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In this interview, recorded in August 2017, Baldomero Cuellar talks with Vicente "Chente" Alonzo, an Austin conjunto music legend with nearly 60 years in the business. While he has played bajo sexto with several different bands, he is most recognizable as the longtime second voice and bajista for El Montopolis Kid Johnny Degollado, with whom he began playing in 1957. Most recently, he was with Chencho Flores y Su Conjunto.
During this conversation, we talked about his career, balancing family and music life, and much more. We always said that he was one of the most underrecognized musicians out there -- he could hang with the best of the best and was as steady as a rock. He was inducted into the Tejano ROOTS Hall of Fame in January 2020, along with his bandmates and friends Chencho Flores, Frank Flores, John Majalca, and the late Augie Arreola, who passed away in November 2019.
Chente Alonzo passed away Sunday March 29, 2020, and leaves behind a rich legacy of traditional conjunto music. We hope you enjoy getting to know this very humble and kind man who was also an exceptional musician. Included in this playlist are clips from his live performance with Chencho Flores y Su Conjunto, recorded at One-2-One Bar in Austin, Texas on September 24, 2017.
Editor's note: interview is in Spanish