“Teen’s Choice” was a two-hour after school English-language Mexican American Top 40 tunes program on KUKA. And Manuel Dávila Jr., Ricky Dávila and Gilbert Garza Villarreal were the three teenagers who hosted this popular dedication show.

Most important, the program which aired from 5 – 7 p.m. five days a week gave many local Chicano groups the necessary airplay and exposure required to create a hit record.

On the Mexican side, KCOR played Mexican music 24/7 and KUKA, Radio Fiesta, from sunrise-to-sunset. However, neither played locally produced music, especially tunes with English lyrics. There was no happy medium, nothing in between.

This signaled the need for Chicanos to create their own radio programming and it all started in late 1957 when Manuel Dávila Sr. and José “Pepino” Lozano Villarreal saw that void. They became business partners and signed a contract with Manuel Leal, who owned the KUKA license.

At the time, the owner’s daughter Sylvia Leal and her friend, Teresa Garza, who owned a massive record collection dating back to 1953, were doing a program called “Tops and Bops” where her melodious “Stay cool, that’s the rule,” phrase had caught on with listeners.

“We kind of spun off “Tops and Bops” when we came in in October of 1959,” Rick said.

“The Davila’s took over before I joined and once they took over, Sylvia moved aside and they moved in,” Gilbert revealed. “A month later, my dad told Manuel Sr., ‘Why don’t I get my son to join your boys.”

To this Rick added, “Gilbert wanted to attend the seminary to be a priest and his dad wanted him to follow in his footsteps so he asked me to convince him to come into radio so I kind of feel guilty because he would have made a good priest.”

Manuel Jr. is the one that gave the program its name and in interviews the Davila’s used the date that Gilbert joined in December 1959 as the official start date of the program.

What set them apart is that while KTSA and KONO, which both played a few local record releases, were very strong, “Teen’s Choice” forte were the “dedications” and that the disc jockeys were themselves teenage high school students.

“We were the first to introduce Sunny and the Sun-Glows, The Dinos, Vince Cantú and the Rockin’ Dominos and other groups,” Víllarreal said. “At the time we used to call it the ‘West Side Sound’ because our listeners were mostly from the West Side of San Antonio. However, the music itself was like rhythm and blues, and soul.

Therefore another big reason for the threesome’s popularity is because they gave many local groups the necessary airplay and exposure required to create sales and a demand to see them perform, from that point on, they became the champions for the underdog.

“The car clubs would also back us up and we were in contact with kids as we emceed sock hops at Brack, Tech, Lanier and other schools all over the city where we would feature at least one group and if we couldn’t get a band, we’d just play records. This added to our popularity and listenership,” Gilbert stated.

“To top it off, we would also bring in nationally famous names, such as Lloyd Price to the Municipal Auditorium”

“Our Spanish wasn’t worth a crap, but ‘Teen’s Choice’ was a hit because of the dedications and because we spoke English,” said Manuel Jr. “We also played the slow stuff and the tunes other stations stopped playing once they were six months old, so people also saw us as the first oldies station in San Antonio.”

“It was an exciting moment in the lives of many Chicano/Mexican American teenagers long before our music came to be known as la onda Chicana and later Tejano music,” Gilbert said with a hint of nostalgia.

Although the program was an instant hit, it came to an end when Manuel Jr. graduated from George W. Brackenridge and Gilbert from Louis W. Fox Vocational and Technical High School in May 1962. Ricky, now known as “Güero Polkas,” graduated from Brackenridge in 1964.

However, that did not leave a void for the Westside Sound because since Gilbert’s father had financed KUBO, Radio Gallito, he immediately went to Studio A at the Alameda Theater building on Houston Street and with Fred Schneider created a spin-off of they called “Teen Platter Time.”

Without skipping a beat, all listeners had to do was to move their dials over to the new frequency. To promote their program, which aired Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to sunset, they would give out up to 1,000 post cards (see photo) at the station and at dances.

