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¡Little Joe y La Familia!
The musical genre of Tejano is very important to anyone with a South Texas background. One major contributor to this music is the famous artist Little Joe y La Familia. Little did I know before this essay but Little Joe signed my father’s copy of one of his album’s “Para La Gente.” I need not tell my parents about my research essay on Little Joe. They told me about the well known artist and were obviously great fans. My parents were definitely impacted by Little Joe y La Familia. These are just two South Texans with first hand knowledge of Little Joe. With time and some research, I came to meet many elder Chicanos around my parent’s age who were affected by Little Joe’s music and loved it very much.
Little Joe was born Jose Maria DeLeon Hernandez in Temple, Texas in 1940. Amazingly, he was seventh out of thirteen children. He began playing music with his cousins in 1953. His first paid performance was at a high school dance in Cameron, Texas. There was nowhere to go but up from this point on. Chicanos in Texas at that time wanted a new sound to their Conjunto music. They wanted a sound that represents their biculturalism. Little Joe y La Familia was the answer to their prayers!
He started small, but after his little brother Jesse died in a car wreck in 1964, he vowed to go commercial. Little Joe relied on small independent labels at first then started two of his own labels. He started Buena Suerte for recordings in Spanish and Good Luck for recordings in English. Later he made a third label, Leona Records. During the 1970’s, Little Joe’s music changed. He became infatuated with “Latinismo,” and this was the official time he changed his band name and added the “y la familia.” It took awhile but in 1985, Little Joe signed on with the first major recording label, WEA International. After doing two albums with WEA, Little Joe switched to SONY International. Little Joe stayed there until 1993 and then launched his fifth label, Tejano Discos. This was of extreme importance in his musical career because the first release on this label, “Que Paso,” earned him his third Grammy nomination.
Little Joe y La Familia created one of the first sounds of a new bimusical style which synthesized ranchero and jaiton. He is Tejano royalty and everyone knows it. I listened to his “Para La Gente” album and actually recognized most of the songs. I have grown up listening to this legendary artist and have never known about his history. This has helped me to relate to the music more and realize just what contributions he gave to Tejano.

A Visit from Juan Tejada!
Juan Tejada visited our humanities class on Wednesday and I was just star struck! He works at Palo Alto College as an instructor for, get this, the only Conjunto organization at the community college level in San Antonio. He was hired at Palo Alto specifically to accomplish the task of building a well known organization that teaches about Conjunto music. His job has been keeping alive the respected ancestral music of Conjunto or Tejano. If you ask anyone at Palo Alto I think they would tell you he has been doing a terrific job!
Juan Tejada calls himself a Chicano. In his eyes, this label is exceedingly important because it defines who is his ethnically and culturally. Being Latin has many different names such as: Chicano, Mexican American, Hispanic, Latin, Mexican, or American. These are cultural identifiers and finding the right label for you is really important. Or at least Juan Tejada thinks so. He explained how some of the labels were extremely general and did not specify enough where the roots came from. Others just were not Mr. Tejada. He said that as a result from attending and graduating from University of Texas in Austin, he became a Chicano.
His education was very impressive. With a Bachelor in Chicano Studies and a Masters in similar Mexican histories, who can argue this man knows what he is talking about? When listening to his presentation the one feeling I received the most was passion. Passion was oozing out of his ears when he spoke Mexican and Texan history. It was really amazing.
When he finally got to the music part of the presentation he explained there are three major styles of border music: Corrido, Conjunto, and Orquesta Tejano or as some say, Tejano. He ended with outstanding performances of various styles and tunes. He played a special type of flute, a shell horn, a special drum, and of course, an accordion. Juan introduced us to an ancient style of music that the Aztecs would play. He sang a poem with the flute in three different languages! Before class ended, he finished with a variety of Conjunto/Tejano performances on his accordion. The only word I can think to say about this man, and I hardly think it will say enough, is WOW. I can honestly say I hope he can visit again.

Tejano is Where the Heart is!

Little Joe and Eva Ybarra are just some of the musicians that I grew up hearing when we would have family gatherings. Tejano or Conjunto music hits home with me. One of my favorite memories as a child was dancing with my father to tejano.

It is interesting to understand the roots of the music of my Hispanic heritage: Conjunto and tejano music. The history is widespread and mainly stems from various types of Mexican music. Conjunto music is a mixture of Mexico and Texas. It combines mainland Mexican music, country polka music from South Texas, and German and Czech grounded tunes.

Conjunto music is different from other music because it is mostly heard by Hispanics and people related to the Latin culture. Many other types of music such as country, rap, and pop are heard by a variety of listeners. Though Conjunto and Tejano music has a variety of listeners as well, it is mainly in the hearts of Mexicans and Hispanics in South Texas. Hispanics grew with this music and at the same time made this music grow. It started with using tunes from brass bands and with Latinos who had an idea of the type of music that would express the type of work they were doing and the life they were living.

Conjunto and the accordion have risen in status because the modern day Hispanic has more freedom and confidence in their culture. It is no longer taboo to speak Spanish or to be Hispanic in South Texas.

Some particular insights in the dvd that interested me most was the famous musicians Lydia Mendoza, Valerio Longoria, Isidro Lopez, and Tony D Ela Rosa. Lydia Mendoza was known and the “Queen of Tejano” and Longoria is an accordion legend! These Latinos are role models to every person of Hispanic or Mexican background.

SAMA Expose!

