Óscar “El Gallo Copeton” Martínez is a singer, musician, songwriter, painter and author whose love for music dates back to 1940 when wanted to play a musical instrument so bad that he would pretend to play drums by beating a galvanized bucket, “una tina,” as he says, with a stick.

As a songwriter, Martínez is best known for composing “El Tejano Enamorado,” a tune that has been recorded by Isidro López, Little Joe, Sunny Ozuna, Jimmy Edward, Joe Bravo, Rudy Tee González of the Reno Bops, Gilbert Rodríguez and the Blue Notes, Carlos Guzmán, Snowball, Ram Herrera, Ramón Ayala, Jay Pérez plus at least two dozen other bands and vocalists.

Luis Manuel experienced the sadness of losing his father less than seven months ago, add to that, losing his best friend, mentor and role model all rolled into one.

“Image being eleven years old and spending Thanksgiving and Christmas without your dad,” internet radio station owner Margo Morones said. “This is what little Luis Manuel Longoria is going through right now. However, he vowed to continue his mariachi singing in honor of his dad and we (Morones and Jorge Flores) are going to underwrite his first compact disc.”

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Ralph Galván Jr. is among the few remaining band leaders of the many orchestras that thrived in Corpus Christi during the 1940s, ‘50s, through the 60s and into the ‘70s.

With the exception of Óscar Martínez from the Sparkling City by the Sea, Óscar Ramos, Juan Colorado, Balde Gonzalez, Johnny Herrera, Isidro López, Beto Vásquez; and Ralph’s brothers Sammy and Eddie Galván all passed on.

The Galván family’s musical dynasty began in the early 1930s when Rafael Galván Sr. hired music teacher Bernabe Alvarado, to pick up his children at George Evans Elementary School, walk them home and give them three hours of music lessons which started with the music diction method of solfeo in which one sings the music notes.