What we do:
Rancho Alegre Radio, or just Rancho Alegre for short, is a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 46-3595637) dedicated to preserving and promoting Conjunto music. To fulfill this mission, our projects include digitizing recordings, interviewing legendary and up-and-coming artists, maintaining and constructing a historical record of Tejano and Conjunto music, speaking to schools and universities, connecting artists with professional and business services, and presenting the annual Rancho Alegre Conjunto Music Festival and various events throughout the year.
We are truly grassroots with no paid staff. In addition to production partners Compadresmusic, Full Gallop and GA Productions, we have a great crew of volunteers who help us with big events and special projects. We also work with and have supported the work of other nonprofits with related missions like Texas Folklife, the Austin Tejano Music Coalition, the Tejano Music Alliance of Texas, the Central Texas Accordion Association and Austin Friends of Traditional Music.
But here’s a little about each of our founders…
Frank, aka Baldomero “El Parrandero” Cuellar
Executive Director
A native of East Austin, Frank Cuellar grew up listening to the music that his parents and family loved. At any given time, he would hear the songs of classic Conjunto performers like Tony De La Rosa, Ruben Naranjo, and Ruben Vela, or Orquesta greats like Freddie Martinez and Augustin Ramirez, or the Spanish Country of Country Roland Garcia.
As a professional DJ for nearly two decades, music has always been a big part of Cuellar’s life and even helped save it when his health declined at a relatively young age. After suffering six strokes at once in 2010 and struggling with severe vision loss shortly thereafter, music comforted him during his recovery.
After becoming disabled, Frank drew on his love for music and founded Rancho Alegre. His ideas and projects for RAR are unique in the Tejano and Conjunto world: whether it's traveling all over Texas to record audio interviews with artists, maintaining an online database of his extensive catalog full of rare recordings for reference, or establishing the first multi-day Conjunto festival in Austin, he is always thinking of bigger, better ways to preserve and promote the music he loves.
Frank is a Professional member of the Recording Academy and an Associate member of the Latin Recording Academy.
Piper LeMoine
Communications Director
Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Piper always knew she belonged in Austin, and she eventually made it here in 2006. A web developer and graphic designer by trade, Piper has extensive experience in nonprofit fundraising, with a background in public broadcasting, social services and education, all of which she brings to Rancho Alegre. Her technical knowledge, marketing expertise and administrative capabilities are what put Cuellar’s ideas in motion.
While she did not grow up with Tejano and Conjunto, Piper has always loved all types of music. As soon as she started listening to these two genres, she was hooked. She is living a dream of hers, contributing something meaningful to the music world in the place she always wanted to live.
Piper holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Management from the University of Oklahoma, a Bachelor of Arts in French Literature from the University of Wyoming, and a Master of Science in Information Technology from North Carolina A&T State University.
Piper is a Professional member of the Recording Academy and an Associate member of the Latin Recording Academy.
Gaby Cuellar
Staff Assistant
Piper and Frank are great together, but they couldn’t do any of this without Gaby. Not only does she keep them both sane and well-fed, but she takes great pictures at each show and every interview. She’s a roadie, a photographer, a production assistant, you name it and she’s always there.