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Tejano music or Tex-Mex music (Texan-Mexican music) is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas. In recent years, artists such as Selena, often referred to as "The Queen of Tejano", Alicia Villarreal, Elsa Garcia, Laura Canales, La Mafia, Jay Perez, Mazz, and Jennifer Peña have transformed Tejano music from primarily Tejano, ethnic form of music to a genre with wide appeal in people who like Tejano.

Origins[link]

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 Mexico. One of these musicians was Lydia Mendoza, who became one of the first to record Spanish language 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,^[1] 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.^[2] 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. 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 female artist to receive a gold status.

Since 1998 Tejano music has seen a decline of Tejano radio stations across the USA, possibly due to any number of factors, perhaps 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[link]

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 Mexico, 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, led 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.

Tejano band

Influence[link]

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); Los Super Seven; Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs; Los Lobos and Latin Playboys; Sunny and the Sunliners; Louie and the Lovers; The Champs; Ry Cooder; Calexico; Cecilia with Viva Texas; The Mars Volta; Los Lonely Boys; and Selena y Los Dinos.

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.

See also[link]

Latin American music portal

• Chicano Rock
• Conjunto/Norteno Music
• Johnny Canales
• Latin American music
• Music of Texas
• Tejano Music Awards
• Chulas Fronteras (1976 documentary film)

References[link]

1. ^ German Roots of Mexican Music, Spanish.about.com. Accessed July 2006.
2. ^ The roots of Tejano and Conjunto

External links[link]

• Live Tejano Music
• Tejano Music News

Tejano or Tex-Mex music is also a kind of music originating in Texas.

Tejanos

72px Lorenzo de Zavala • Juan Seguín • Selena • Henry B. Gonzalez • Eva Longoria • Robert Rodriguez
Total population
Tejanos 6,669,666 Americans up to 32.0% of the total Texan population in 2000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Texas
Languages
American English, Spanish language, American Spanish, Spanglish, Indigenous languages of Mexico, Ladino
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish
Related ethnic groups
Californios, Hispanos, Mexicans, Spaniards, Basques, Canarians, Texians, German Texan

Tejano or Texano (Spanish for "Texan") is a term used to identify a Texan of criollo spanish or Mexican heritage.

Historically, the Spanish term Tejano has been used to identify different groups of people. During the Spanish Colonial times and pre-Anglo colonization, the term primarily applied to Spanish settlers of the region now known as Texas (first as part of the New Spain and then in 1821 as part of Mexico).^[2] During the times of independent south Texas, the term also applied to Spanish-speaking Texans and Hispanicized Germans and other Europeans.^[3] In modern times, the term is more broadly used to identify a Texan of Mexican descent.

History[link]

Spanish government[link]

Already in 1519, Alonso Alvarez de Pineda claimed Texas for Spain. However, Spain paid little attention to the province until 1685. In this year, Spain received news of the existence of a French colony in Texas that could endanger Spanish mines and shipping routes, so that the king of Spain sent 10 expeditions to the province to look for a French colony, that never came to see. Between 1690 and 1693 several Spanish expeditions took place in Texas, who helped obtain a better understanding of the place for the provincial government and the settlers who come later to Texas.

When settlers first arrived in Texas, Tejano settlements arose in three separate regions. The Northern Nacogdoches region, the Bexar–Goliad region along the San Antonio River, and the Rio Grande ranching frontier between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande River. These populations shared certain characteristics yet they were also independent from one another. The main unifying factor for these separate regions was their shared responsibility of defending the Tejas frontier. Some of the first Tejano settlers were from the Canary Islands. Their family units were among the first to settle at the Presidio of San Antonio de Béjar in 1731 (Modern-day San Antonio, Texas). Soon after, they established the first civil government in Texas at La Villa de San Fernando.

Ranching was a major activity in the Bexar-Goliad settlement, which consisted of a belt of ranches that extended along the San Antonio river between Bexar and Goliad. The Nacogdoches settlement was located in the North Texas region. Tejanos from Nacogdoches traded with the French and Anglo residents of Louisiana, and were culturally influenced by them. The third settlement was located North of the Rio Grande toward the Nueces River. These Southern ranchers were citizens of Spanish origin from Tamaulipas and Northern Mexico, and identified with both Spanish and Mexican culture.^[4] They were of the same stock as the original Tejano settlers. The Northern Mexican states of Nuevo León, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas seceded from Mexico in 1840 to establish la República del Río Grande (the Rio Grande Republic) with its capital in what is now Laredo, Texas. However, their much anticipated political marriage with their Tejano kin did not come to fruition.

Mexican government[link]

In 1821 at the end of the Mexican War of Independence, there were about 4,000 Tejanos living in what is now the U.S. state of Texas alongside a lesser number of immigrants. In the 1820s many settlers from the United States and other nations moved to Texas from the United States. The approval of the national colonization law, promoted the immigration of new settlers to Texas, so by 1830, the 30,000 settlers in Texas outnumbered the Hispanos Tejanos six to one.^[5] The Texians and Tejanos alike rebelled against the attempts of centralist authority of Mexico City and the measures implemented by Santa Anna. Tensions between the central Mexican government and the settlers eventually led to the Texas Revolution. After the revolution, many were dismayed by the treatments they received at the hands of Texians/Anglos, who suspected and accused the Tejanos of sabotage and of aiding Santa Anna.