Fred’s brother, Jesse Schneider, who owned Renner Records and also worked at Perry Shankle Company (the exclusive record distribution for RCA Records), and Gilbert had a mutual friend. It was Rudy Gonzales of the Reno Bops. Thus when Fred moved on, he was replaced by Rudy and the program was re-named “Top Teen Tunes,” or some people would also call it, “The Triple T Show.”

Next Edgewood High School’s Little Jr. Jesse Vallado, of the Teardrops, and Henry Peña, of the Kasuals, joined “Top Teen Tunes,” but that’s another story and another article.

When Rudy’s career took off in Mexico, he had no choice but to quit and bask in the limelight of the Reno Bops’ popularity. At the end of August 1964, Gilbert voluntarily joined the U.S. Army and this time, the show’s fans really felt the void of their Chicano music crusader.

On December 4, 1964 Gilbert has the distinction of being the first Latino to graduate from the Department of Defense’s Information School in Fort Slocum, New York as “Broadcast Specialist.”

Then he was transferred to Pusan, Korea doing what Robin Williams did in “Good Morning Vietnam.” “But without the exaggeration,” Gilbert added with a laugh.

In May 1966, Gilbert’s father got sick and the then Spec. 5 was transferred to the Information Office at the Fort Sam Houston Quadrangle under the command of Major General Chester Dahlen.

While stationed there, he also free lanced as a broadcaster at KQXT and KITY; and along the way made friends with Congressman Henry B. González, who even came to pay him a personal visit him at the base.

After his Honorary Discharge, on July 8, 1967, Gilbert married the former Magdalena “Maggie” Kosub then went to work at KCCT in Corpus Christi, where his son Joe was born in 1968. The start of the new decade found Gilbert back in KUKA, where he worked seven years before accepting an offer as program director for KBNO, Que Buena, in Denver, Colorado. In late 1978, he received a call from KCOR offering him a full-time job when as Gilbert says, “It was a surprise and an honor since KCOR would only hire top-notch flowery, flawless Spanish speaking broadcasters from Mexico.”

In 2002, he received an “Associate of the Month” crystal award for making his department a success and last month the 69-year-old radio trail brazier retired on August 15.

As for the future, Gilbert said, “For now I plan to spend more time with Maggie, my sons Joe and Jason; and my grandchildren, Lauren, Nick and Caleb plus a fourth due to arrive in November.

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(Photos by Ramón Hernández)

Patricia Pérez is a complete woman because she multi-talented wears many diverse hats and is more than one person.

Patricia, who comes from a loving close tight-knit home, was a first-grade student when she starting reading and was inspired by the marvelous world of poetry, especially that of Amado Nervo.

“It was when I was in the fifth grade and our teacher assigned us to write un cuento (a short story) that awoke my interest for literature; and that’s when I begin to write short stories and children’s poems,” the Monterrey, Nuevo León-native said during a telephone interview.

This bright little girl had such an insatiable appetite for literature that in addition to her assigned required reading assignments, she further educated herself by devouring stacks of books.

Today, Patricia is a living classic work of art and her reflections of happy childhood in spite of a congenital auditory birth defect served as the inspiration and a template for her much anticipated forthcoming children’s book, “Las Aventuras de Laurita” under the nom de plume of Patricia Lemppaf.

“It was from those short stories that I wrote in my infancy that Laurita was born and she is me because she is completely deaf in the right ear. Thus I drew on my own childhood experiences to give Laurita life,” Patricia continued.

“Laura is not your average common child because something extraordinary happened the moment she was born with a God given talent. Through her left ear, she came to hear the beauty of music and all its symphonic harmonies, chords, rhythms, beats, measures and timing; the trill and warble of the birds; the ripple of the waves; the murmur of the wind; expressions of joy, delight and worship, sweet words of appreciation, gratitude, praise and love.

“On the other hand, her right ear is a filter which does not let any disagreeable, undesirable sound seep through; or any one word that could hurt her soul and spirit. And she is told that if she perceives any conflict, she should turn her face and place the filter of her right ear to work.

