Siempre Unidos," which peaked at #7 on Latin Pop Airplay in 1996.

Biography

Emilio Navaira III was born in 1962 as the third patriline Navaira to be named Emilio Navaira. Raised in San Antonio, Texas Emilio began singing to Willie Nelson, George Strait and "Little Joe" tunes at an early age and initially thought of being a music teacher.

In 1985 at age 23, Emilio began his performing career by singing lead vocals for David Lee Garza y Los Musicales. Between 1989 and 1996, Emilio had released seven Spanish albums with cumulative sales of about 2 million. This success lead to mainstream commercial exposure, with companies such as Coca-Cola and Wrangler Jeans using his songs in their advertisements in the 1990s.

Emilio signed with Capitol Records and released his first country music single called "It's Not the End of the World" which reached the Top 30 on the country charts in 1995. His album was a surprise success as well reaching #13 on the country charts and also a high placing on the Top 200. Several more singles including a Spanish version of "It's Not the End of the World" followed but none of these singles came close to the Top 40 except "Even If I Tried" which reached #41 in 1996. In 1997, he released a second country album, "It's On The House" but it was not as successful as his first country album. Two more minor country singles followed and gradually Emilio faded from country music and increasingly came back to Tejano music.

Driving Accidents

Navaira was hospitalized in critical condition after his tour bus crashed early in the morning on March 23, 2008, in Bellaire (a small municipality partially surrounded by Houston, Texas). Navaira had performed the previous night at Hallabaloos, a Houston nightclub and he was at the wheel of the tour bus as it traveled north along west 610 Loop near the Southwest Freeway when it crashed into a set of freeway barrels shortly before 4 a.m. Emilio was taken by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital where a blood clot in his head was removed; Emilio's initial treatment included being kept in a medically-induced coma and induced hypothermia to minimize brain swelling. Doctors cautioned that he might not survive.

A March 27, 2008 press release from Memorial Hermann Hospital reported that on the evening of March 26 Emilio "opened his eyes and moved his arms and legs." On April 4, 2008, the hospital announced that Emilio underwent a surgical procedure on March 31 to repair a pseudoaneurysm in his right lung and that he remained in critical condition. On April 16, 2008, he was upgraded to fair condition. On April 23, the hospital announced that Emilio was transferred to The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) at Memorial Hermann as part of his rehabilitative care.

On May 1, 2008, police released initial reports that indicated that Emilio was intoxicated at the time of the crash. On May 8, the full report was released which indicated that Emilio had a blood alcohol content of 0.19, more than twice the legal limit in Texas. Authorities also indicated that Emilio was not licensed to drive a bus.

On September 24, 2008, Emilio was involved in another car accident in San Antonio as a passenger while his wife was driving. According to a witness, the Navairas were stopped in a turn lane when a truck crossed at least two lanes of traffic and struck their vehicle. Both Emilio and his wife Maria were released from the hospital the following day. Emilio's agent, Joe Casias, stated that Emilio and his wife were headed home from a rehabilitation therapy appointment stemming from the March tour bus accident.

Emilio has previously been arrested twice on DUI charges, paying a fine and serving probation for the first one in 2000 while the second arrest from 2005 remains unresolved. Resolution of either of the two outstanding cases would escalate the remaining offense to a felony. He pleaded guilty to DWI charges stemming from the crash on March 13, 2009; he was sentenced to three days in jail and 27 days of house arrest; because of his ongoing medical issues, he will not serve his sentence until 2010. He still faces a civil suit by a member of Emilio's band and the relative of another band member because of the injuries they suffered from the accident. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Discography

Studio albums

^ASouthern Exposure also peaked at #39 on US Heatseekers.

Singles

^ACredited to Emilio Navaira.

^B"No Es El Fin del Mundo" is a Spanish-language version of "It's Not the End of the World".

^C"Por Siempre Unidos" also peaked at #7 on Latin Pop Airplay.

Music videos

References

External links

Video of March 26, 2008, hospital press conference

Memorial Hermann Hospital newsroom - updates on Emilio's condition

Tejano star Emilio Navaira injured in Houston bus crash - Dash cam video, audios, and pictures of the crash scene

Category:1962 births Category:American country singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:American musicians of Mexican descent Category:People from San Antonio, Texas Category:Spanish-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:Capitol Records artists

Name	Álvaro Torres
Background	solo_singer
Born	April 09, 1957
Origin	Usulután, El Salvador
Genre	Latin Pop, Bolero
Years active	1976—Present
Url	http://www.alvarotorres.com/

Álvaro Torres (born 1957) is a Salvadoran singer and songwriter. His current Record Label is Big Dream Christian Music located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Biography

Álvaro Torres was born to a poor family on April 9, 1957 in Usulután, El Salvador. Torres moved to Guatemala and started a solo career recording his first album, "Algo especial" (Something Special) in 1976. In 1977 he released the album "Acariciame" (Caress Me), and he became better known in the 1980s. Years later, Torres moved to the United States. He lived in Colorado, California and finally Florida. In 1991 Torres had an artistic breakthrough when he released "Nada se compara contigo". He was voted Songwriter of the Year by BMI in 1994.

Some of his more famous songs are "Un poquito de amor" (A Little Bit of Love), "La Unica" (The Only One), "Lo Que Se Dice Olvidar" Si Estuvieras Conmigo (If you were here with me) and "Nada se compara contigo" (Nothing Compares to You). He sang a duet with the Mexican singer Marisela on the song "Mi amor por ti" (My Love for You), and also sang a duet with Selena on the song "Buenos amigos" (Good Friends).

Some of his musical influences are Sandro, Camilo Sesto, and Joan Manuel Serrat.

