Category Archives: Cultura Chicana

The 32nd Annual Festival Chicano begins tonight at Miller Outdoor Theater.

A celebration of Chicano music, from tejano, conjunto, mariachi and orchestra in one of the oldest events of its type in the world. Chicano music has historically been shaped by many diverse styles such as Mexican rancheras, mariachi, big band, rhythm and blues, country, rock and roll and many others. In other words, a uniquely American sound!

Here’s the schedule for the weekend:

OCTOBER 6
Little Joe y La Familia
Llueve
Hermanos Cortez

October 7

Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz

Avizo

AT Boys

OCTOBER 8

Bobby Pulido
Roberto Pulido y Los Clasicos
Braulio y Fuzzion

All concerts begin at 7PM.

According to the MOT folks:  This is a ticketed event for the covered seating area. Free tickets are available (4 per person over age 16 while they last) at the Miller Outdoor Theatre box office the day of the performance between the hours of 10:30am-1pm. If tickets remain at 1pm, the box office will re-open one hour before show time to distribute the remaining tickets. As always, open seating on the hill.

Jay Perez is back with a new production on the Tejas Records label, The Voice of Authority. Heavy on the synth, sweetened by Val Maltos’ sax appeal,  and powered by Perez’s voice this is sure to be a hot seller for the Tejano crooner from San Antonio, Texas.

The CD opens with Mirame, a up-tempo ranchera with a groovy synth sound and a romantic chorus. Already you want to stay on the dance floor and the next track, Quiero Comprender, does not disappoint. Perez gives us a raspier tone and the background harmonies give this track an extra push.

Mochate is barrio slang I hadn’t heard in a long time (since high school) and gives this cumbia a fun bent to it as the vocalist tells his lady-love to “give up” a kiss and maybe a little bit more. The guitar playing is exceptional on this track.

The slow intro to Invencible gives one a ballad feel, but then the tempo changes to an acordeon-led and danceable ranchera with a powerful chorus. The indestructible man has fallen on this track.

A surprise on this production is a remake of a ballad made famous in the Tejano world by Joe Lopez and Laura Canales, Te Quiero Asi. The Jose Jose song is aptly delivered and brings back some 80s memories for this fan.

Sin Condicion has been out on the YouTube circuit for a while as Jay’s next hit. A jazzy sax solo compliments this ranchera. La Sigo o La Dejo is that song on every guy’s mind when he’s on the verge of falling for a woman–but only if she lets him. Muñequita gives one a Santana-esque groove with which to toe-tap. A solid lead guitar and a brassy intro give one that Latin Funk feel to cruise the boulevard with.

Perez takes us through Memory Lane again with a new version of No Tengo Dudas, which received a lot of Tejano radio airplay in the 80s performed by Gary Guajardo and then in the 90s by Fandango USA. Perez has a knack for picking past hits and resurrecting them with his own sabor.

Always with the ability to deliver a Country song, Perez gives us an old favorite from 1980, John Conlee’s Friday Night Blues, to close out the CD.

Perez’s band is versatile and can go from Tejano to progressive conjunto to funky R & B to old school Country music. Their live shows are tight and never disappoint. So, much doesn’t change on The Voice of Authority. In fact, Perez’s voice is the central point of the production and proves that he indeed is a vocal authority in the industry.

Buy it at your favorite Tejano music store.

I’ve been following this guy since he was hidden behind Jay Perez and a drum set.

Chente Barrera broke out into a solo career with his first CD, Puro Taconazo, which featured a duet (Celos) with his late father, “Pato” Barrera (a la Nat King and Natalie Cole) and backed up by Pato’s original back-up band, David Lee Garza y Los Musicales. And he hasn’t stopped, since.

Never fearful of pushing the envelope and resurrecting old-school Tejano hits and re-branding them with his own bit of “sabor,” Barrera returns with El Numero 7.

A mix of Tejano rancheras and cumbias, acordeon y bajo sexto, and Barrera’s unique voice, Numero 7 opens with the smooth ranchera, Tu Ganas Otra Vez and the acordeon-heavy Las Mujeres. Then, Barrera shows some boldness in his reggae-cumbia remake of Frampton’s Baby I Love Your Way (en Español, of course).

One sure hit is the ranchera Encanto Divino with its danceable rhythms complemented by that romantic melody aptly delivered by Barrera. Barrera then takes us back to the classics  with the country-tinged El Potro Lobo Gateado, which kind of has a Roberto Pulido y Los Clasicos flavor to it.

Barrera further shows us that the younger Tejano generation not only appreciates the classics, but are willing to undust them, as he does with Cuco Sanchez’s  Por Una Mujer Casada and the Jose Alfredo Jimenez classic, Amor Sin Medida.

You get some fun comic relief from the cumbia Maria, Tacha y Chona, as well as some more Tejano classiness from Hasta Cuando Corazon, Una Vieja Cancion de Amor, and Ya No Se Que Hacer.

This is definitely one for the collection, which you can get on I-Tunes. What makes me respect Barrera’s work even more is that he is now his own boss, with the CD produced by his own Q-Vo Records, which has its own line-up of Tejano talent. Only through some independence from bossy producers who know nothing about our music can we stay true to our roots, I always say.

All in all, El Numero 7 exhibits that foundation on where our music was built and the direction in which our music is going. And the main message:  Tejano will never die!