The Past
The Past Link: "Nobody wants to go back to the past, right?" Well, our beautiful tejano music does have a lot of history that is relational with so many different past cultures. I think we need to understand it 'a little better', or we are going to miss too many life links. I'm not suggesting you read 20 books and 10 volumes about our music history but get a glimpse of where you came from, your own tejano music roots, and when/where our music started. It wasn't San Antonio.
“Bringing back the past” ...
Is one of those phrases that can mean a dozen different things depending on where your heart is pointed. It can be nostalgia, longing, frustration with the present, or even a desire to reclaim values that feel lost - good tejano music.
In Tejano music’s glory days, it could feel as if there was no limit to where the music and its stars might go. In fact, that golden age was defined by stars such as Little Joe y La Familia, Grupo Mazz, La Mafia, Patsy Torres, Laura Canales, and Emilio Navaira. Tejano music - sometimes called Tejano Onda or La Onda in the early days - was a mix of pop, country and Tex-Mex music. It was characterized by synthesizers in place of the accordion of conjuntos or the horns of an orquesta.
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I actually think, [or it seems to me], that other generations, cultures, and these fans/people only listen to 1 or 2 types of music, but us tejanos we're different! ... we listen to everything!, and that's what makes us so different, so special, unique, and great! ... we like all kinds of music! ... from classical, tejano to oldies to R&B, Latin salsa, new and old country, and even the 70s, 80s, and 90s hits. Yep, and that is super about us!
Even as musicians back when. in 'live' performances we had to play boleros, rancheras, oldies, cumbias, a few rock tunes also, and sing in both English and Spanish. In my dad's orchestra, he used play danzones, valses [waltzes], polkas, rumbas, mambos, and one microphone only!
The 50s ... and Carmona Music History
TM, 1958, we stopped in Van Horn Texas for a bite
to eat, and on our way to California.
My dad, my two brothers Chris and Mack, and I used to open for Isidro Lopez, Sunny and the Sunliners, and Balde Gonzales while living in Texas: early 1950s. I was the music arranger for both Carmona bands in Austin Texas, 'The NC Carmona Orchestra' and the 'Chris Carmona Band' in California. We grew up in Austin Texas with Alfonso and Ruben Ramos, Roy Montelongo, Augustin Ramirez, and Manuel 'Cowboy' Donley. We also knew Dave and Abel Gutierrez. We moved to California in 1958.
To this day and timeframe, I still remember hearing Isidro Lopez play his sax, Sunny Ozuna singing, Little Joe and Johnny singing on our intermissions, and the big band of Perez Prado! My dad used to talk about Los Alegres De Teran and Beto Villa all the time, playing records on the jukebox and drinking his JAX beer.
In later years and as a teen living in California, I tried very hard to understand why my dad did all of this to us kids; taking us here and there at such a young age; but he must of had his own reasons and/or a Carmona family music plan of his own. Who knows? All I know is that one Monday morning in the summer of 1958 my mom woke me up and said, "Wake up Miguel. We are moving to California. What?"
The 60s
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We started playing at the Latin Quarter in San Jose CA and packed the place every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; our first gig in CA.
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We were one of the first tejano bands to play in Reno Nevada.
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One of the first tejano bands to break new tejano ground in Utah.
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We introduced the tejano band scene and music to the bay area, between San Jose and San Francisco.
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Broke attendance records at the Balcanades and Rainbow ballrooms in San Jose CA. Record crowds at the Newark Pavilion and the Starlite Ballroom throughout the early 1960s and I met Tony “HAM” Guerrero in San Jose.
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Opening band for Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, Ray Barretto, Sonora Mantancera, and the Sonora Santanera at the very popular Rainbow ballroom, San Jose CA; around 1962 to 1964.
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Got drafted into the Army, 1964-66; Fort Ord CA; Canal Zone in Panama; played trumpet in the Army band.
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We used to open up for Little Joe, The Latin Breed, Gilberto Perez, El Conjunto Bernal, and other tejano groups and conjuntos touring California during the 1960s.