External links

Sitio Oficial - Alvaro Torres (Official website)

References

This article draws heavily on the Álvaro Torres in the Spanish-language Wikipedia.

Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:Latin pop singers Category:Salvadoran musicians Category:American people of Salvadoran descent

Name	Sergei Govorkov
Caption
First	His Nickname Is 'Beast' (1989)
Last	Return of the Furious (2005)
Nickname	30th
Alias	Beast, Rex, Furious
Title	Sergeant
Portrayer	Igor Livanov (1992 film)Dmitry Pevtsov (1989 film)
Creator	Victor Dotsenko

Sergeant Sergei (Rex) Govorkov (nicknamed Furious) is a fictional character in the 1992 Soviet action/adventure film Terminate the Thirtieth!, played by Igor Livanov. He is arguably a breakout character. The movie is based on the same-titled novel by Victor Dotsenko. Govorkov, created by Victor Dotsenko in 1980s, is a main protagonist in the novels of other well-known Russian writers including Yuri Nikitin, Anton Pervushin, Valery Roschin, Kirill Vorobyev. Novels about his adventures made Victor Dotsenko the most published and highest paid Russian writer in 1995. In them his character got to know many prominent Russian politicians and officials, who later became personal friends of Dotsenko in reality (for example, the mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzhkov). Overall Dotsenko has written 25 books about Govorkov or about gaps in his fictional biography (for instance, An Appeal to Furious). Dotsenko even calles himself Furious's Father (). Today, the total number of books sold about Govorkov's adventures remains unknown. The approximate number is 20,000,000 from 1991 to 2001, which includes books with different covers and by other authors as well as unlicensed books. Some of them have been translated into English.

Short description

Sergei Govorkov is a fictional character, created by Victor Dotsenko, returnee of the Afghan war, who fights the Mafia in the manner of a superhero or Rambo. He fights mafia criminals, corrupt politicians, Chechen terrorists, and foreign enemies, saving President Yeltsin and receives a Purple Heart from US authorities.

In the novels his name is Savely – a rare Russian name, which was changed to relatively sounding, more common and catchy. He appeared in more than twenty novels, all of them became a bestsellers.

Fictional character biography

Sergei was brought up in an orphanage, VDV and Spetsnaz Sergeant, martial arts sensei's best trainee, Afghan vet, after being retired he was convicted for a crime he didn't commit, became a prisoner, then an escapee and fugitive from justice, later considered not guilty, back in the Afghan, MIA, then became a POW, during his escape he came into a copter crash, badly wounded and healed by some Pakistani Zoroastrian sect which later initiated him as adept. And by the time depicted in the beginning of "Terminate the Thirtieth!", he's just a lonely drifter in some oriental country , completely out of money, applying for any kind of job and attempting to sold his war decorations to prevent himself from starvation death. His friend Cpt. Voronov (or '11th'), which also became missing in action during the Afghan campaign, is his only relative - they grew up together in the orphanage.

Complicated tangle, eh? And there is no wonder that KGB, Russian mob and Mujahideen wants him dead or alive. Finally he came back in the USSR, but now it's not the same Country he had left a years ago. New trends, new ideas, new liberties are in the air.

Meaning of the "30th"

30th is a chest-badge number, which is a heritage from his previous owner, killed in the beginning of the novel "Terminate the Thirtieth!"

Victor Dotsenko "Terminate the Thirtieth!":

Other facts

Unlike the novel, the film contains no sex scenes, which are frequent in the novel. Despite, its having been shot shortly after the 'Glasnost' period, sexploitation on the screen was widespread and encouraged. A vast majority of the initiated audience, mostly VDV and Spetsnaz servicemen considered the movie quieter, more interesting and related to reality. This is because Dotsenko, who was Director as well, has used military consultants. Also, actor Igor Livanov, who portrayed the '30th', served active duty in Soviet marine troops, and was well-experienced in martial arts. A "Kill the Thirtieth" novel took the 9th position in the 1992' The Economist chart. After the 1992' film, there were events, when people change their original name to character's one.

See also

VDV

Spetsnaz

Further reading

Adele Marie Barker "Consuming Russia: popular culture, sex, and society since Gorbachev". Durham, N.C. : Duke University Press, 1999 - 473 p. ISBN 0822323133, 9780822323136 (Page 188)

Birgit Beumers "Pop culture Russia!: media, arts, and lifestyle". Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2005 - 399 p. ISBN 1851094598, 9781851094592 (Page 300)

Eliot Borenstein "Overkill: sex and violence in contemporary Russian popular culture". Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2008 - 265 p. ISBN 0801474035, 9780801474033

Michael L. Bressler "Understanding contemporary Russia". Boulder : Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2009 - 423 p. ISBN 1588265862, 9781588265869 (Page 371)

Anna Brodsky, Mark Naumovich Lipovetskiĭ, Marina Kanevskaya, Sven Spieker "The imprints of terror: the rhetoric of violence and the violence of rhetoric in modern Russian culture". Gesellschaft zur Förderung slawistischer Studien, 2006 - 290 p. ISBN 3876909791, 9783876909790 (Page 121)

Anthony Olcott "Russian pulp: the detektiv and the Russian way of crime". Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2001 - 207 p. ISBN 0742511405, 9780742511408 (Pages 33,145,191,202)

"Russian studies in literature", vol. 36. Periodical. Armonk, NY : M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2000. ISSN: 1061-1975

"The Soviet and post-Soviet review", vol. 29. Periodical. Salt Lake City, UT : College of Humanities, University of Utah, 2002. ISSN: 1075-1262

References

Category:Fictional sergeants Category:Fictional Spetsnaz personnel Category:Fictional war veterans Category:Fictional mercenaries Category:Fictional private military members Category:Characters in Russian novels of the 20th century Category:Russian characters in written fiction