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Tejano Music
I. What I knew about Tejano music
For me it all started out with Selena. I remember a boy in my middle school class dedicating me "Como La Flor" at one of our school dances in seventh grade. After that Tejano just sort of stuck in my head and all I ever thought of the song was that I had rejected that boy. Selena was quite a Tejana star at the time, and I was shocked with her murder two years later. She was a five star role model for Mexican-Americans to relate to and appreciate. Her songs live on in the Tejano world, as does her sprit and love for the music.
Moving on to listen to bands such as La Mafia, Intenso, and Intocable; singing "Vida" by La Mafia was one of my favorite past times. Even though I could not speak Spanish well, I could always sing it well. I knew that they were regional bands and probably the only kind you could find in the Rio Grande Valley to play for a wedding, quincenera, or party.
I thought Tejano could not be born anywhere else but in Texas because after all that is the meaning of Tejano-Texan in Spanish. I have lived in South Texas all my life, which means that I grew up in an isolated Hispanic community. Although I was not a Tejano music fanatic, I related to the music and understood the words well. Tejano was not popular worldwide at the time but I held my favorites. I knew that as Mexican-Americans that this music was a blend of cultures.
Over time Tejano music became my favorite. I feel this music has so much feeling and love in it and at times it makes me emotional. "Corrazon", by Intenso, always reminds me of an old heart break and I no matter what everytime I hear it I have to sing along. Every time I want to feel sad and happy all at once, I turn the radio to a Tejano station. I feel my roots in the music that our culture has created; I don't believe Tejano music could be taken away from me now.
II. What I wanted to know
Tejano has been around for a long time, but how long? The length of time it has been around can say a lot about Tejano culture because music speaks so much for its people.
On October 23, 2016 I went to a concert type of event that different music groups were performing. This event is what Hispanics call a “Jaripeo Baile,” which is a place that people can see other people bull riding like in the rodeo, but this event was only about music groups performing. One of the music groups that performed was a band called “Josecito Leon y Su Internacional Banda Roja.” While I watched the band’s performance it reminded me of how it relates to the themes that were from our readings and discussions that we had throughout the semester.
My first knowledge of her came from the movie that was produced about her life. This movie included her childhood, her rise to fame, her relationships with her family and her husband, and her untimely death. She was a stunning flower that bloomed very young and kept growing with no sight on stopping. She had a gorgeous appearance. She had big brown eyes, ever changing hair styles, and a petite figure. Her husband was just as cute. A smaller guy but not too small. Selena and Chris fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. I developed a deep admiration for these two people and the things they experienced in their youth. I was always looking to learn more about their lives and what happened in Selena's tragic end that shook the world. After finding out that her widow wrote a book about her life, I was excited to get it and begin reading. I wondered if the movie had been completely valid. What did the movie leave out? How did Chris felt about her death? How does he feel now about all that transpired after Selena's death since this was not a perspective that the audience got to clearly see the movie? So, I went immediately, to buy the
Selena’s death sent “shockwaves” across the Latin community as well as the English-language. Tens of thousands went to her funeral to pay their respect to her and her family. After her death, Selena’s first English album, “Dreaming of You”, was released and became a huge hit. They made a movie of her biography in 1997, starring Jennifer Lopez as Selena and James Edward Olmos as her father. Thousands of people visit her grave, Mirador de la Flor, in Corpus Christi, near the Selena Museum dedicated to her life, fame, and career. Even today, she’s still considered “La Reina de Tejano” and her legacy still lives on.
Selena Quintanilla Perez was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas. Selena grew up understanding Spanish, but English was her first language. At the age of five Selena saw her brother learning to play the guitar and became jealous of the attention he was getting. She picked up a songbook and began to sing. Her family quickly turned their attention to her strong and beautiful voice. In the first grade Selena excelled at a game called Jump the Brook, in which two ropes are placed side by side and each kid takes a turn jumping across.1 In middle school Selena was in honors classes and made A’s and B’s. Selena used her allowance to put clothes on layaway. As a teenager, Selena hung all of her awards on the wall next to the staircase in her family’s house. As an adult, Selena was very involved with kids. She was a spokeswoman for the D.A.R.E. Program.
Barrera 2 Selena Quintanilla-Perez was an artist in the Tejano music industry that contributed to revolutionizing the style of music in the United States today. The Tejano music genre originated from Texas, but it may be called Tex-Mex because of its Mexican background. Selena absolutely loved her fans, so she went to great lengths to keep her fans happy. (Angelfire 2) Her rise to stardom was also very successful thanks to the support and persistence from her father.
I not only had the influences of the Mexican culture, I was able to experience the good old fashioned American family values as well. My mother was the heart of the family. She was the one who cooked, cleaned and cared for her children full time. My father was generally the one in charge and took care of many of the decision making scenarios.