“In her journey through life, Laurita carries with her messages of love and overcoming obstacles. She also instills in children the importance of conserving the environment, nature and its ecosystem. And that the earth is in fact an extension of the family and is to be treated with respect and care.”

Although the literary part of the book has been completed, the only thing pending is the artwork.

“For this I have the participation of an artist, who shares in the vision and the experience; and is creating very beautiful illustrations for this book.”

Stay tuned here for more on information on this children’s book when it has been published.

As to Patricia’s ties to the Alamo City, she was 15 when her parents brought here on a family vacation and she found herself surrounded by numerous art works.

“The murals especially got my attention and it was during that trip that I fell in love with San Antonio.”

As a result, after Patricia graduated from high school, she attended the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León where she majored in social work due to her love for humanity, especially kids.

At 19, the very intelligent young lady came to San Antonio to follow and accomplish her artistic goals.

Here, the mother of two beautiful daughters — Vanessa Jenkins and Valerie Pérez-Arrieta, who was Miss Fiesta 1999 — founded La Alianza Latino Americana (ALA), a non-profit organization whose goals and objectives are the promotion and conservation of the Hispanic/Latino arts and its cultural heritage.

“In ALA, we are all equal. We all have the open-arms opportunity of expression and our slogan is “Brindando ALA’s a la comunidad artística de San Antonio” (“Offering wings to the artistic community of San Antonio”), said ALA’s executive director.

ALA’s next major event is “Su Majestad, El Bolero II” to be held at the International Folklife Culture Center at Our Lake of the Lake University on Saturday, August 4. For more information be sure to read Patricia’s monthly column in this magazine.

With all her accomplishments, no wonder our gorgeous columnist can say, “I’m a happy woman. I’m a complete woman. I give a lot to the community and I want to keep on giving.”

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As most people, brothers Tony and Mike Barragan have been keeping Mixed Company for decades. So when it came to name their band, it was a no brainer.

Their father, Johnny, played guitar with Los Tres Amigos and their mother, María, merely sang at home, but home is where most began to be shaped and molded. There were five brothers and two sisters in the family but only Mike and Tony took off where there father left off.

“As a result, I have been singing since I was five,” Tony said of his first musical influence.

Tony was born in 1948 and it would be another eleven years before Mike was born. As it turned out, Mike was three years old when Tony joined an unnamed group which consisted of himself on lead vocals and bass; Mike Sánchez, guitar; Joe Bocanegra, tenor sax; Raúl, tenor sax; and Chon on drums.

Shortly thereafter, they evolved into the Royal Kings and would open for Sonny Ace, the Sunglows plus Little Henry and the Laveers at El Patio Andaluz, the Edgewood canteen and other venues. As musicians came and went, the original Kings spun off into Jr. Jesse (Vallardo) and the Teardrops, and the original Kasuals, which is the group of musicians that was led by Tony in 1964. Henry Peña had his own band and the two groups often fought each other for gigs.

In 1966, Tony joined the U.S. Air Force and Peña became the lead vocalist for the Kasuals. When Tony finished his four years of active duty, Bocanegra was playing saxophone with The Lovells and Tony was able to get in as their new bass player.

The Lovells featured Bobby Piñeda on lead vocals and in 1971 Tony’s 12-year-old brother met Tony Jiménez and got hired as their band boy, or what is now called a roadie. It was also this same year that Tony married the former Melba Espinoza.

Next Tony and Mike joined Felíx Solís y Sus Cuatro Estrellas whose line-up was now, Anthony Hernández on vocals; Frank Castillo, guitar; Tony, bass; and Mike on drums.

“I only lasted two months because I became a registered nurse, than dedicated myself to my wife, my family and my job. However, Mike stayed on as a drummer and roadie,” Tony said of his departure.

In 1982 Tony joined the U.S. Army reserves as an officer and during this time was called for duty during Desert Storm/Desert Shield. After ten years with the army, Tony transferred to the Air National Guard. After ten more years, Tony retired from military service serving 24 years. Tony also retired from nursing two years later after serving 34 years at the local VA hospital. It was during this tenure that Tony remarried to the former Michele Moore.