The first composition I will discuss is Admiration by William Bouguereau (1825-1905). It is oil on canvas and fairly large. It was done in 1897 and is a classic nineteenth century academic painting. The subject matter of the composition is five women, surrounding cupid in what looks like a meadow, or the beginning of a forest. It has trees, grass, a few concrete buildings and a blurred vision of what looks like carriage pulled by a horse. There is sunlight streaming down from the brush and trees. From left to right the viewer first sees the center focal point of cup encircled by five women in this small area of nature. In the far upper left corner of the composition, there are a couple of concrete structures and they look like coliseum buildings of an older time. In the background, the viewer sees green trees, bushes, grasses and some trees. As the eye moves right there is something bright in the forest and, looking closely, the viewer sees a blurry carriage with a horse. After looking at the entire composition, the eye moves back to the center focal point. This piece has a glow around all the forms. There is radial balance in this piece. The reason I picked this piece is because it gives me a sense of peace and tranquility. This piece really looked as if it was articulated and precise when being made. It is so detailed, but still glowing or blurry. The difference between seeing a piece in real life as oppose to on the Internet is vast. In person, you see the work’s textures and different views from a different standpoint.

The next piece I would like to discuss is The Fried Egg by Antonio Rodriguez Luna (1910-1985). It is also oil on canvas. It is a very dark composition that is framed with a golden line around the work. The subject matter is a black table, a flat iron skillet, an egg, a whole garlic clove, two garlic pieces and a wall in the background. From left to right the viewer sees a black table with one whole grayish white garlic clove. Next to the whole clove is the flat iron skillet. The skillet is circular, black, and has two handles. On the skillet is one sunny side up fried egg with a yellow yolk in the middle and white surrounding it, and two white garlic pieces. The egg is a little to the left and one of the garlic pieces is directly right of the egg and the other is a little lower to the right. In the background is a brownish gray wall and in the left corner looks to be a hallway. This piece is much smaller than the first and had less subject matter. In terms of style, I think this piece is a simple black and white painting. There are some other colors but there is definitely contrast. The texture is rough and it looks like the paint was applied thickly. The egg is sitting on the canvas. It gives me a comfortable sense because it reminds me of my culture. In the Hispanic culture there is definitely a connection with eggs. There is not a lot of subject matter in this piece but it is still an excellent piece. As I said before, if I would have just virtually seen this piece I could have never experienced the magnificent texture.

Fame in Floresville!

There is a house on the 7^th Street in Floresville that has a story beyond belief to a small quiet town. A couple of years back, several years actually, this particular house was involved in a theatrical production. It was a small film, but the whole town knows about this house because of that insignificant film and we, “Floresville natives,” are flattered. It gives us great pride to be chosen by any production company to have even the minutest scene in the place that most of us were born. However, the point is not how the town feels, but just how extraordinary this house is.

The house sits on a bed of thick green grass. It is right off the side of the road and a couple of blocks down from the courthouse. It stands three stories high but not as wide as you would imagine. It is an average house in that respect and does not take the space of six lots. Only one lot surrounded with tall trees on both sides. You could imagine a old plantation house in the middle of a neighborhood just without the size and strength. The color of the home is white or it should be white, but time as left dirt and damage to make the home appear less grand. No matter. The magnificent beauty still shines threw. The entrance of the house is a strong black door. A cement path leads from the road to the door and there is a front porch with a classic scene of a rocking chair and door mat that yells “Welcome!” to all who visit. It is an ancient house with a lovely yard and a lovely scene. It is a private home so the interior has not been publically displayed but there is no doubt of the attractive possibilities.

If you ever take a drive south of San Antonio, go thirty miles down Highway 181to Floresville. Drive down 7^th Street until the street intersects with F Street and the next corner is the home. It is a charming experience.

Progress to Regress!

Human life requires food, oxygen, and water. The San Antonio City Council seems to think these variables of life are never going to run out. The city seems to think that polluting the major source of drinking water and cutting down a majority of trees which in turn takes away our supply of oxygen is not only acceptable but not a big deal. The series “Losing Ground” by the San Antonio Express News was an informative article on how the aquifer and the environment are being treated in San Antonio.

The problem is the “vested rights” law; the law stops cities from imposing new restrictions on a real estate project once a developer files virtually any kind of plan for it. This usually means that any sketch of a plan a developer introduces to city hall can be exempted from San Antonio Water System rules and regulations. Not to mention several ordinances can be ignored as well. So, why ruin the city due to these laws? Political aspects between the developers and the city are more than responsible for these intolerable transgressions. Developers put up the argument that if the city does not progress it will regress. The city seems to get caught in between the loop holes of what is right for the city and what is right for the cities economy. It is all about the money developers promise to bring in and the time the city does not want to spend standing over the shoulder of the construction of “progress.” So, the city might as well exempt them from any mandatory care for the environment and then no ones to blame. Unfortunately, our aquifer is being damaged and overridden with pollutants that will contaminate and ultimately destroy.

Another huge issue in this subject is the lack of knowledge that is put out to the citizens of San Antonio. I for one am enormously grateful for this particular series in the S.A. Express News. It gives people or even classes a chance to learn something new and dreadfully disturbing about what is going on with our city. What is great about the articles is that they are not being vague about the details. Each article involves specific cases with both sides of the story: the city and the developer. For example, in 1995, the City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to control and “limit development over the aquifers recharge zone.” However, “Since then, four out of five requests for exemptions over the recharge zone have been granted, according to records at the San Antonio Water System.” That is a ridiculous ratio to have if SAWS is really trying to save our water. It’s hard to blame the developers only, when they could be controlled if our government was stronger.

So what is the problem? Still a question unanswered in my mind. There is just too much greed and corruption in our city. There has to be something fishy going on in City Hall if council members are still allowing the deliberate destruction of our natural resources. They are fully aware of the consequences but are not paying full attention to the reality of this situation. This article is telling us the future of San Antonio’s water supply and we all refuse to see it.