Growing up in a Mexican-American family can be very fun and crazy. Having two different perspectives on two different cultures almost daily really shapes you to become a certain way as you grow up, which is what happened to me. Ever since I was about three months old I have been taking trips to my parents home town for a month time each time we have gone. Practically growing up in both Mexico and the United States for six years has really helped me understand my cultural background and the different parts of my whole culture, such as the food, heritage, language and culture.
During my visit, I was able to observe different dances that were very interesting. Two dances that caught my attention were the “Toro Mambo” representing the state of Sinaloa and “Payasos of Tlaxcala” representing Tlaxcala. The “Toro Mambo” from the region of Sinaloa is one of the most popular dances in Mexico. The dance is really interesting for the reason that it represents a story in where a bull would dance on a place known as the “mambo.” In this folk dance the dancer do movements at the same paste while trying to imitate how the bull would dance. In this dance the women wear long colorful dresses to represent joy and in order to move the skirts higher. In contrast, the men wear light color shirts and jeans that matches with their partner. In the other side the dance of the “Payasos de Tlaxcala” represents a story of a festival in the region of Tlaxcala. To perform this dance men and women dress like clowns in colorful outfits to amuse the people in the festival. During the dance, the dancers try to satisfy the public by putting humor in the dance and doing crazy movements. This dances are both very great and enjoyable to watch. It is amazing how you could learn so much in a little bit of time and in a beautiful art
African music has had a major influence on Cuban culture beginning in the early 1550’s through slave trade. Thousands of slaves were brought to Spain in the 1400’s and eventually migrated to Cuba. Since these “Ladinos” were accustomed to Spanish culture and language, they easily were able to get by in Cuba and even escape slavery. As a result, Slave owners in Cuba brought more slaves directly from Africa. In 1526, a Royal Decree allowed slaves to buy their freedom, resulting in increased interaction and ethnic mixing among Cubans and Africans. All aspects of both cultures began to blend, especially among working class Cubans and Africans. Music became a common bond between the two groups
The amazing political stand that my great great grandmother took as a Mexican revolutionary woman also known as an adelita is something to definitely to be proud of, because that’s another person in my family that has fought for equality. Another vital factor in my heritage is our belief in La Virgen De Guadalupe. There are portraits and other objects of worship around my house in her honor. In the living room, there’s a portrait of her and in late October and early November, we put pictures of our passed loved ones along with candles around her for Dia De Los Muertos. We pray to her and on December 12th (her birthday) we proclaim our love and gratefulness for her, and on Spanish stations you can watch celebrities singing to her at a church in Mexico
Cultural value orientations are the, “basic and core beliefs of a culture; that have to deal with one’s relationship with one another and the world” (McCarty & Hattwick, 1992). All cultures may encounter challenges with the media and society of how their beliefs and values are represented. There are several factors that resemble how cultural values influence a culture, more specifically the Hispanic culture in Yuma, AZ. Some of those factors are, the expression of their individual and collective identity through communication, cultures identity expressed though the mass media channels, examples of the value orientations that influence the groups communications behaviors, and one of the major events that challenged Hispanics identities.
Child rearing and family structure within the Hispanic culture is noticeably different than what is present in the mainstream Western culture of today. One apparent difference is in gender roles. There exists a vastly different expectation in Hispanic culture for males and females. The male is considered to be the independent breadwinner, and the head of the household. Accordingly, the female role is one of submission and provider of childcare. In contrast, it is more than acceptable in Western culture for a female to maintain a non-traditional role. Hispanic culture additionally differs from Western culture in the traditional makeup of the family. Within Hispanic culture the extended family plays a huge role
The rich warm smells of Mexican spices permeate our house during every season. Family and our Mexican culture is an issue that is important to my family and me. I was born and raised in the United States; however I am still deeply rooted in my Mexican culture.
To help me understand and analyze a different culture, I watched the film Selena. The film tells the life story of the famous singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Not only does it just tell personal stories from her life, it also gives insight to the Mexican-American culture. Her whole life she lived in the United States, specifically in Texas, but was Hispanic and because of that both her and her family faced more struggles than white singers on the climb to her success. Even though the film is a story about a specific person, it brought understanding into the culture in which she lived. Keeping in mind that these ideas that I drew about the Mexican-American culture is very broad and do not apply to every single person in the culture, there were very obvious differences in their culture and the one that I belong. Mexican-American culture identifies with their family rather than individualized or spiritual identities and the culture has gone through significant changes because of discrimination and the changing demographics of the United States.
Music is “The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre” ( Farlex, Inc 2013). Caribbean music has its own unique history, is very diverse with each island having its own unique genre of music. With so many different types of music out there and different performing artists these artists are looking for ways to make money by becoming popular.