Monthly Archives: May 2012
Carmen de la Calle
Story and pictures by Joseph Martinez
Besides their tasty tapas and famous Sangria, Flamingos, tangos shows. Today’s focus is on Jazz appreciation month at Carmen De La Calle, I had an opportunity to go to Carmen twice this month and it was a pure joy. Starting off with a jazz band named “Captain Kirk” The name threw me for a loop …. I wonder… is this guy a Star Trek geek? I must say; far from it.
Fans Stepped Up to the Plate for Joe López
At 11 a.m. people were already lined up to purchase a plate of beef with rice and beans at Big Al’s Garden Bar in New Braunfels as mobile DJ Ray Rosales played a non-stop array of Joe Lopez and Mazz hits.
Incidentally, Big Al’s is owned by José Reyes, who didn’t hesitate to volunteer the use of his venue. And while Ramón Chapa helped to coordinate the event, this writer was not aware that the true organizer of this event was in effect Raúl Lagunas, therefore mil disculpas, and you now stand vindicated.
Cali Carranza: A Pioneer in the Evolution of Tejano Music
By Ramón Hernández
Once upon a time the accordion was only featured in conjunto or norteño music recordings, so who introduced the accordion to la onda chicana?
“We (Roberto Pulido y Los Clasicos) where the first to use the accordion in place of the keyboards,” accordionist Calixtro “Cali” Carranza told this writer during an interview at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives in 2001.
To date, that claim has never been disputed. Another unique innovation was repeating what Isidro López did back in the late 1950s and that is combining the horns — the two saxophones of Roberto’s brothers Joél “Gordo” Pulido and Roél “Flaco” Pulido – with his accordion.
Abie Epstein’s Legacy Was Music
“Although real estate made up ninety-five percent of his adult life, Abie Epstein’s legacy was his creation of the San Antonio Sound,” Henry Peña stated during his opening remarks at Esptein’s memorial service.
“No one can take the San Antonio Sound away from him,” Richard “Pache” Acosta of the former lead singer of Al and the Pharoahs.
“He had his finger on the pulse of this city,” former KONO personality Wild Bill Riley said. “He knew the DNA of this town and that will never be duplicated. You could not play the music of San Antonio unless you played something produced Abie.”
The Krayolas Make Latin Music History
The Krayolas beat out Enrique Iglesias, plus dozens of other notable Latin bands and vocalists as the ‘Number One’ Amazon Top Digital Albums Chart for MP3 downloaded Latin music for 12 straight weeks and that’s as good as making the Guinness Book of World Records.
One must also consider that Amazon.com is world-wide. Therefore this attests to the earthly Krayolas’ staying power and now are the ‘most popular’ downloaded band on the entire planet, thanks to a free Amazon Exclusive sampler album. In 2008, Little Steven Van Zandt, best known for his work with Bruce Springsteen and the HBO series, “The Sopranos,” placed a pair of Krayolas tunes (“Catherine” and “Alex”) in heavy rotation on his syndicated FM radio show and New York-based satellite radio show. A feat no other San Antonio rock-n-roll band has yet to accomplish.