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Numerous appearances at the Fresno Rainbow Ballroom with Emil Torres; with the Baldivia Brothers as promoters.
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Also appeared on the same ticket with the popular band from Fresno CA, Ray Camacho.
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Recorded more than 30 records in Texas and California, including record contracts with CIMA and FAMA labels.
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During the mid-60s the Carmona's - my dad, my brother Chris, and I, were the bay area's backup band for such artists as Fernando Fernandez, Chelo Silva, Hermanitas Hernandez, El Piporro and other popular artists from Mexico touring California.
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Opening band for the great Mexican superstars, Javier Solis and Antonio Aguilar.
I will admitted here, "I was so mad at my dad for moving to California because we had it all in Austin Texas." We did. And as a teenager this meant a new girlfriend, a new job, a new city and state, new friends and starting all over again! No! After 84 years, I finally concluded that it was the best decision my dad ever made in his life. California changed me totally. That is , a new school, new jobs, starting/playing with our new tejano band, learning how to play the drums, Army, marriage, kids, college, more new jobs, and more new music was the new pace of life. California was on turbo speed back in the 1960s and everything happen fast. Incredible.
As new musicians in the west coast we had to learn how to play new genres like salsa, musica tropical, the charanga, la Pachanga ... and got to know the familiar sounds of Johnny Pacheco, Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, Tito Rodriguez, and learn the boleros of the Sonora Santanera! At the time in 1960, California had so much variety in life trends and music.
Playing tejano music for years in Texas and then learning how to play salsa in another state are two totally different spectrums, and different music theories/patterns altogether. But by the late 1960s, 1970s and through the 80s/90s we were playing the new styles of music in San Jose clubs, weddings and along with country, oldies, rock, so forth.
So, what do I mean that California changed me? or how about an example of what I'm talking about? Sure, I will try. It was music. I'm not comparing all three states either. I simply heard more different styles of music in the bay area and groups playing these new trends from San Jose to San Francisco. Well, the music we were hearing at the time was new to us tejanos. I started learning new bass patterns, guitar riffs, piano runs, pregos, the Latin percussion sounds, timbales, horn styles; the whole new thing was just awesome!
Doing all these new things in the California fast lane and lifestyle made me forget about my ex in Texas - Esther! Oh no! As the years went by and after the Army, I got married. We had five kids and two of our boys got into music; one lives in Oklahoma; our oldest daughter stayed in San Jose. Sadly, my mom and dad, my two brothers, have passed away.
The 70s
The 80s & 90s
Arizona 2003 - present
Okay, for starters and personally, I think I got to Arizona way too late! This timeline of 2003 might of cause me not to do enough music work for our Onda Tejana, and for the many good tejanos in Phoenix and the metro valley. Well, I guess that depends on who you talk to. Not sure if I've mentioned this over the years, but we moved here initially because my wife got a job offer at BCBS. She also told me back then, "Let's try Arizona for a year Mike, and if we don't like it, we'll move to Austin like you planned." Ah, right.
Living here for more than 20 years now, I am really glad we decided to stay because I have met a lot of tejanos here, met musicians, groups and bands, conjuntos, DJs, and even music promoters that I worked with. Tucson? That was an eye and ear opener for me as well. Even Flagstaff came into the picture with music festivals of their own. Little by little and progressively I started working with a few key personnel, Martin Sanchez, and David, to bring major tejano artists here to Phoenix.
Other promoters like Pee Wee brought their own as well. We had Duane Dickson taking pictures of our events and both of us promoting the dances. For a few good years, the tejano music scene was moving, and dances and events were happening just about every weekend. And let us not forget what James was doing at POST 41 for all of us tejanos. The whole music scene was simply great! Honestly and proudly, I did more here in tejano music that I ever did elsewhere combine! Thanks Arizona!
