Music review
Latin Breed Resurfaces with a New Recording and Lots of Surprises
Are you ready for the re-emergence of the Latin Breed?
It was 1969 when Rudy Guerra quit playing saxophone with Sunny and the Sunliners to form Latin Breed featuring Jimmy Edward on lead vocals. A year later, the band broke up, Guerra went back to the Sunliners, and then once more, he reformed the Breed in 1972.
In 1974, Guerra and Edward were saved and gave their lives to the Lord. However, the band forged ahead under new leadership. Since then, LB has gone through a slew of front men on lead vocals — Edward, Gilbert Alba, Gary Guajardo, Adalberto Gallegos, Rubén Cubillos, Ralph Cortez, did a few gigs with the underground name of Fantasia and played musical chairs with countless musicians, but they kept on ticking. Next came Jay Pérez and when he quit to join David Lee Garza y Los Musicales, he was replaced by Roger Velásquez, who sang lead vocals from late 1989 to 1993.
The bottom line is that they kept on keeping on and in the process became a constant in Tejano music.
Former LB lead singer from 1980-82 and now in charge of marketing and public relations, Cubillos said, “The Latin Breed LIVES because of your (fans) loyal support through these first 40 years. An Army of excellent musicians have shared and graced the unmistakable sound born on the Southside of San Antonio. They all remain part of our roots and standards founded four generations back … Look for us this summer (we are ready to travel to your corner of the world) with ‘The Real Deal Tour’ as we celebrate a true milestone of 40 years on the road.”
Thanks to Cubillos, who says LB is a part of his DNA, a couple of weeks ago this writer had the unique privilege of being invited to witness the recording of the Breed’s newest single release at Blue Cat Studios with Joe Treviño at the helm of the mixing board.
Singer/songwriter/LB owner (since 2005) Gallegos was in great form as he laid down the vocals for “Solamente un Vez” with Charlie “CR” Rodríguez, co-owner and sax player; Lee “Sparky” Thomason, trumpet; Julian Carrillo, keyboards; Steve Velásquez, guitar; Pete Nune Contreras, bass; and Steve Solís, drums.
Alternate, rotating or substitute musicians are Donald Garza and Karlos Elizondo on trumpet; Danny Pérez and Fred Soto on saxophone; Gilbert Garza, trombone; Joe Romano, guitar; plus Stanley Revillas and John López on bass.
LB is coming out of a brief hiatus and this week they return with a vengeance as they launch a new single, a new video on www.youtube.com, The Real Deal Tour and a new web site, www.thelatinbreed.com
“This is a rejuvenation of 40 years of power hits and we’re using today’s technology to turn on all the lights with the flick of one switch,” Cubillos added.
“Our whole thing is to reconnect with our core audience,” the Big Chihuahua continued.
In regard to their next full CD release, Cubillos says the group is shopping for a label and hope it’s out in time to qualify for a Grammy Award.
For more information, call Cubillos at (210) 722-1392.
Raulito Navaira Finds Unexpected Success
Raulito never rode his brother’s coattails, but for years he faithfully stood in the shadow of Emilio and now the tables have reversed.
Today, Raulito is not only standing on his own as a solo artist, but thanks to faith, prayer and perseverance, he is standing out as a singer, songwriter, product spokesperson and soon-to-be television personality.
However, the Mis Visiones recording artist hasn’t been able to do one interview without questions about his brother and the accident. So rather than rehash what has been previously beat to the ground, Raulito shared his views on why it may have actually been a Blessing and a miracle.
“I think it was a wakeup call,” Raulito said during an interview at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives. “The accident was bad, but a lot of things in our lives were bad. The families weren’t getting along. Things were very hectic. So much was going on and there just had to be a stop to it, but the Lord brought us down on our knees and everyone came together and there were prayer rituals all over the United States, Mexico and the Latin Hemisphere.”
The accident also reunited the families. Then Raulito fondly recalled the teaching of his father, Emilio Jr., and his mother, María De La Luz.
“My dad was a barber. Mom was a housewife and very religious; and our grandmother was a Guadalupana, so the first thing I remember coming out of their mouth was ‘pray and give thanks.’ That’s been our belief since they instilled that in us as kids.
