A Guide to the Ramón Hernández Tejano Music Collection, 1922-2019
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
A Guide to the Ramón Hernández Tejano Music Collection, 1922-2019 Collection 141 Descriptive Summary Creator: Ramón Hernández Title: Ramón Hernández Tejano Music Collection Dates: 1922-2019 [Bulk dates, 1985-2019] Abstract: The Ramón Hernández Tejano Music Collection spans from 1922-2019 and is organized into twelve series. The collection documents the history of Tejano, conjunto, and orquesta music predominately in Texas (although musicians from around the world are represented). The bulk of the material relates to musicians’ publicity material, but all aspects of the business of Tejano music, including record labels, media outlets, publications, and events are also well-represented. The costume collection consisting of stage outfits is also of note. Identification: Collection 141 Extent: 253 boxes, plus oversize, framed items, and artifacts (approx. 175 linear feet) Language: English, Spanish, Japanese Repository: The WittliFF Collections, Texas State University Administrative Information Access Restrictions Open for research. Preferred Citation Ramón Hernández Tejano Music Collection, The Wittliff Collections, Texas State University Acquisition Information Purchase, 2017 Processing Information Processed in 2019-2020 by Susannah Broyles, with assistance from Roman Gros and Kyle Trehan. Notes for Researchers The Ramón Hernández Music Recording Collection includes 45s, LPs, audiocassettes, and CDs and is Collection 141b. The contents are included as an appendix to this collection. Some publications have been transferred to the Wittliff’s book collection and are available through the library’s online catalog. Guide to the Ramón Hernández Tejano Music Collection (Collection 141) 2 Ramón Hernández Biographical Notes Ramón Hernández (1940-) became an authority on Tejano music through his work as a journalist, photographer, publicist, collector, and musicologist. Hernández was born on the West Side of San Antonio. He grew up loving music, and during his teenage years he formed a band with some classmates, but soon realized that his skills were better suited behind the scenes (the band later became The Monsanto Band). After he graduated from San Antonio’s Brackenridge High School in 1960, he joined the U.S. Navy, where he became a naval intelligence officer and learned to speak five languages. It was during his military career that he found his interest as a photographer and writer. By 1968, while still in the Navy, he was freelancing as a photographer on the sets of the popular The Lawrence Welk Show and The Andy Williams Show. In 1983, he retired from the military and returned to San Antonio. In 1985, Hernández was hired by the San Antonio Express-News to write about the local Tejano and conjunto scene. He soon began writing for other publications, including Full Tilt Boogie, La Prensa de San Antonio, and Billboard Magazine. There are many of his drafts as well as published articles in the collection. At the same time, he started doing publicity and photography for many of the musicians he wrote about. His clients included some of the most popular names in Tejano music: Selena, Little Joe Hernandez, Patsy Torres, Los Desporadoz, Emilio Navaira, Ram Herrera, among many others. He also collected artifacts and ephemera from the early days of Tejano, conjunto, and orquesta music, preserving material from such influential artists as Lydia Mendoza, Isidro “El Indio” Lopez, Rosita Fernandez, Juan Gaytan, Narciso Martinez, and Beto Villa. By 1990, his collection became known as the Hispanic Entertainment Archive and Research Center. Hernández wanted to create a museum that honored the legacy of Hispanics in all areas of entertainment. That goal never materialized; however, he loaned out many items from his collection for display at events and at museums including the Bob Bullock Museum, Institute of Texan Culture, and in 2017, at The Wittliff Collections with the exhibit “The Legends of Tejano Music - Highlights from the Ramón Hernández Collection.” Guide to the Ramón Hernández Tejano Music Collection (Collection 141) 3 Hernández’s desire to promote Hispanic entertainers can also be seen in his 1990 creation of the National Hispanic Entertainment Directory, a massive undertaking where he published the contact information of bands, vocalists, venues, record labels, record stores, and most areas of the Tejano music industry. There are quite a few records related to this venture in the collection. During the 1990s through the early 2000s, Hernández also worked as a publicist and promoter for many of the prominent Tejano record labels including Hacienda, CARA, and Tejano Discos (Little Joe Hernandez’s label). Hernández continues to be a prolific writer with regular