Photos by Ramón Hernández

La Nueva Familia Páiz is truly a new family all thanks to the strong faith possessed by the mother/grandmother of today’s new family.

“My mother (Martha) was always a Christian, but my father (Natividad Sr.) liked women. For twenty years she suffered mental and physical abuse. So as kids, we grew up seeing both sides as we saw our mother holding on to her faith and when we were bad, she used my father (Natividad Páiz Sr.) as an excuse for our misbehavior,” Ruth Páiz revealed during an interview at West Campus Baptist Church.

Her mother was orphaned at age five, therefore her husband and their children, most of them which were born in Lubbock, Texas, were her only family and she wasn’t going to lose this precious gift. So Margarita prayed to God for a miracle.

The interview was held following a Christian concert by La Nueva Familia Páiz during which Ruth had testified that the turning point came when her mother had been invited to a three-day Christian campaign at an enormous venue in Sanger, California just hours after seeing her husband pack his bags and walk out the door to be with another woman.

“That night my mother committed to give a $500 offering, when she really did not have the means to do so, but she wanted God to transform our lives; she made a pact with God and took that step of faith. Then after twenty years, the salvation started. On the third night, my father showed up.

“God answered her prayer and in one year, he saved the entire family. She gave ministry not only to her children, but also her grandchildren,” the singer-songwriter continued. “Yes God is in the business of making miracles, but God also needs to spend some time with you.”

This statement is best defined in one of their Intocable-styled tunes, “No Ignores Mi Amor” (“Don’t Ignore My Love”).

Suzanne and evangelist Natividad Páiz Jr.

Everything under the sun, material things such as a house, a car, etcetera, is vanity. So in 1983 when the Lord gave us the call, we (the Natividad Páiz Jr. Family) sold everything. We got a bus and we began to travel.”

It was during one of their coast-to-coast stops that they stopped to give their testimony and perform at the West Campus Baptist Church. Their father has long since passed, but their mother was seated with the rest of the congregation.

God told them that Austin and that is now their home-base. Here their address is a post-office box which a Christian brother checks every couple of weeks for their true home is miles and miles of long roads as they travel to spread the Word of God.

In 2007, they recorded “Despertar,” their first Christian compact disc and last year they released “Para Siempre” (“Forever”) written by keyboard player/lead vocalist Maylin Páiz. She also wrote “Glorioso,” “La Luz” and “Aqui Estoy.” Other original tunes in this CD are “Nada,” a lively catchy song by María and Suzanne Páiz, “La Razon” and “Ciega” by Elya Páiz (now married and living in Oregon), the latter with Suzanne Páiz; and “Quiero Más De Ti” (“I Want More of You”) by Ruth. Then there’s “Nopal,” a beautiful instrumental everyone came up with.

Gabriela, Ryan, Aaron and Andres Páiz

Maylin, lead vocals; Ruth, vocals; Aarón, accordion and guitar; Andres, lead guitar and bajo sexto; Ryan, bass; Gabriela, lead and rhythm guitar and vocals; Christian, congas; and Serena on drums; make up the musical portion of La Nueva Familia Páiz.

Serena and Christian Páiz

Their father, Natividad Jr. is the evangelist; their mother, Suzanne is the sound engineer and their aunt Debbie is the publicist. Then there’s’ Lupita and María, who arrange and keep track of their schedule.

Incidentally Aarón and Andres are identical twins, but one can tell them apart because one has long hair and the other trims it real short.

Any church desiring to have La Nueva Familia Páiz stop in San Antonio for an unforgettable concert should e-mail them at lafamiliapaiz@aol.com or call them at (512) 695-8423.

Remember Los Sonics, who were the rage from 1965 to the mid 1980’s?

Well, their lead vocalist, Serapio Herrera is back and the group has since evolved into Cincuenta Veinte. However Serapio’s musical history dates back to his childhood when as a tot he loved to sit and listen to the 45 rpm records that his older sibling would bring home following a dance.

at one of the venues owned by their big sister Víctoria “Vicky” and her husband Juan Rangel.

“They owned the Schumannsville Dancehall, the Wagon Wheel in Solms and the Fiesta Ballroom, the largest venue in New Braunfels,” Serapio during an interview at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives.

“It was music by Roy Montelongo, Rudy and the Reno Bops and Gilbert and the Bluenotes, who were all hot and good looking. I wanted to be just like them and it was my dream to meet all those artists. However, I never got to meet Rudy Tee.”

So it was no surprise that at twelve, he learned to play organ and joined The Illusions. A year later, in November 1963, the tall, skinny, lanky kid formed Los Sonics with the help of big sister Víctora “Vicky” Rangel and his brother-in-law Juan Rangel who owned the Wagon Wheel in Solms, the Schumannsville Dance Hall and the Fiesta Ballroom, the largest venue in New Braunfels, Texas.