“I’m going back to when there was no cable, no video games and we entertained ourselves with guitars. But you know what? Even in our hey day as Emilio and Grupo Rio, we always prayed because you have to believe there’s a greater thing than just life,” Raulito continued.
“To us, the world did come to an end at the time of the accident, but by the Grace of God, we’re still here. And as for my brother, I know he’s coming back. That’s been our faith. He just sang with Clay Walker and that was a giant step.
“Myself, I feel truly blessed,” Raulito said as his eyes began to swell up with tears. “I just stare at my kids and I give thanks. I’m very lucky and sometimes I feel scared because I have it so good.”
Raulito and his wife Josie, who celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary on March 4, are also bringing up their children – Rodrigo “Rigo,” Destiny and Lauren Paz – in the Word of the Lord. So it is no small surprise that they were all Blessed with musical talent.
Rigo plays bass, has his own rock band, Speed Limit and has already been the subject of a special feature in Conexión. Lauren Paz, who turned eight on May 13, sings and just placed second in her first talent contest. Eighteen-year-old Destiny, not only sings, but is also a composer and wrote “Mi Vida.” The song, which she dedicated to God and is about the need to have God in our lives, is the second cut in Raulito’s compact disc.
Much is known about Emilio, but few people know of Raulito’s accomplishments and achievements. So here is Raulito’s story:
FROM ROADIE TO BACKUP VOCALIST TO SOLO ARTIST TO TV HOST
First of all few people realized that Raulito is the baby in a family of two brothers and one sister – Yvette Marie.
In 1980, Raulito joined the Terrell Wells Middle School Choir, the same choir of which Emilio and Ramiro “Ram” Herrera were members of five years prior. But what really amazed Raulito is, as he tells it, “when I saw and heard los pachucones malias singing the ‘Ave María.’ I mean, these were the baddest, meanest guys in school and here they were as choirboys.
“The way the choir director recruited them is by approaching them individually and asking them, ‘what kind of music do you like? And ‘Do you want to sing it?’ He made it fun to be in choir because we all initially like rock. But through his influence, he slowly moved us into classical. So Emilio, Ram and I did operas. I did the part of a prince in ‘Boris Gudioff’ and I remember how proud and happy my dad felt hanging around, as he said, ‘more refined people’ because this was a far cry from the José Alfredo Jiménez and Pedro Infante songs we were brought up on.”
Raulito was a cute thirteen year old when he soloed on “Special Lady” at a school assembly and had all the school girls screaming for him. “That’s when I got the performing bug,” he added with a laugh.
In 1984, when Emilio replaced Ram as the lead singer for David Lee Garza y Los Musicales, Raulito joined the group as a roadie. Two years later, he worked his way up to sound engineer and he started to sing two or three tunes in duet with his brother. That gig ended on December 31, 1988 and two months later, Grupo Rio was born.
This time Raulito came on board as the sound engineer, but four months later, the band sensed something was missing and that was the fact that nobody knew how to sing backup, so Emilio brought his brother up onstage as backup vocalist and Raulito remained alongside Emilio including their one-year tour with Clay Walker in the country-and-western market until the time of the accident.
The first thing Raulito did was to bounce three responsibilities. The first was to honor all of their artistic commitments.
“After the accident, we did the tour as a family with my kids and Emilio’s kid, but promoters didn’t want that because the kids were too young. So with the help of my cousins, jointly known as Massizo, who backed me up and we were able to honor all our previous commitments,” Raulito explained.
The second responsibility was to drive his mother, back and forth to Houston. “I had 32,000 miles on my car when we made our first trip and by the end of a nine-month period, I had logged up to 160,000,” the Alamo Hats spokesperson continued.
His third responsibility was to take care of his wife and children and this is when Little Joe and his son Ivan came to the rescue by booking Raulito in El Paso followed by a couple of venues in Arizona.
“Little Joe, Los Palominos and several other grupos me hecharon la mando and now the phones are ringing more often, thanks to them. I’m so grateful I can’t thank them enough for restarting my career.
The next turning point came last year when Raulito and Orlando Salazar formed Mis Visiones Records. “The label’s name represents the visions I have of my daughter (Destiny) as a new act, my vision to bring la onda back and the youth back to Tejano music.”
