I thought I would share with you an old post I had written up a while ago on my previous blog. Hope you enjoy it!
Entry from 6/24/04
So this weekend I went to a graduation party. A party like many other parties I’ve gone to, weddings, bridal showers, etc. And I while at the parties I realized how much music plays in our culture.
The music of the Latino culture is rich and vibrant, and while I may not be a big fan of all of it, like ranchero music(think polka band on crack), I am finally beginning to embrace it, welcome it as my own.
My first memories of this music is listening to it in the car, on trips to see my grandparents in West Texas. The ride there was filled with words of love lost, unrequitted love, from the likes of Ramon Ayala, Vicente Fernadez, and Mazz.
I never really liked the music back then, I would have preferred some U2, Ramones, or Queen, but I was out-voted by my parents, so I had to listen to ole Vicente sing about his broken heart. Then I finally I saved up enough for a Walkman, so it was nothing but the Scorpions, AC/DC, and yes, gasp, New Kids on the Block, for a while there. Thank goodness I grew out of that.
The importance of music is on a personal level as well, my grandfather was an avid musician, guitar player, and a truckdriver in the early 60’s. He would make stops during his runs across the U.S, meet up with his music buddies at a radio station in the middle of nowhere, U.S.A and sing boleros(spanish ballads)live on air, whenever the station managers would give them permission… I would kill to get a tape of that.
Read this article about the roots of Tejano and Conjunto music