“Furthermore, Ramón Ayala, Cornelio Reyna and all the artists hired by my sister would come to house to pick up tortillas, which my mother, Dolores, made for them.”

The original Sonics featured Henry Alemán on lead vocals and Serapio on keyboards and vocals. Lupe Esquivel, guitar; Frank Esquivel, bass; Juan Moreno, sax and vocals; Fernando Parra, tenor sax; Tony García, trumpet; and Mario Guerrero, drums; made up the rest of the Sonics, whom Serapio’s father, Valentin, would drive to gigs at the Royal Sport in Seguin and other towns/venues in a camper.

Henry Alemán was still lead vocalist when they recorded “Mañana Lloraras” for Valmon Records in late 1964 Serapio also stepped up to the microphone and recorded “Me Tienes En El Olvido.”

“This is also when I asked myself, do you want to go to school or be Elvis Presley, so I dropped out to be Elvis,” Serapio said with a laugh.

“I remember we would play at a bingo hall out of San Marcos where Big Papa and Big Momma would pay us 50 cents each for a 30-minute set, but he later raised it to 75 cents.”

After meeting Carlos Guzmán and becoming close friends with Juan Hinojosa, they took their first official publicity photo and later, impressed by Guzman’s Pontiac station wagon, they followed suit.

By 1968 Alemán and Moreno had left. Lupe had gone to Viet Nam and he was replaced by Ray Vallejo. His brother Frank Esquivel, as well as Fernando, Tony and Mario were the originals, who with newcomers Emilio Gómez, saxophone; and Curtis Dean, a Black singer who grew up in a Mexican neighborhood and spoke fluent Spanish replaced Alemán.

“This is the group I consider to be the main founders of Los Sonics, the sound and the style that we became identified with,” Serapio said.

By now they were also sharing the stage with the likes of the Royal Jesters, Little Joe, Sunny and the Sunliners, Alfonso Ramos, which featured Rubén Ramos on drums; Augustine Ramírez, Joe Bravo, Roberto Pulido plus many others in large venues all over Texas, Kansas, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan where fans would yell for Serapio to sing “Clavelito,” his signature song since 1967.

When Uncle Sam called Serapio to duty, he joined the U.S. Army Reserves. Moreno took a hiatus from his own band and together with Curtis, who sang in Serapio’s style filled in during his six month absence.

After recording 26 songs and a self-titled album for Valmon records, in 1973, Los Sonics — who were now Serapio, Lupe Esquivel (back from his U.S. Army stint), guitar; Héctor Montañez, keyboards and vocals; Jesse Zamarripa, bass; Mike Copado, tenor sax and vocals; Óscar Zamora, trumpet; Nicky Barboza, trumpet; and Roy De La Garza on drums — switched to Bego with whom they waxed “Piquito Negro,” “Boquita de Flor,” “Dos Vidas En Un Corazón,” “Nuestro Abismo,” “Cariño Con Ternura” and “Para Que Vuelves.”

Then came a few singles with Mex-Melody. In 1978, Los Sonics now considered of Alemán, their original singer; Lupe and Tony, two other original members; Juan De La Garza, keyboards; Alex De León, bass; Herman Flores, trumpet; Nick Barbosa, trumpet; and Arturo “Art” Garza on drums.

A year later they recorded an eight-track tape, “Viva Los Sonics,” on Sonic Production, their own label, a single for Leos Records and a bilingual version of “My Way” and “Mona Lisa” for Vivo, a label owned by Larry Nolan.

In 1980, they became Serapio Herrera y Su Orquesta. In 1981 Freddie Records released “El Primero” in 1981 and “El Unico” was released by Joey Records in 1983.

His father Valentin, whom the musicians nicknamed Cuco, traveled with the band since day one until he got ill and could no longer follow them. After his father’s passing in 1986, Serapio was devastated, but he performed that same weekend because that was what his father would have wanted.

Before his father died, Serapio had discussed going into business. He obtained his GED, than kept his promise when he enrolled at Texas State Technical College in Waco, Texas in 1988. Then he went back home and opened County Line Transmission because it’s in the middle of the Comal and Guadalupe county lines on Texas Hwy 46.

Serapio performed sporadically until the early ‘90’s, but his transmission shop required his full attention and he decided to quit the road while he was still young and settle on the security of a successful business, but as they say, once a musician, always a musician so his love of the stage and traveling never died.

After a quarter of a century away from the limelight, fans still remembered him, his voice, his hits, his showmanship, his dynamic heartfelt performances and they started to coax and encourage him to return because they missed him.

Then fate stepped in when he ran into the Charanga King, Hugo Guerrero, who in turn introduced Serapio to singer-songwriter Humberto “Beto” Ramón. After Beto belted out one new composition after another, each one better than the previous song, Serapio knew he had to get into a recording studio and interpret these six killer tunes.

To add variety to the production, Serapio asked Mike Copado, a former Sonic and friend, to write a song for his new compact disc and he penned “Ay Amor Cómo Te Quiero.”