The label’s first release was “Simplemente Raulito — Por Mientras.” In it he pays tribute to his brother in the opening song, “Bajo De Tu Sombra,” as he sings that under his brother’s shadow he learned to live and had a very happy life.
“I was always under his shadow although I casted a bigger one than him,” Raulito quipped.
“Emilio IV and I came up with the idea for ‘Tu Amigo.’ He thought of the concept and I wrote it in Spanish,” Raulito said as he started to offer an explanation for the rest of the album.
“I wrote ‘Chiquita’ for my son because I wanted this album to be my kids, but Rodrigo was ready for it so I recorded it myself.
“When Emilio recorded ‘Contenta Mi Alma’ with David Lee Garza, my father said it came out okay, but it would have been better if it had been done slower,” Raulito continued. “I remember those words from my dad and he wrote the son, so I thought I would honor him by recording it his way.”
“Lo Que Hicimos Juntos” is the most catchy and most commercial tune in this album and with the right promotion, could launch Raulito to international fame as a solo artist.
“For ‘Señorita’ I pictured myself in Poteet, Texas at the Kicker Palace and you want to ask a girl if she wants to dance. She tells him she’s too good for him, but nonetheless, she dances with him”
Of “Regresé,” the 42-year-old vocalist said, “This song is about a boy and girl who grew up as playmates and are now adults. In it, he tells her, ‘I always followed in your footsteps, but you never saw me. Now yesterday’s little child is gone. I’m now a man and I’m back to conquer you.’
“And I did ‘Open Up Your Heart’ because all my heroes have done it and because that was one of the songs we would always sing,” Raulito said as he finished describing all the tunes.
“The album has that old Emilio feel to it because with the exception of one song we did with keyboards, the rest of the album is all the accordion and saxophone. So we went back to basics, with is the old style plus the new emphasis that my nephews put into it.”
The result is that Raulito won “Revelación de Año” as a solo artist at this year’s Premios a La Música Latina.
His increasing popularity lead to being approached by Barcel, the company that makes various flavors of Toreadas chips to host an upcoming television show. The new television program, which will feature Intocable, Marc Anthony, Manu Ginobili and other internationally known Latin celebrities, young achievers plus a music act will tape their first show at the Skydome Club (formerly Planet Hollywood) on July 9 with a tentative airdate of July 11.
“This will be like a cross of ‘Jay Leno’ and ‘Don Francisco’ with plenty of audience interaction,” the singer/songwriter revealed.
Today, Raulito averages two gigs per week, but if he is back in San Antonio by 10 a.m. each Sunday, he, his kids and Emilio’s sons can be seen and heard strumming their guitars and singing their praises to our Lord and Savior during the noon Mass at St. Leonard’s Catholic Church.
In closing, Raulito broke as he said, “It’s been kind of hard to perform and I miss him (Emilio). Meanwhile, I just pretend that he’s by my side, smiling. God willing, I know he’ll be back. We’ll be singing the songs we wrote together and we’ll be making people happy.”
For more information, check out www.myspace.com/raulitonavaira.
Rosalinda Risso: San Antonio’s Newest Celebrity Reversed the Tables in China
Rosalinda Risso recently gave the Chinese people a taste of their own medicine.
While most products everyone in North American purchases read “Made in China” underneath the item, in China there is one product that states “Hecho En México” (Made in Mexico).
“That product is hundreds of DVDs produced by Proda Films,” Risso said during an interview at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives.
“In fact, our company was the first Latino Company to introduce Mexican movies in Hong Kong, where they took the most interest in those that featured masked wrestlers.
“The Hong Kong thing was entirely my idea and we made record breaking sales to movie distributors there. What initially attracted a lot of people to our booth at the April 2004 Hong Kong International Film Festival & Market (Filmart) is that my husband’s brother, Rogelio Agrasánchez López, took his collection of vintage collectable movie posters for exhibit in our space and this attracted customers like a magnet.”
The petite beauty is also among the many Mexican singers and actors that now make San Antonio their home. José David Agrasánchez is her ex-husband, who after their divorce kept Proda Films, which has a stock of over 7,000 titles.
RISSO’S EARLIEST INFLUENCES AND ENTRY INTO SHOW BUSINESS
Her father, Salvador Ángel Risso, owned palenques throughout Mexico so in addition to seeing the top stars of the day onstage; Risso would also see them at their own home when they would come over for fiestas and pachangas.
