Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was an American singer. Referred to as the "Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. In 2020, Billboard magazine put her in third place on their list of "Greatest Latino Artists of All Time", based on both Latin albums and Latin songs chart. Media outlets called her the "Tejano Madonna" for her clothing choices. She also ranks among the most influential Latin artists of all time and is credited for catapulting the Tejano genre into the mainstream market.
Fama is a Regional Mexican/Tejano band originally from Houston, Texas. Formed in 1989, at the height of their popularity, the band consisted of lead vocalist Javier Galvan, bassist Oscar Galvin, Saxophonist Edgar Galvan, Trumpet Eddie Gonzalez, Accordion/Keyboardist Israel Dominguez, Guitarist John Barraza, Keyboardist Rogelio Zavala Jr, Guitarist Steve Ochoa, Drummer Eddie Dominguez (1990–94), Drummer Ruben Enriquez (1994–96), and Drummer Joel Garza (1996–98)
Tejano music, also known as Tex-Mex music, is a popular music style fusing Mexican and US influences. Typically, Tejano combines Mexican Spanish vocal styles with dance rhythms from Czech and German genres – particularly polka or waltz. Tejano music is traditionally played by small groups featuring accordion and guitar or bajo sexto. Its evolution began in northern Mexico.
Jose Roberto Pulido Jr., known professionally as Bobby Pulido, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is acclaimed for pioneering the dissemination of Tejano music to a youthful audience, subsequently ascending as a teen idol and becoming one of the most influential Tejano recording artists among Mexican American teenagers.
Jennifer Marcella Peña is an American Tejano/Latin pop singer who has sold over 3.5 million records internationally. Peña was born in San Antonio, Texas, and is the third and youngest daughter of Jaime and Mary Peña with other sisters Janet and Jackie. Peña is of Mexican descent native to the state of Texas, raised in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez is an American singer, songwriter and accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. He is known for playing Norteño, Tex Mex and Tejano music. Jiménez has been a solo performer and session musician, as well as a member of the Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven.
Ramón Covarrubias Garza, known by his stage name Ramón Ayala, is a Mexican singer, accordion player, composer and songwriter of Norteño music. He is also known as the "King of the Accordion".
Intocable is an American band from Zapata, Texas that plays regional Mexican music; specializing in norteño and tejano music. It was started by friends Ricardo Javier Muñoz and René Orlando Martínez in the early 1990s. In a few years, Intocable fused the genres Tejano and Norteño with a musical signature that fused Tejano's robust conjunto and Norteño folk rhythms with a pop balladry. Intocable is perhaps the most influential group in Tejano and their tough Tejano/Norteño fusion has become the blueprint for several Tejano bands. The group's style combines romantic, hooky melodies, tight instrumentation and vocal harmony.
La Mafia is a five-time Grammy Award-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of Houston, Texas, and has charted a course as a Latin music band.
Alpha is the second independent studio album by American Tejano music group Selena y Los Dinos. Released in 1986 under Manny Guerra's G.P. Productions, it followed two albums the group recorded under different indie music labels. Selena y Los Dinos, led by vocalist Selena, recorded mostly cover songs. Wanting to stand out, bassist A.B. Quintanilla requested original material from Luis Silva after noticing his track record for writing award-winning songs. Silva ignored A.B.'s request and he was inspired by Abraham to write songs himself. The group expanded to include keyboardist Ricky Vela and guitarist Roger Garcia. Vela collaborated with A.B. on "Dame un Beso", while he collaborated with Abraham on "Dame tu Amor". A.B. became Selena y Los Dinos' music producer and songwriter, while Abraham encouraged them to record songs of various genres to appeal to a wider audience. Despite her limited Spanish, Selena recorded all nine tracks phonetically.
