Tejano Music Tejano Music

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For More Information Britney Spears. http://www.britneyspears.com (accessed April 1, 2002). Hurley, Joanna. Britney. New York: Scholastic, 2000. Peters, Beth. True Brit: The Story of Singing Sensation Britney Spears. New York: Ballantine Books, 1999. Spears, Britney, and Lynne Spears. Britney Spears’ Heart to Heart. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2000. ejano Music T Tejano Music

Tejano is the Spanish word for “Texan,” and Tejano music contains all the flavors of the borderland between the United States and Mexico. Like those who live at the border of two cultures, the music is never quite one thing or the other but is con- stantly combining elements of both, creating a new and growing culture of its own. Tejano music has its roots in a music called conjunto (Span- ish for “together”) that evolved in the early 1900s when immigrants from Germany and Czechoslovakia found their way to new homes in south Texas. They brought with them the music of their homelands, energetic polka rhythms played on accor- dions. This music combined with Spanish lyrics and the com- plex bass of the bajo sexto, a twelve-string Mexican guitar, to create a fusion of styles that appealed to people of many cultures. Famous 1930s conjunto musician Narciso Martinez (1911–1992) was popular not only with audiences from his native south Texas but also with French-speaking Mississippi- delta Cajuns, whom he performed for under the name Louisiana Pete. He also drew in audiences of Polish immigrants, perform- ing with the Polski Kwartet. Conjunto remained largely a regional music until the 1940s, when World War II (1939–45) caused many people to relocate from rural areas to cities. Wherever they went, the Tejanos took their music. When traditional conjunto blended with the big- band music of the 1930s and 1940s, it became a new genre, or type, of music called Tejano. The new Tejano music continued to pick up influences over the decades, adding elements of country music, rhythm and blues (R&B; see these entries under 1940s—Music in volume 3), rock and roll (see entry under 1950s—Music in volume 3), and rap (see entry under 1980s— bowling, Music in volume 5) to the original Latin-polka beat. In this way, 1262 beatniks, and Tejano reflects the Latino experience in the United States, a bell-bottoms 04 pendergast VOL 5 6/18/02 2:34 PM Page 1263 T

constant blending of the traditional with the modern, as well ejano Music as the joining of many cultures to create something uniquely American. The popularity of Tejano music got a boost in the 1990s with the huge success of such stars as Emilio Navaira and Selena (1971–1995). (Selena was murdered by a fan in 1995, ending her promising career.) Rather than only being famous among Tejano fans, both stars successfully “crossed over” into other genres. It reveals a lot about Tejano’s many sides that Selena crossed over into pop music (see entry under 1940s—Music in volume 3), whereas Navaira has developed a successful career as a country-music singer.

—Tina Gianoulis

For More Information Galan, Hector, producer and director. Songs of the Homeland (video). Austin, TX: Galan Productions, 1995. Jones, Veda Boyd. Selena. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2000. Leland, John. “Born on the Border: Tejano Music.” Newsweek (October 23, 1995): pp. 80–85. q-productions.com: Selena. http://www.q-productions.com (accessed April 4, 2002). Romero, Maritza. Selena Perez: Queen of Tejano Music. New York: Power- Kids Press, 1997. San Miguel, Guadalupe. “The Rise of Recorded Tejano Music in the Post–World War II Years, 1946–1964.” Journal of American Ethnic History (Vol. 19, Fall 1999): pp. 26–30. Selena (film). Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video, 1997. Wheeler, Jill C. Selena: The Queen of Tejano. Edina, MN: Abdo and Daughters, 1996.

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