columns in Street Talk and online blogs. He published his first book The Latinaires, La Familia, Little Joe y más, in 2020. He lives in San Antonio with his wife, Martha. Scope and Contents The Ramón Hernández Tejano Music Collection spans 1922-2019, with the bulk of materials ranging from 1985-2019, the period when Hernández was most active in the Tejano music industry. The collection is divided into 12 series as seen below. Researchers are urged to look at each series, as material about individual musicians may be found in multiple locations. A quick note on terminology. The initials RH are used frequently to denote material that is either created by or related to Hernández himself. The material described as “mounted” in the finding aid indicates that it is affixed on foamcore and was likely once displayed. I. Artist Files II. Posters and Oversize Materials III. Record Labels IV. Media Outlets V. Ramón Hernández Research Files VI. Awards VII. Events VIII. Merchandise IX. Promotional Material X. Publications XI. Costumes XII. Artifacts/Framed material A detailed description of the above series follows. Guide to the Ramón Hernández Tejano Music Collection (Collection 141) 4 Series Descriptions Series I: Artists Files, 1922-2019, undated Boxes 1-155 Artist Files comprise the bulk of the collection. The files are separated into Male Artist Files and Female Artist Files to maintain Hernández’s original order. Both series are then arranged alphabetically by artist last name or band name. Although the series is titled Artists Files, there are also entrepreneurs, community leaders, promoters, street performers, and many others represented. The material found in each artist file varies greatly. For artists that Hernández worked with, there are typically hundreds of his photographs (both portraits and of performances), drafts of publicity material, and design ideas for album covers. The contents of larger files are typically sorted into the following broader subseries: Personal, Photographs, Concert and Event Publicity, Albums, Publicity, Ramón Hernández Material, Clippings, Audiovisual material, and Promotional Material. Note: not every artist file has each type of material. • Personal includes autographs, business cards, correspondence, and other such material. • Photographs consist of both snapshots and portraits (most taken by Hernández) along with publicity photographs. • Concert and Event Publicity consists of tickets, flyers, publicity cards, programs, and other publicity material for concerts and other events. • Albums can consist of album covers ranging from 45 records to CDs and also publicity materials for particular albums. • Publicity contains press releases, artist biographies, press kits, and any other material that could be seen as promoting the artist. • Ramón Hernández Material is anything that Hernández created about the artist, including, but not limited to, article and artist biography drafts, design ideas for albums and publicity material, and correspondence. • Clippings the majority of clippings come from the San Antonio Express-News, La Prensa de San Antonio, and Street Talk, however there are some national, and a few international clippings, especially for Little Joe Hernandez. Published articles by Hernández are also found here. • Audiovisual Material typically contains promotional CDs or cassettes. Titles of singles and transcribed titles of burned CDs are in quotes, while album titles are in italics. The initials RH found in smaller files, denote that the item is either created by or related to Hernández There is also a small subseries includes oversize portraits of artists (many taken by Hernández). The arrangement mimics the arrangement of the previous series by separating the male and female artists and then arranging the portraits alphabetically. Guide to the Ramón Hernández Tejano Music Collection (Collection 141) 5 Series II: Posters and Oversized Materials, 1948-2018, undated Boxes 156-164 and map case drawers 36-44 This series can be seen as a continuation of the Artists Files, but with material that does not fit in standard document boxes. There are two exceptions to this: the majority of boxes, including the oversized ones, for Little Joe Hernandez (boxes 33-46) and Selena (boxes 121-142) are housed within Series I: Artists Files due to the sheer quantity of material, but as with all artists, materials related to them can be found in many series. As mentioned, mounted posters are those adhered to foamcore for easier display, possibly for exhibit in Hernández’s Hispanic Entertainment Archive. This series is divided into Artist Posters, Mounted Posters, Concert Posters, and Oversized Material • Artist Posters (boxes 156-161) are separated into male and female artists and then arranged alphabetically. The majority of the material found in the series