20th century[link]

In Texas insurgents in Mexico in 1915 wrote a manifesto that was circulated in the town of San Diego, in South Texas. The manifesto "Plan de San Diego" called on Hispanics to reconquer the Southwest and kill all the Anglo men. Numerous cross-border raids took place and there were murders and sabotage, The Texas Rangers smashed the insurrection. Tejanos strongly repudiated the Plan and affirmed their American loyalty by founding the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). It was headed by professionals, businessmen and modernizers, and became the central Tejano organization promoting civic pride and civil rights.^[6]

In 1963 Tejanos in Crystal City organized themselves, won the elections, and took control of the city and the school board. This move signaled the emergence of modern Tejano politics for a few years. ^[7] In 1969-70 a different Tejano coalition, the La Raza Unida Party, took control of the city. The new leader was José Angel Gutiérrez, a radical nationalist who worked to form a Chicano nationalist movement across the Southwest, 1969-79. He promoted cultural terminology (Chicano, Aztlan) designed to unite the militants; his movement split into competing factions in the late 1970s.^[8]

Etymology and usage[link]

In the Spanish language, the term "tejano" is simply the term to identify an individual from Texas regardless of race or ethnic background. During the Spanish Colonial Period of Texas, before Texas became a part of independent Mexico in 1821, many (but not all) colonial settlers of Northern New Spain, including Northern Mexico, Texas and the American Southwest, understood themselves to be and called themselves descendants of Spaniards,.^[9]

Tejanos may variously consider themselves to be Mexican, Chicano /Mexican-American, Spanish and Hispano in ancestral heritage.^[10] In urban areas, as well as some rural communities, Tejanos tend to be well integrated into both Hispanic and mainstream American cultures, and a number of them, especially among younger generations, identify more with the mainstream and may understand little or no Spanish.^{[citation needed]}

While a large number of the people who have come mostly from Central and Southern Mexico since the Mexican Revolution up until the present have drawn their identity from the mestizo culture (a mix of indigenous and Spanish cultures) and had their history and identity in the history of Mexico, a portion of the people whose ancestors colonized Texas as well as most of the present-day Northern Mexican states in the Spanish Colonial Period drew their identity from the Spaniards, or criollos, or the local populations such as the genizaros. Many of these find their history and identity in the history of Spain and of the United States as a consequence of the participation of Spain and its colonial provinces of Texas and Louisiana in the American Revolution.

Regional difference have caused those people of Texas, the colonial Tejanos or Tejano Texians, to identify more with the people of Louisiana, which was a Spanish colony, and of the U.S., rather than with the people of Central and Southern Mexico.

Ethnic and national origins[link]

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In the 2007 American Community Survey (ACS) data, Tejanos consist mostly of Mexican Americans whose ancestors arrived in Texas prior to and during the Mexican Revolution.^[11] Colonial Tejanos, who can be correctly identified as Tejano Texians, are descended from the colonists who pioneered Texas through the Spanish Colonial Period starting in the 17th century to 1820.

Culture[link]

Music[link]

In direct relation to this distinction, genuine Tejano music is related to, and sounds more like, the folk music of Louisiana, known as "Cajun music", blended with the sounds of Rock and Roll, R&B, Pop, and Country, with Mexican influences such as Mariachi. The American Cowboy culture and music was born from the meeting of the Anglo-American Texians who were colonists from the American South and the original Tejano Texian pioneers and their "vaquero" or "cow man" culture.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Food[link]

The cuisine that would come to be "Tex-Mex" originated with the Tejanos as a hybrid of Spanish and North American indigenous commodities with influences of the Mexican cuisine.^[16]

Tex-Mex cuisine is characterized by its heavy use of melted cheese, meat (particularly beef), beans, and spices, in addition to corn or flour tortillas. Chili con carne, crispy chalupas, chili con queso, enchiladas, and fajitas are all Tex-Mex inventions. A common feature of Tex-Mex is the combination plate, with several of the above on one large platter. Serving tortilla chips and a hot sauce or salsa as an appetizer is also an original Tex-Mex invention.^[17] Cabrito, barbacoa, carne seca, and other products of cattle culture have been common in the ranching cultures of South Texas and Northern Mexico. In the 20th century, Tex-Mex took on Americanized elements such as yellow cheese, as goods from the United States became cheap and readily available.^[18] Moreover, Tex-Mex has imported flavors from other spicy cuisines, such as the use of cumin.