The History & Enduring Legacy Of The Tejano Classic, "Las Nubes"
[San Antonio Express News / Story by Melissa Renteria]
The Tejano classic "Las Nubes" has been called an anthem, both for its ties to the Chicano movement of the 1970s and its place as a cultural touchstone in the Mexican American community. "The song really captures a feeling," said José María "Little Joe" De León Hernandez, a Tejano music legend who recorded "Las Nubes" in 1972 as part of the landmark album "Para La Gente" by Little Joe y La Familia.
The song and the album are credited with popularizing a Chicano soul sound that blended traditional Mexican melodies with American rock and R&B soul. "Las Nubes," which translates to "the clouds," tells of hardship and despair, as well as discovering hope and finding comfort in music. "It's about reality. There are feelings of oppression, but there's always hope," the 85-year-old Grammy winner said. "It encompasses everything that life's about."
Hernandez has traditionally performed "Las Nubes" as the finale in his live shows, often joined on stage with other performers he's collaborated with over the years.
The Recording
Hernandez, a Temple native, started performing across Texas in English and Spanish in his teens, eventually becoming leader of his band Little Joe and the Latinaires. After signing with various record labels in the 1960s, he and his bandmates moved to California to explore different sounds. Hernandez experienced a counterculture there that encouraged him to embrace his Mexican heritage.
"It got me thinking of not just changing my music but changing the name of Little Joe and the Latinaires to Little Joe y La Familia," he said.
Hernandez started fundraising for the farmworkers' movement in California, where he marched with labor leaders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. Feeling inspired, he wanted to "do a song that would reflect what was happening and had happened in our lives."
He had recorded a two-minute version of "Las Nubes" a few years before recording the classic 1972 version. "In those days, there were restrictions of how long a song could be because of airplay. They didn't want it too long for the radio," Hernandez said. He decided to record "Las Nubes" again and "do something special with it." He headed back to Texas to record the new version that he envisioned.
Musician/composer Joe Gallardo worked on the arrangement, which features the strings section of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and trumpeter Tony "Ham" Guerrero assembled the backing musicians. The result was a nearly five-minute version of "Las Nubes" that blends the sounds of conjunto and Mexican ranchera with orchestra strings and big band horns for a unique Tejano/Chicano sound.
Rallying Cry
The lyrics of "Las Nubes" mirrored the plight of migrant farmworkers, and it soon became an anthem of the labor movement. "It came at a time when hope was almost being lost," said Jose Gallegos, a longtime friend of Hernandez who marched for farmworkers' rights in Texas, often alongside the singer. "It can inspire you not to give up, that there is hope for tomorrow," he said. The song's lyrics of clouds passing by and bringing rain showers served as a metaphor for relief from pain and despair, Hernandez said. It also had a literal meaning that laborers could understand, he said.
Hernandez, who worked in the Texas cotton fields as a child, recalled that on a hot day a rain shower was a welcome relief. "I remember how good that felt," he said.
Tejano Classic
Played at countless weddings, quinceañeras and backyard barbecues, the song has been a staple at Mexican American celebrations for decades, award-winning Tejano music star Shelly Lares said. "It is THE song. It's going to get played at any family gathering," the San Antonio native said. "It's one of those bring-people-together kind of songs." Lares, who started performing at age 10, didn't fully understand the musical complexities of "Las Nubes" until she became an artist-in-residence at UT San Antonio's school of music.
"I think I had a different sense of respect for it when my students at UTSA were learning it," she said. "I don't think people realize how intricate the arrangement is. It's not an easy song to play."
Its legacy
It's been over 50 years since "Las Nubes" was recorded, and the song "still sounds fresh," Hernandez said. There have been new takes on "Las Nubes," including a 2023 version involving Hernandez and a 2018 mariachi rendition, also featuring the singer. Gallegos said he thinks the song endures because it has a new audience that connects to it in a different way than the farmworkers who embraced it. "In the beginning, it was a song that would inspire and that is what it did," he said.
Now, Gallegos said, generations know it through their parents and grandparents, making it "just a song of happiness and of celebration."
