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Introduction to Tejano Music

Tejano Music is a fusion of Mexico, Europe and the United States. This popular music style stems from the 19th century. Tejano, meaning "Texan" in English, developed in Texas as well as Northern Mexico. Its popularity increased exponentially in the late 20th century with artists such as Selena Quintanilla, La Mafia, Mazz, Ramon Ayala and many others.

Background

. In the early 1800's, Mexico had won its independence from Spain during the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821), which was populated by "Tejanos", which are also known as Mexicans in Texas. Not too long after Mexico's break from Spain, immigrants from the U.S. and Spain migrated to Texas, bringing their cultural backgrounds along with them. Many of the European dances and instrumental backgrounds influenced Tejanos who would later inherit their style of music. Tejano is broken up into three different styles: conjunto, orchestra and modern Tejano.

Conjunto dancers

Conjunto

"Conjunto" is a term that is used to portray the similarities within a group. In music, conjunto is used for bands who play similar styles of music. The style of Conjunto music is formed by the use of the accordion and the bajo sexto. The sound is often compared to an American Rock band's musical style. Although, it's seen as the original sound of Tejano music, it didn't peak its ultimate high until the 1940s-1950s.

Orchestra

Orchestra Tejano music, also known as "Orquestras Tejanas" or "Banda", is formed with instruments such as: violins, psalteries, contrabasses, guitars, and mandolins. This style of music was very popular in the Rio Grande Valley. It was very popular in the early 1900s as well as the mid 1900s. Some acts that carry a similar sound to Orquestras Tejanas were: Selena, Mazz, La Mafia and many others.

Modern Tejano

Modern Tejano, also known as Grupo, became very popular in the 1960s. Using synthesizers and keyboards. It is very similar to the Conjunto style, but it adds more of an electric sound and heavily depends on the horns. This style has kept growing and even populated outside of Texas with groups such as: Grupo Firme, Luis Miguel, Lucky Joe and Ramon Ayala.

Elements of Tejano Music

Tejano music uses these following instruments: guitars, drums, accordions, bajo sexto, saxophones, keyboards, and trumpets.

Electric guitar that could be used for Tejano music.

Electric Guitar

In 1932, the electric guitar was invented and adopted by jazz players. The electric guitar is a heavy-influenced instrument for Modern Tejano music. The electric guitar makes up the Orquestra of the Tejano style, adding a Rock-N-Roll sound.

Bass Guitar

In the 1930's, Paul Tutmarc, a musician developed the first bass guitar. The bass guitar adds a low-pitched string to the background music.

Keyboards

The keyboards were brought into the Tejano genre in the 1960s, due to the increasing popularity of Modern Tejano music. It plays a key element to the music since majority of Tejano music is based on horns, drums and accordions.

Trumpets

Trumpets play a huge part in Spanish music, especially Tejano music, which incorporates trumpets in a lot of their sounds. Trumpets weren't typically used in Tejano music until the mid 1950s. Bands like La Orquestra de Beto Villa relied heavily on trumpets in their sound, making it as unique as possible.

Musicians

Mazz

Mazz is a Tejano band from Brownsville, Texas. It was formed in 1978 by Jimmy Gonzalez and Joe Lopez. Hitting the big stages in the mid-80's, Mazz's music was greatly perceived by the public, winning multiple awards at the Tejano Music Awards. By 1988, Mazz signed with CBS Records, releasing their first album, "Straight from the Heart", which would later be the only album they would release under CBS Records. Not too long after their separation from CBS Records, they signed with EMI Latin in 1990 where they would release their next album, "No Te Olvidare". By July of 1990, "No Te Olvidare" reached the top of Billboard Regional Mexican Albums, with a whopping 75,000 units sold in the United States.

Even though the group was succeeding over the next few years, Lopez decided to separate himself from Mazz in 1998 due to his desire of his own solo career, leaving fans worried for the future of Mazz. With the absence of their lead singer, Gonzalez quickly stepped up to the plate which would end up giving Mazz a new contract with Freddie Records in 1999.