Mazz is a Tejano band originally from Brownsville, Texas. The band was known for their idiosyncratic and innovative form of Tejano cumbia which made them distinguishable among their counterparts. Mazz became one of the most popular Tejano music bands during the genre's 1990s golden age. Mazz won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Tejano Album in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and in 2009, the most wins for a Tejano musician. They landed their first major recording contract with EMI Latin in the early 1990s, before switching to Freddie Records in 1999. Joe Lopez and Jimmy Gonzalez formed Mazz in 1978 before disbanding and creating smaller bands throughout their careers. Gonzalez was known for blending a variety of genres into his basic Tejano sound, a formula he continued to use up until his final release, Porque Todavía te Quiero (2018). Gonzalez was pronounced dead in San Antonio, Texas on June 6, 2018, after suffering from low blood sugar as a result of his diabetes.
Rolando Gutierrez is an American musician best known as a keyboardist and music producer with credits from DJ Kane, Jennifer Peña, Chris Pérez Band, Thalía and Verónica Castro just to name a few with two of his productions earning Latin Grammy nominations.
Arturo Castillo, Jr., better known as AJ Castillo, is an American singer of Mexican descent. He is a cumbia, and Tejano music recording artist, accordionist, singer, performer, and producer. His debut album, "Who I Am", was released in 2009. His second album, On My Way, was released in 2010. Castillo won Best New Artist – Male at the 2010 Tejano Music Awards.
The Tejano Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year is an honor presented to female Tejano music recording artists. The Tejano Music Awards, first bestowed in 1981, was established to recognize the most talented performers of the genre—a subcategory of regional Mexican music, with roots in the music of early European settlers in Texas. The awards are presented by the Texas Talent Musicians Association (TTMA), to "promote excellence in the Tejano music industry" using the popular vote method to select the winner of the female vocalist of the year. Historically, female musicians fared less favorably in the male-dominated genre and were seen as inferior to their male counterparts. The award was established by Rick Trevino, a male Tejano performer, who founded the Awards in 1981.
Michelle Yvette Lares, best known as Shelly Lares, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and percussionist. Starting in 1984, Lares was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year for thirteen consecutive years and won several other awards at the Tejano Music Awards throughout her career. She signed a recording contract with Manny Records in 1986. She left the label in 1996, and signed with Sony Music Latin until she was dropped in the late 1990s. In 2006, she signed a recording contract with Tejas Records.
David Lee Garza is an American Tejano musician and bandleader. Garza was born and raised in Poteet, Texas.
José Roberto Pulido, known as Roberto "El Primo" Pulido, is an American musician whose career spans five decades. Pulido has been recognized as a Tejano music pioneer for his introduction of the accordion and saxophone into his music which "helped bridged the traditional conjunto and the modern Tejano camps" in the mid-1970s. Pulido is the father of Tejano musicians Alma Pulido and Bobby Pulido.
Ventura Martínez Alonzo was a Mexican-born American musician. She was known as the "Queen of the Accordion".
Siggno is an American norteño/tejano band formed in Santa Rosa, in 2000. The group released their debut album Al Principio in 2001 under Crown Records. The album's release followed Tejano music's post-golden age era, where artist's music were indistinguishable from their counterparts, while album sales flattened. Music critics praised Siggno's progressive sounds and entertaining performances during their concerts. Their second album, Por Amor (2002) received a BMI Music Award and Latin Grammy Award nomination. The group's album Six Pack (2008) marked Siggno's first entry on a music chart. Their album Que Harias (2010) provided Siggno their first top 10 album on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart.
Linda Escobar is an American singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Queen of Conjunto music", she has been called one of the most influential women of South Texas and one of the most important figures of conjunto music. Escobar rose to fame as a child in 1965 when her song "Frijolitos Pintos" sold a million copies. She embarked on touring alongside her father, Eligio Escobar, spanning the United States, Mexico, and Central America. In 1998, she started the El Veterano Conjunto Festival in San Antonio, Texas, honoring U.S. war veterans on Veterans Day. The festival culminates with the awarding of music scholarships. In 2017, U.S. Representative Filemon Vela Jr. acknowledged Escobar for her contributions to Tejano and conjunto music during Women's History Month. In 2019, she was inducted into the South Texas Music Walk of Fame and received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tejano Music Awards. With a music catalog of circa 500 songs, Escobar is widely recognized for boasting one of the longest and most prolific music careers in the Tejano market.
