Tejano Music Essay

Tejano music seemed to be in a hiatus in the WWII years, since there was little interest and little resources. After the war, however, the interest reignited focusing on female duets and orquesta tejana genres. The main sponsors of these musical revival were Paco Betancourt and Armando Marroquin, who founded Discos Ideal in 1947. In the post war years, Mexican American music needed a push and jukeboxes were a great tool to provide everyone with the chance to listen to some good songs. Mexican music was not necessarily appealing to the audiences in the Southern United States because it constituted mainly of Mariachi and solo male singers. Tejanos were more used to music accompanied by accordion. Ideal Records provided local artists with chances to make their records and they were promoted using the

She was called La reina Tejana del bolero; which was the genre she mostly recorded. Rosita Fernández was also a successful artist, offering something new: Songs both in English and Spanish. Women were the strongest pillar of Tejano music and their impact has left a clear footprint in music in general. Notwithstanding, Tejano music has not been the only genre developed in the Texas area by the Mexican Americans. Jazz, a music considered truly ‘American’; a mix of African-American rhythms such as ragtime, blues and gospel, has also been interpreted by the community, ingrained with their own style, their own sabor. Mexican Americans and Jazz have combined so well, that some good bands have been formed and there is a Texas Jazz Festival being held every year, which has been promoted and planned with the participation of Latinos to a great extent. This has been possible thanks to the flexibility of these people, who have opened their arms –and their ears- to the new sounds and who have found ways to make them their