“I remember those days very clear because Tony would bring home records by Sunny and the Sunliners on Teardrop, then Key-Loc Records and I liked what I heard,” Mike said. “That’s what I consider the albums Tony brought home as my first influence. However, I patterned myself after my idol, David Marez, because he was very smooth in his younger days with the Royal Jesters.”

Tony was gone, but Mike loved music too much to quit. Instead he continued to roadie, play drums and learn to play keyboards as he performed alongside Laura Canales, Monsanto and the Dallas-based Alma 60. Mike however did follow in Tony’s footsteps when he joined the U.S. Army Reserves.

“But then a U.S. Navy recruiter convinced me to go active duty with the Navy and see the world. So I got to see most of the places I would see in books and yearned to visit and it became a dream come true for me as I did three West Pacific cruises on a Navy oiler as a machinist mate. Another cruise took me to Singapore, India and Africa.”

In Summer of 1982, Mike received his honorable discharge, came back home and as luck would have it, Eddie De La Fuente walked into the store where he was selling Atari video games and offered him the vacated lead vocalist slot with Orquesta Juventud. Yvette Navaira was lead vocalist at the time with Leroy Urrabazo as backup vocalist and sax player. Needless to say, Mike accepted the offer.

Three years later, Mike joined Alexander’s Good Times Band de Alex Aranda as their lead vocalist. Alex played guitar; Robert Aranda, bass; and Sandra Urriegas played trumpet and sang.

Word of Mike’s vocal prowess got around and in 1986; Danny Guerrero offered him the lead vocalist position vacated by Tony Rubio with Fifth Avenue Band. They were already good, but Mike made them better and in 1989 they won a Pura Vida Music Award as “Most Promising Band of the Year.”

Then following his brother Tony’s example, Mike formed his own band with Genaro Calzado, guitar; Leo Guerrero, bass; Danny Triano, flute; Adrian Ruiz trumpet; Danny Rodríguez, trumpet; Jesse Rubio, flugelhorn; Louis Villarreal on drums; and named it Crosswind.

In 1991, keeping the same musicians, he named the same group of musicians Mixed Company. The difference is that he brought in Greg Galindo as the lead vocalist for Crosswind and the same musicians alternated back and forth as both Crosswind and Mixed Company as Mike juggled the band and a full-time job working with senior citizens as an activities director at nursing homes, a position he attained in 1985.

Latin Times Magazine named Mixed Company the “Most Promising Band,” they got picked up by Coors Light and Betty Jean Prieto became their manager in 1994.

By 1999, the venues featuring live Tejano music had drastically diminished and bands were finding it harder to harder to find gigs. So Mike started spinning records as DJ Mike.

Mike yearned to sing and he also missed sharing the stage with his brother, but it would be another eleven years before Tony agreed to revive Mixed Company; and why this name?

“Because we were playing a mix of music that is loaded up into our computer and everyone had a Tejano kind of name,” Mike explained.

The difference is that they did not have live musicians and that’s why their slogan became “The band without a band.”

“Mike and I got together after a long hiatus and who would image the success we’ve had in such a short time,” said Tony.

“San Antonio is very hard to please, but people welcome us with open arms and that’s an awesome feeling, but I think that’s attributed to loving what we do and it shows.”

Clearing the air on their unique use of the computer, Mike said, “When I hear the word karaoke, I cringe because we are not doing karaoke. Look at a performance by the Black Eye Peas. They are not backed up by a live band. You see a DJ behind them so call us the Black Eye Beans if you will.

“We entertain. We don’t just stand there and follow the little balls over lines of lyrics. We know all the songs by memory. So that frees us to give the audience a good show. And once people get over that, they go, ‘Oh my gosh.’ They forget we don’t have a band, let go, get up and dance.”

The brothers alternate doing lead vocals, but are also known to throw in a duet here and there. “Together, we do all the songs that have harmony, but the norm is me on lead vocals and Tony doing segunda voz; and we also have a super intro that was recorded by Bobby López. After the intro we do three to four songs in a row, than we talk to the crowd.”