In the years of 2001-2004 and 2009, Mazz won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Tejano Album, setting a record for Most Wins by a Tejano musician.

Becoming one of the best Tejano groups, they were abruptly met with the death of Jimmy Gonzalez in 2018. Gonzalez, who struggled with diabetes, died on June 6, 2018, after his health began to deteriorate, causing him to go into cardiac arrest. thumb|Selena's album cover to Dreaming of You

Selena

Known as the Queen of Tejano, Selena had a very successful career in the Tejano music business. Born in Lake Jackson, Texas, she was raised around music all of her childhood. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla, was a former musician in his own group, Los Dinos. At a young age, Selena and her siblings were put into a group, Selena y Los Dinos, that was managed by their father.

Selena y Los Dinos's first recorded LP was released in 1984. In 1987, she won the "Female Vocalist of the Year" at the Tejano Music Awards. On October 17, 1987, Selena released her self-titled album under EMI Latin Records. In 1992, she released another album, "Entre a Mi Mundo", making it one of her most successful albums. It peaked at #1 on The Regional Mexican Albums for 32 consecutive weeks. Winning multiple awards, breaking records and paving the way for women in the Tejano music business, she earned the title "Queen of Tejano."

Selena's life was cut short at the age of 25 when a trusted employee, Yolanda Saldivar, shot her and ended her life on March 31, 1995. Even after her death, Selena's music is still being played and her fanbase keeps growing, still making her the "Queen of Tejano".

La Mafia

Forming in the 1980's, La Mafia was originated in Houston, Texas, by Oscar De La Rosa and Armando Lichtenberger Jr. Traveling all over Mexico and Latin America, La Mafia quickly became the face of Tejano music in the late-80's. Winning four Grammy Awards over their duration, La Mafia is considered one of the best Tejano groups in history. With hit songs such as, "Dile", "Estas Tocando Fuego", and "Vida", La Mafia was also named one of Billboards Top 25 artists of the past 25 years.

Ramon Ayala

Being a household name in the Tejano genre, Ramon Ayala's music career was a little rockier than other Tejano artists or groups. Being from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Ayala grew up in a musical home, with his father being a musician. Ayala quickly developed a love for the accordion at the age of six, which would later help him in his career. As he got older, he met a musician by the name of Cornelio Reyna and developed the group, Los Relámpagos del Norte. The group quickly gained fame in the early 1960s with their self-titled debut album.

Throughout the next few years, Los Relámpagos del Norte would pave the way for many other artists until their sudden departure in 1971.

After the group disbanded, many questioned Ayala's future in music and believed his career was over. Being confident in himself, he set out to prove everybody wrong and formed the group, Ramón Ayala y sus Bravos Del Norte. Throughout the time with the band, they struggled with band members, going through at least five singers. However, they still managed to put out more albums. Proving the critics wrong, he managed to become one of the most influential artists in the Tejano genre.

Journalism on Tejano Music

With Tejano music being a worldwide phenomenon, many people find that Tejano music doesn't get as much recognition as it deserves. A journalist, Aileen Jimenez, wrote about the disappearance of Tejano music and how many big cities in Texas rarely acknowledge its movement. Living in Dallas, she expressed her frustration with the lack of radio stations that play Tejano music. Visiting family in Mexico frequently, she noted how many southern cities in Texas have many stations dedicated to Tejano music, but as she got closer to home, there was none. She includes a quote from Edward James Olmos, that defines the impact that music has on the Hispanic community. “We’ve gotta be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time. It’s exhausting." This quote helps her case which highlights the struggles of being Mexican American and how Tejano music helps bring immigrants and Mexican Americans together as a whole. Information such as stereotypes were included and how active people were back in the 1960s when the music began to blossom. She later understood that Tejano music wasn't gone, it was on every platform, she just had to dig deep and understand where it all went. She understood that Tejano music can be produced everywhere, even in acapella in the backseat of a car.

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