Freddie Martinez, or simply Freddie, is one of the most influential men in Tejano music history. Since beginning his professional career in the 1950s, Martinez has seen both sides of the business. He built a record company from scratch in the 1970s, which became successful enough for him to retire from being a working musician.
When one of the most respected newspapers in the entire world, based in London, England, contacted us and asked us to write about Tejano and Conjunto music for an upcoming Travel piece about the American Southwest, we immediately said yes.
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Much has been made of the decline of Tejano, and more than a few groups that made it big back in the 80s and 90s have either broken up quietly, faded into obscurity, limited their activity, melted down publicly, or have struggled to remain on the radar in a post-terrestrial radio world.
If you ask any Tejano music fan to list some of the most popular performers in the industry, Ram Herrera will be near the top of the list.
He hardly has to use his last name anymore, “Ram” is usually enough. He’s also known as the “Most Wanted Man” and the “Man of 1,000 Roses.”
Crystal N Crew is one of the youngest groups in conjunto today. With all members under the age of 17, the family band from Pasadena includes Crystal Garcia on bajo sexto, Jose Garcia on accordion, and Lily Garcia on drums. They’ve had a couple of bass players, including Anthony Diaz (included in this interview) and current bassist Isaiah Tellez.
As most of you know, Rancho Alegre hit the road in October 2011 to interview some of our favorite artists in San Antonio, Alice, Robstown, then Edinburg, McAllen and Mercedes. It was an unbelievable trip that we will always remember. Especially our visit with Roberto Pulido…
Want to hear more from Seguin’s Conjunto Calidad? You can buy their debut CD, featuring original songs written by frontman Johnny Moreno, right here on ranchoalegretexas.com!
