Rachel Rodriguez is a singer-songwriter who blends together her Latino heritage, rock n roll attitude, and soulful voice to give her a unique sound. She has released her own self-titled album “Rachel Rodriguez” as well as a bilingual children’s album titled “Songs for My Little Amigos”. Her schedule includes performing with her band, teaching Creative Movement & Music in schools around Nashville, and being a wife and mother. Through an interview with Rodriguez, I was able to get a better understanding of her background, the role music plays in her life, and what she loves about what she does. Rodriguez’s grandparents were born in Mexico, her parents in South Texas, and she was born in Michigan. She says there was always music in her house growing up. Her father and brother had a Tejano band that rehearsed at their house. Music also plays a role in Mexican cultural traditions. “Music is present and an integral part of every life celebration: birthdays, holidays, funerals, Quinceañeras, you name it.” Having music around throughout her childhood got her interested in becoming a performer herself. …show more content…
Tejano music mixes together Mexican and Tex-Mex styles of music with American popular music. One of the first prominent big bands was Beto Villa from Falfurrias, Texas. He is known as the ‘father of Mexican American Orquesta’. Villa popularized the folk-country style polka called “Tex-Mex”. The genre of Tejano peaked in the 1970s and then began to fade. However, new young Mexican American performers remade Tejano music for the next generation in the 1990s. They infused Tejano with electric and urban sounds of hip-hop and rock to accommodate the Hispanics living in big cities and to appeal to bilingual fans across many popular music genres. The most widely known Tejano artist was Selena. Selena topped Latin charts in the early 1990s and won the Grammy for Best Mexican American Album for her album Live (1993) as well as many other