Even without a band, Mixed Company’s is so good that some clubs now feature them as a headline act. Last year, Mike released a solo compact disc as DJ Mike and the feedback is that most of the vocals are better than the originals. The same applies to the awesome musical arrangements.

And this year, their “Al Fin” CD, on Discos Severo, is getting airplay all over the state because of the radio-friendly “Botones,” “Loco Con Tu Cariño” and the hauntingly beautiful version of “Hoja Seca.”

When buying their music, don’t mix them up with Mixed Company, the classic rock band from Sacramento, California; Mixed Company, the convention party band from Atlanta Georgia; the progressive country, traditional southern gospel Mixed Company from Tulsa, Oklahoma; or closer to home the Mixed Company country band doing quinceañeras in West Texas. The list goes on with Mixed Company bands in seven other states plus overseas places such as London, England and Scotland’s No. 1 wedding band. All have web pages and are all over www.youtube.com, but our own guys are at www.mixedcompanyentertainment.com.

So be sure to specify that you want San Antonio’s own Mixed Company. For bookings contact Tony at (210) 288-5653 or Mike at (210) 643-1213 or 828-2105.

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by Senior Airman Robert Hicks
7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

7/31/2012 – DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas — More than 400 Airmen returned from Southwest Asia July 25 and 26 to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, after being deployed six months in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The deployment marked the largest B-1 Bomber deployment of aircraft and personnel in the last 10 years.
Families and friends waited holding signs and banners, while others waived and screamed as Airmen deboarded the aircraft.
“I’m very proud of my husband,” said Allison Gutierrez “San Antonio”the spouse of a deployed Airman. “He’s such a non-selfish person who fights for his country and does what he believes is right.”
Her husband, Senior Airman Demetrio Gutierrez,”San Antonio”  7th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, worked on the deployed B-1 Bombers.
“It’s a great and amazing feeling to be back with my family and friends,” Gutierrez said. “I was deployed with a great group of guys who went out and grabbed the bull by the horns and accomplished the mission.”
The Airmen of the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron and 9th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit provided more than 25 percent of the total fixed-wing close-air support coverage for coalition ground forces in Afghanistan every day by launching the most B-1 sorties executed on a single deployment in more than 10 years of sustained conflict.

Over the course of the six-plus month deployment, the squadron flew more than 770 combat sorties, encompassing over 9,500 hours, to provide 24 hours of coverage every day.

They also responded to more than 500 troops-in-contact situations, with the enemy as close as 300 meters from friendly forces, and another 700 priority air requests, delivering more than 400 weapons on target.

“We were able to achieve these great stats through pure hard work,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Brooks, 9th Bomb Squadron commander. “Our squadron flew 130 more sorties than any B-1 squadron had flown in any other six month deployment. You don’t accomplish this by luck. It’s pure hard work and dedication from the aircraft maintainers, weapon builders and load crews, B-1 aviators, and the rest of the 7th Bomb Wing who deployed with us.”

The 9th EBS and 9th EAMU completed a complex B-1 sustainment block upgrade in the midst of combat operations, while avoiding any degradation in support to ongoing missions. The upgrade, completed to all nine aircraft in only six days, fulfilled an Air Forces Central Urgent Operational Needs request to fully integrate the sniper targeting pod onto the B-1, thereby providing machine-to-machine interface between the targeting pod and weapons, and reducing the targeting timeline by 33 percent.

The modification also ensured full operational capability for the B-1 to employ the GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition, providing Combined Forces Air Component Commander with the first-ever B-1 capability to engage and destroy moving targets.

“There wasn’t a single moment during our deployment that we did not have a B-1 in the air over Afghanistan,” Brooks said. “It’s really hard to put it in words how proud I am of these Airmen. Despite extremely difficult conditions both on the flightline and in the air, they gave everything they had to support the mission. I’m honored to have served with them.”

The 400 plus Airmen will receive two weeks of well deserved rest and recuperation before assuming their duties again here