Tejano Music

     Tejano music, also known as Tex-Mex, is a popular music style which combines Mexican, European, and US influences. It began in Northern Mexico and Texas in the mid 19^th century when the accordion was introduced to those areas by German, Polish, and Czech immigrants. It also adopted the use of stringed instruments such as the violin, and brass instruments like the trumpet and Tuba from those immigrants. Tejano music also draws from norteño, a style of music from Northern Mexico, as well as Conjunto music. Conjunto music is traditional tejano music originating in the Rio Grande borderlands and is a large influence on the sound of Tejano music. These groups use instruments like the accordion, bajo sexto (a 12 stringed guitar), bass, and drums. Tejano music draws from traditional Mexican song formats such as corridos/ballads and dance music such as cumbias, polkas, and waltzes. This genre also pulls from American genres like rock, blues, soul, and country. Tejano ballads often include elements of pop music as well. 

^ a bajo sexto

            Tejano music started to gain popularity in the 1930s when Latinx and Latin American musicians started playing to Mexican and Eastern European audiences along the Mexico-United States border. As “race records” (music recorded by Black and Latin performers) were beginning to be recorded in the US, artists such as Narciso Martinex, an accordionist and conjunto musician, and Santiago Almeida, a bajo sexto player, were able to spread Tejano music through their recordings, also adding to its rise in popularity. In the 1950’s American rock and country started to influence Tejano rhythms as well as instrumentation, with some groups replacing accordion with synthesizers. Around this time, radio stations began to broadcast “La Onda Chicano,” or a wave of new Chicano music to people in Texas in Mexico, making Tejano music even more popular in those regions. By the 1970’s and 80’s, tejano musicians became more prevalent, and started to win awards. Selena became the first Tejana to win a Grammy in 1994 with her pop-influenced Tejano music. Her success brought more attention to the genre and allowed other Tejano musicians like Emilio Naviara, Mazz, and Los Palominos to gain popularity. In more recent years, Tejano has become less popular, however it is still very prevelant in Texas and northeastern Mexico. 

    

^ an early tejano group performing

            There are 3 forms of Tejano music- Conjunto, Orquesta, and Modern. 

    Conjunto was the original form of Tejano music and uses the same instruments as traditional Mexican conjunto and norteño bands. It features accordion as the lead instrument. The accordion was originally backed by the bajo sexto, as well as an acoustic bass guitar. The acoustic bass has since been replaced by electric bass, and this form often uses a drum kit. This form includes elements from traditional Mexican music forms such as waltzes, polkas, mazurkas, and rancheros. Some of the best-known performers of this form were Pedro Ayala and Narciso Martinez in the 1920’s and 30’s and Tony de la Rosa and and Leonardo Jimenez in the 1940’s and 50’s.

^ Pedro Ayala performing

    Orquesta Tejano music formed as big bands were added to conjunto groups. These groups combine Mexican folk music and conjunto music. The instrumentation includes the traditional Conjunto instruments as well as trumpets, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and guitar. They also sometimes include synthesizers in place of accordion. A popular orquesta group is La Orquesta de Beto Villa. 

^ an example of an Orquesta Tejano group

Modern Tejano often features synthesizer with accompaniment from a rock style band (electric guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums.) However, some groups today have started to use the accordion instead of the synthesizer in order to connect back to the original tradition. Selena is an example of a modern tejano musician.

^ Selena Performing 

Two notable early Tejano musicians are Lydia Mendoza and Ruben Ramos. 

Lydia Mendoza (1916-2007) started playing music early in life as she formed a band with her parents. They travelled around the Lower Rio Grande Valley and would play in restaurants and barbershops for Mexican and Mexican American laborers. She became associated with cancion ranchera, a genre from the rural working class, and her music showed the social and economic struggles of Tejano from the 1920s-50s. Was given the nicknames “La Alondra de la Frontera” (the meadowlark of the border) and “La cancionera de los pobres” (songstress of the poor). She played the 12 string guitar and learned to accompany herself. In 1934 she made her first solo recording entitled “Mal Hombre.” From then she had many successful recordings and became the first interpreter of rural popular Tejano to become a star and was given the name “the Queen of Tejano.” She received the National Medal for the Arts in 1999 as the result of her achievements.

^ Her song “Mal Hombre”

Ruben Ramos (1950-2021) was born into a musical family. His uncles had started performing just after WWI, however they joined the military during WWII. During the war, Ruben’s father worked at the cotton fields and the railroads, as well as playing the fiddle while his mom would play the guitar at family gatherings. Once Ruben’s uncles returned from the war, the family stared a band that was well astablished by the 1940s. By the 1950’s Ruben’s siblings had joined their uncles' group, and Ruben would play with the band on weekends. Ruben would play the drums as well as sing with the band, which played a variety of music.  In 1969, Ruben’s brother started a new band, asking Rueben to be the band’s front man. Ruben left his job to play with the band, entitled “The Mexican Revolution,” and was very successful.The band toured from Dallas to the Rio Grande Valley and recorded multiple albums. In 1985, Ruben and his brother Alfonso created a series of albums and were named the best vocal duo at the 1987 Tejano Music awards. Around this time, Ramos wrote one of his most famous songs “El Gato Negro” (The Black Cat,) which eventually became his nickname. He continued to play throughout the 90s, and in 1998 He was inducted into the Pura Vida Hall of Fame, and The Tejano Music Awards Hall of Fame. In 1999, he won a Grammy award for Best Mexican American Performance, as well as The Best Male Vocalist and Video of the year Awards at the Tejano Music Awards. 

^ Rueben Ramos at the Tejano music awards. He was the only performer to perform live at the awards ceremony. 

Conway, Lindsay. “Before Selena: Lydia Mendoza and More Queens of Tejano Music: NLS Music Notes.” The Library of Congress, 6 Jan. 2022, blogs.loc.gov/nls-music-notes/2022/01/before-selena-lydia-mendoza-and-more-queens-of-tejano-music/. 

“Ruben Ramos & the Mexican Revolution - Bio.” Ruben Ramos & The Mexican Revolution - BIO, rubenramos.com/bio. Accessed 20 Jan. 2024. 

“Tejano Music History: 4 Characteristics of Tejano Music - 2024.” MasterClass, www.masterclass.com/articles/tejano-music-guide. Accessed 20 Jan. 2024. 

“Tejano.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/art/Tejano-music. Accessed 20 Jan. 2024.