To satisfy his die-hard fans, Serapio also re-recorded “Clavelito,” but with an accordion flavor. As a personal note to program directors, “Imaginate,” which is super radio friendly, is already receiving heavy rotation on many radio stations followed by the title track; and if your format is onda grupera, then “Nunca Cambies” is the cumbia that will fit your format.

“I am very aware that everything we do every minute and every second of our life should be in God’s name so I recorded ‘Con Los Brazos Abiertos,’ as an expression of my thanks to God for granting me this production and for all the blessing our Lord and Savior has bestowed on my wife (Alicia) and I.”

This is perhaps the most beautiful tune in his CD since Serapio pours his heart and soul into this composition which could also easily become an international secular hit.

Because he was the youngest of ten children, Serapio took his childhood nickname and named his own label Bebe Records.

This year, the youthful looking 62-year-old vocalist summoned original member Juan Moreno, keyboards and vocals; David “El Primo” Herrera, accordion; Paul Cantú, guitar; Juan Ramos, bass; Arturo “Art” Garza, drums; and they became Cincuenta Veinte.

“I named the group after the title song of my new CD because we all may be fifty or older, but our hearts are still twenty. In other words, we are still young at heart.”

In closing, Serapio thanks his family and friends, all the musicians that backed him up during his musical career plus those that have passed through his life and the new friends that have come into his life and offered to help him in any way the can in resurrecting his career.

For more information go to www.serapioherrera.com (still under construction) or www.facebook.com/home.php#!/serapio.herrera.1?fref=ts; and to see Serapio in action, check out his many videos on YouTube. Now that you know Serapio is back, one can book him and Cincuente Veinte by calling (830) 625-3626.

Photos by Ramón Hernández

“America’s Got Talent” producers descended on the Alamo City to hold auditions for their upcoming season and Anna Sánchez was among those who stood out in a sea of thousands trying out.

While many aspiring contestants made the trek from New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma, while driving down from Corinth, Texas seemed to be a much shorter drive for Anna, her husband Miguel Sánchez and their friends, Jennifer and Mike Parker.

The truth is that making it this far was a long way for Anna, who originally hails from York, Pennsylvania where, as she says, “I grew up on a farm where I would sing to the cows and to my friends at school.”

She was ten or eleven when the church elders heard her sing from a pew where she stood next to her paternal grandparents and they suggested that they should put her in the church choir.

Bessie and David Kiser took their advice, encouraged Anna and at age thirteen, she made her sining debut at a Father/Son Banquet at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania before a congregation of approximately one hundred.

Her Christian upbringing meant that her sole repertoire consisted of gospel and songs of praise and worship.

In the summer of 1995, she moved to Dallas where Carol Brown, her maternal grandmother began to enter the blonde cutie into beauty pageants. One of those beauty competitions was the Little Miss Texas pageant where she won the “Grand Talent” portion of the contest with her vocal rendition of Celine Dion’s “Power of Love.” To top it off, Anna was also the runner-up in this contest.

Anna was still wearing her tiara when she met Miguel, the son of Kathy and Pete Sánchez, CEO and president of “Little Joe’s Salsa.” After that, the only time she sang was during a Sánchez Family reunion in Navasota, Texas two years after she met Miguel.

“I didn’t pursue singing at all for the next 15 years. We just went to karaoke bars where I kicked butt for years,” Anna said with a sense of pride.

Although she honed her voice with karaoke, according to the 35-year-old singer, one reason for not pursuing a musical career was because of weight gain. “But I recently lost 140 pounds and I decided to audition for ‘America’s Got Talent’ because I’m not getting any younger and I wanted to set a good example for my kids – Brenden, age five; and Ava, age 17 months — and to teach them that no matter what the outcome may be, you have to try. So I wanted to do this for my kids and for me.”

Among those that also stood in long lines extending to Alamo Street for the chance to audition were Jordan Clements, who mother drove her down from Oklahoma, Lisa Ybarra, Austin Rios, Matthew Gutiérrez, Houston; Drew K, Austin; and Alfredo “Freddy” González from Corpus Christi. San Antonio Express-News reporter Héctor Saldaña, WOAI-TV personalities Shelly Miles and Albert Flores, other news medias and of course StreetTalk & River City Attractions were there to cover the event.

For her audition in front of a male producer for the program, the blue-eyed, 5-feet-7-inches tall songbird wearing an over the shoulder purple blouse, black pants and high heels plus tag identifying her as #08030340, chose to sing “Girl on Fire,” a tune made popular by Alicia Keys.

“If chosen for the next round, whatever producer is assigned to you will guide you through the whole procedure and we will audition for the celebrity judges.”

The next phase of the auditions will also be held in San Antonio and we at StreetTalk Magazine & River City Attractions wish the gorgeous – with or without glasses — contestant the best of luck.