“De alli me salio la locura de ser artista. It was from growing up among Vicente Fernández, Daniela Rómo, Lupita D’Alessio, Lucha Villa and many more of Mexico’s greatest singers, that my father gave their first breaks to that this craziness to be a singer was born,” Risso said with a laugh.
The perfectionist then underwent vocal training under Francisco de Migueles in Mexico City and Christopher Robbins in the United States.
“I was 16 when I performed at a palenque for the first time. María de Lourdes and Ángelica María were with me and my mind went blank. I was terrified, but Ángelica signaled me to start again. The mariachi started the tune again and this time I was able to sing. I don’t remember, but I must have sung a Juan Gabriel song because that’s what I always covered.”
Next she found a producer named Rafaél, who told her he would record her. After Sergio Esquivel heard her, the 45 rpm single, which featured “El Principe” on Side 1 and “Cómo Se Cambia” on Side 2, was released on CBS in 1984. The record got heavy rotation plus airplay and became a hit. Shortly thereafter, fans formed the first Rosalinda Rossi Fan Club in Fresnillo, Zacatecas.
As for her stage name, the voluptuous vocalist took her paternal grandmother’s last name since Ángel is her father’s last name, not her middle name as many may think.
One thing led to another and Risso wound up in the movie industry as an actress. Yet it was really her sister, Patricia, who wanted to be an actress and never succeeded.
“I had a promising career ahead of me,” the 5-foot-1-inch tall curvaceous performer continued. “Unfortunately, I fell in love and married a movie producer, who turned out to be a very jealous husband; and although he wanted to help my acting career, he only gave me Cinderella parts. He was ultra controlling and read every script. So if there was a kissing scene, he made sure it was eliminated.
In 1979, Risso made her silver screen debut in “La Pistolera.” “El Secuestro de Camarena I and II” (1985) opposite Andrés García and Sasha Montenegro, plus “Muerte de el Federal de Caminones” (1987) came next followed by “Open Fire” (1988) opposite David Carradine, “La Muerte de Camarena” (1988) with Rosenda Bernal and “El Mil Hijos (1989). The latter three were with Julio César Agrasánchez.
Her popularity and fame grew; and next she appeared in “El Día de las Sirvientas” and “La Mafia Tiembla II,” both with David Reynoso and his two sons, Sergio and Jorge Reynoso.
In between movies, she entered the 1990s decade with “Camarena Vive” and in 1992, she sang “Mi Tierra Es” at El Festival de la Canción Ranchera placing fifth in a competition that included Rosenda Bernal, Julia Palma, Martín Urrieta and other established internationally known singers.
Then she worked at being a better thespian by studying actuing at the Van Mar Academy in Hollywood. Then adding another talent to her resume, Risso studied dancing under Ema Pulido at the Dupreé Academy, also in Tinseltown.
During the mid 1990s, starting with “La Quebradita,” she started producing her own films. She followed that up with “Cruce en Tijuana” with Fernando Sáenz, Rebecca Sílva, Patricia Rivera and Armando Silvestre. The latter two movies also featured Joe Estevez, who is Martin Sheen’s brother.
Her short acting career during which she had some good roles was short lived due to her marriage because as she says, “Ya casadita a su casita (Once married, you belong in your home). Se perdio el encanto (The enchantment is lost).
This union did however produce a son. “His name is Aldo Agrasánchez and he too likes acting and dancing,” Risso said with a mother’s pride.
MAKING SAN ANTONIO HER HOME
In regard to the reason, she left Mexico and moved to the Alamo City, the buxom powerhouse of energy said, “We’ve been coming here and Harlingen since the 1980s because my husband’s family is from here (Texas). Asi nacio mi amor por San Antonio. (That’s how my love for San Antonio was born.)
“In Mexico I lived in panic terrified of my son being kidnapped when he was outside playing or riding his bicycle. We had all kinds of close-circuit TV cameras, but I could not look at the monitors for fear of seeing someone pop up on the screen. And when we would come here and I saw my son riding his bike, playing safely and saw how happy he was, I suggested we buy a vacation home here.”
The deciding factor came after the Agrasanchez’s were assaulted four times in Mexico. It was then Risso and her son moved to their vacation home and enrolled him in school here.
