Tejano Talks #21 - Musica from the Brush Country - (2017)

The music north of the Rio Grande has its own distinct style and has evolved from, corridos to conjunto, orchestra, trios and Tejano as well as a mixture of all things South Texas and American. Music continues to be very important to the Tejano community.
The musical group “Rumbo el Anacua (Toward the Anacua Tree)” has taken that music and explored it academically in a critically acclaimed PBS Radio Program,
The program explores the evolution of music in South Texas that was enjoyed live at dances, family festivals and community celebrations.
In the Brush Country of South Texas, radio stations in Falfurrias, Kingsville, Beeville and Alice were the lifeblood of the Hispanic community.
In Corpus Christi, thanks to news reporters like Victor Lara Ortegon of KUNO and Leo Luna of KCCT and others, the stations became the centerpiece for both politics and culture.
In the 1950s, songs on the radio spoke the language of the Tejano culture and the voices of Pedro Infante, Jorge Negrete and Agustín Lara – renowned Mexican actors and singers – filled a void.
One popular radio announcer was Dora Martinez for KPSO. She would not only give the news in Spanish but also made sure that the obituaries were read with dignity and respect and all who needed to know could find the time for the velorio (wake) or service.
In Alice Mike Rios and Armando Pena Sr. were radio pioneers at KBKI were among the leaders of the emergence of the Tejano Music genre.
The music spread to the inner cities like Houston, San Antonio and Corpus Christi. The radio – its music and community information - was the constant companion of Spanish-speaker.
The music was popular in “cantinas” and Mexican dance halls and kept the Mexicano, Tejano culture alive and thriving.
It was radio that kept the community link through the South Texas Brush Country.
Jose and Rose Perez, both Texas A&M-Kingsville graduates, help keep that music alive with a PBS radio program on Spanish language music called “North of the Border.”
The duo’s name - “Rumbo Al Anacua - honos Rosa’s uncle and godfather, Jesús Canales, who lived in Kingsville. He drank beer under an anacua tree while listening to Tejano music on a transistor radio. Some of us still do.