Daniel D. Arreola states that there is a line of demarcation in the "South Texas Mexican" food region, using a "taco-burrito" and "taco-barbecue" line of demarcation. To the west of this line, Mexican food served in a flour tortilla is often called a burrito, due to the influence of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. To the south and east of this line, the same food may be simply called a taco, showing a Tex-Mex influence. To the north, this food gives way to barbecue sandwiches reflecting the influx of European, Southern Anglo, and African Americans.^[19]

Geography[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The majority of Tejanos of both first generation (the first settlers) and those who descend from recent early and mid-20th century Mexican immigrants are concentrated in Southern Texas. Bexar County, especially San Antonio, is the historic center of Tejano culture.^{[citation needed]} Duval County has one of the highest concentrations of Tejanos.^{[citation needed]}

Famous Tejanos[link]

See also[link]

	Texas portal
32x28px	Hispanic and Latino Americans portal

• Texian
• History of the Mexican-Americans in Texas

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Alonzo, Armando C. Tejano Legacy: Rancheros and Settlers in South Texas, 1734-1900 (1998)
• Hubert Howe Bancroft. The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft,
  • v 15: History of the North Mexican States and Texas, Volume 1: 1531 - 1800
  • v 16 History of the North Mexican States and Texas, Volume 2: 1801 - 1889
• Buitron Jr., Richard A. The Quest for Tejano Identity in San Antonio, Texas, 1913-2000 (2004) excerpt and text search
• Chávez, John R. The Lost Land: The Chicano Image of the Southwest (Albuquerque, 1984)
• De León, Arnoldo. They Called Them Greasers: Anglo Attitudes toward Mexicans in Texas, 1821–1900 (Austin, 1983)
• De León, Arnoldo. Mexican Americans in Texas: A Brief History, 2nd ed. (1999)
• García, Richard A. Rise of the Mexican American Middle Class: San Antonio, 1929-1941 1991
• Handbook of Texas History Online
• Montejano, David. Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986 (1987)
• Navarro, Armando. Mexican American Youth Organization: Avant-Garde of the Movement in Texas (University of Texas Press, 1995)
• Ramos, Ratil A. Beyond the Alamo: Forging Mexican Ethnicity in San Antonio, 1821-1861 (University of North Carolina Press, 2008)
• San Miguel, Guadalupe. Tejano Proud: Tex-Mex Music in the Twentieth Century (2002)
• Taylor, Paul S. Mexican Labor in the United States. 2 vols. 1930-1932, on Texas
• Stewart, Kenneth L., and Arnoldo De León. Not Room Enough: Mexicans, Anglos, and Socioeconomic Change in Texas, 1850-1900 (1993)
• de la Teja, Jesús F. San Antonio de Béxar: A Community on New Spain's Northern Frontier (1995).
• Tijerina, Andrés. Tejanos and Texas under the Mexican Flag, 1821-1836 (1994),
• Tijerina, Andrés. Tejano Empire: Life on the South Texas Ranchos (1998).
• Timmons, W. H. El Paso: A Borderlands History (1990).
• Weber, David J. The Mexican Frontier, 1821-1846: The American Southwest under Mexico (1982)

Politics[link]

• Guglielmo, Thomas A. "Fighting for Caucasian Rights: Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and the Transnational Struggle for Civil Rights in World War II Texas," Journal of American History, 92 (March 2006) in History Cooperative
• MacDonald, L. Lloyd Tejanos in the 1835 Texas Revolution (2009) excerpt and text search
• Márquez, Benjamin. LULAC: The Evolution of a Mexican American Political Organization (1993)
• Marquez, Benjamin; Espino, Rodolfo. "Mexican American support for third parties: the case of La Raza Unida," Ethnic & Racial Studies (Feb 2010) 33#2 pp 290-312. (online)
• Navarro, Armando. La Raza Unida Party: A Chicano Challenge to the U.S. Two Party Dictatorship (Temple University Press, 2000)
• Quintanilla, Linda J., “Chicana Activists of Austin and Houston, Texas: A Historical Analysis” (PhD University of Houston, 2005). Order No. DA3195964.
• de la Teja, Jesus F. ed. Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas (Texas A&M University Press, 2010) 274pp excerpt and text search

Religion[link]

• Martinez, Juan Francisco. Sea La Luz: The Making of Mexican Protestantism in the American Southwest, 1829-1900 (2006)
• Matovina, Timothy. Guadalupe and Her Faithful: Latino Catholics in San Antonio, from Colonial Origins to the Present (2005). 232 pp.
• Matovina, Timothy M. Tejano Religion and Ethnicity, San Antonio, 1821-1860 (1995)
• Trevino, Roberto R. The Church in the Barrio: Mexican American Ethno-Catholicism in Houston. (2006). 308pp.

Women[link]

• Blackwelder, Julia Kirk. Women of the Depression: Caste and Culture in San Antonio 1984. excerpt and text search
• Deutsch, Sarah No Separate Refuge: Culture, Class, and Gender on the Anglo-Hispanic Frontier in the American Southwest, 1880-1940 1987
• Dysart, Jane. "Mexican Women in San Antonio, 1830-1860: The Assimilation Process" Western Historical Quarterly 7 (October 1976): 365-375. in JSTOR
• Fregoso; Rosa Linda. Mexicana Encounters: The Making of Social Identities on the Borderlands (2003)

Historiography[link]

• Garcia, Richard A. "Changing Chicano Historiography," Reviews in American History 34.4 (2006) 521-528 in Project Muse