Tejano Music - The Elements of Tejano

The Elements of Tejano

'Ttejano music was born in Texas. Although it has influences from Mexico and other Latin American countries, the main influences are American. Contemporary classic tejano artists such as Emilio and Raulito Navaira, David Lee Garza and Jay Perez exhibit influence from rock, blues, funk, and country.

Tejano has various categories of music and bands. Three major categories are "conjunto", orchestra", and "modern". A conjunto band is composed of accordion, bajo sexto, bass, and drum. Examples of Conjunto Bands are Esteban "Steve" Jordan, The Hometown Boys and Jaime de Anda y Los Chamacos. An Orchestra consists of bass, drum, electric guitar, synthesizer, and a brass section on which it relies heavily for its sound. It can also have an accordion in the band at times. An example of an Orchestra is Ruben Ramos and the Texas Revolution, The Liberty Band and The Latin Breed. A Modern Tejano band consists of synthesizers, drums, electric guitar, bass and at times an accordion. It relies heavily on the synthesizer for its sound. Modern bands are La Mafia, Selena and her band Selena Y Los Dinos, Shelly Lares, Jay Perez, and Jimmy Gonzalez Y Mazz. Other categories consist of Progressive, Pop and Urban Tejano music. All of these categories are classified as Tejano.

With the keyboard, drum and the bajo sexto, Tejanos now had a sound they could begin to call their own. In the 1940s, Valerio Longoria introduced lyrics to conjunto music, further establishing the tejano claim to this new sound. Tejano music did retain some of its roots in the old European styles. Polkas and waltzes were still popular, and also popular was the German habit of dancing in a circle around the dance floor. It can also be noted that country & western is also danced in the same manner, but only in Texas.

In the 1950s, Isidiro Lopez further revolutionized the Tejano sound by emphasizing less on the traditional Spanish that Valerio used and using the new Tex-Mex instead. This created a newer sound and took us one step closer to the sound we have today. In the 1960s and '70s Little Joe and the Latinairs, later renamed La Familia, The Latin Breed, and others infused the orchestra sound into the Tejano sound, taking their influences from the Pop, R&B and other forms of music. In the late 70s and early 80s, there was a new sound emerging with up and coming groups like McAllen's Espejismo, led by songwriter/lead singer Rudy Valdez, and more notably Brownsville natives Joe Lopez, Jimmy Gonzalez y El Grupo Mazz introduced the keyboard sound to Tejano which was influenced by the Disco sound of the era, and during that period, La Mafia became the first Tejano band to put on Rock Style shows for their generation.

Some of the major artists and bands of the past couple of decades include Ruben Ramos, Selena, La Mafia, Bobby Pulido, Laura Canales, David Marez, Xelencia, La Fiebre, La Sombra, Culturas, Elsa Garcia, Gary Hobbs, Fama, Pete Astudillo, Ram Herrera, La Diferenzia, Patsy Torres, Michael Salgado, Intocable, Los Palominos, Jennifer Peña, Duelo, Los Arcos, Rebecca Valadez, and several regional local bands.

In the last few years or so there has been an increasing Mexican influence on Tejano music resulting in a sound more like norteno. The accordion, while a historically popular instrument in tejano music, has gone from a secondary or specialty instrument to a "must have" instrument. Today, groups like Jaime de Anda Y Los Chamacos, Sunny Sauceda, Eddie Gonzalez, and La Tropa F emphasize the accordion.

At the turn of the 21st century, tejano influence has declined in part due to decreased promotion, the rise in regional Mexican and other Latin music, the breakup or retirement of established performers, and the emergence of few new performers. Most tejano artists who performed throughout the 1990s during the music's peak who are still performing today have rarely played to the same wide attention in recent years. Regardless, today's tejano music, while far more pop-oriented than its Depression-era roots, is still a vital regional musical style in several Tejano communities as well as in other parts of the United States.