To hone her vocal skills even further, here she studied voice under Cristina Ortega. She then joined the Hispanic Heritage Society and started singing in gala events honoring Armando Manzanero, Ángelica Mariá and Juan Gabriel. In addition new opportunities arose and one of those was being contracted to perform in Merida, Yucatan. As a consequence, many people started asking for her compact disc and she had none. So she produced and recorded a CD, which is now available at her Website.
Now Risso is a board member of the society, whose name she considers to be very potent and for which she has many plans and projects she intends to introduce.
Last month, Cynthia Muñoz of Muñoz Public Relations invited the epicurean songbird to participate as judge for the student mariachi musician’s competition as new doors seem to be opening for Risso. And as if she didn’t have enough on her plate, Risso says, “I also intent to get involved with Al Frakes’ SAF Studios and bring some Mexican film projects to San Antonio.
“In addition, I want to educate Hispanic youth on their roots so they can feel proud to be Latino.”
Taking action in regard to this, the Hispanic Heritage Society is presenting “Bolero,” which features tunes by singers and songwriters such as José José, Vikki Carr, Juan Gabriel, Luis Miguel, Armando Manzanero, Rocío Dúrcal, Marco Antonio Solís, Camilio Sesto, Mocedades, María Grever and Los Panchos.
These great hit tunes will be interpreted by Nataly Peña, Emanuel Zapata and Héctor Hernández, who are collectively known as Voces de San Antonio. In addition, this gala evening includes a special appearance by Risso.
In addition, there’s the young voices of María Isabel León and César de la Cruz; ballroom dancers Jack and Verónica. Jorge Infante did all the musical arrangement and Cristina Ortega is the artistic director.
This great musical review will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, February 27 at the San Antonio Playhouse Russell Hill Rogers Theater. For more information call (210) 822-3247 or go to www.hispanicheritagesociety.org. For more photos of San Antonio’s newest celebrity import, check out www.rosalindarisso.com.
The Gateway to San Antonio’s Westside
East Los Angeles has an arch as one enters the “Brown Kingdom” via Whittier Boulevard. Here the barrio is spelled “varrio” and arch is a symbol of pride for the unincorporated area of East LA, which welcomes its residents as well as visitors.
Now the Gateway to San Antonio’s Westside via West Commerce Street too has its own impressive entrance. And it’s all due thanks to the late Manuel “Manny” Diosdado Castillo Jr., David Blancas, several businesses, corporations, organization and countless other participants.
The eye-catching new landmark — made possible by the San Anto Cultural Arts Community Mural/Public Art Program and Janis Wagley — is a mural titled “La Música de San Anto.”
It all started when Wagley, who owns Fast Action Bail Bonds, thought it would be nice to have a colorful mural of bluebonnets, the Alamo plus more artwork that depicted Texas; and in talking to several artists, Manny convinced her to feature a wall full of San Antonio musicians.
This writer/musicologist’s only critic is that they neglected to include Gloria Ríos, who as Eva Garza, also lived in the Alazan-Apache Courts and moved to Mexico, where Ríos introduced rock and roll to our South of the Border neighbor in 1955. She also became a famous movie star and married Adalberto “Resortes” Martínez Chávez.
There is a mural on the side of a building at the corner of Colorado and Buena Vista streets that features a female vocalist resembling Gloria Rios and it may be her. However, she is not identified. And before anyone else starts complaining about being left out, it must be noted that every artist featured on this impressive and moving mural has passed on and this is a posthumous honor.
Among those in attendance at the mural’s dedication were Randy Garibay’s brothers Isidro “Izzy” and Ernie; also his son Randy G. Jr. plus Randy’s first wife Cecilia Cortez and his widow Virginia Schramm Garibay. Lydia Mendoza’s daughter Yolanda, her husband Fernando Hernández and their two children, Anna and Rogelio were also present; as well as Jessamy, their granddaughter plus Manny’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Castillo Sr.
Photographer Jesse Lara and Efrain Gutiérrez, considered to be the first Chicano film maker was on hand to document the event in high definition.
Congratulations and big “thank you” to all sponsors plus all the volunteers who made this historical mural a reality; and may there be more “Música de San Anto” murals to follow.
In closing, here’s some food for thought in the way of a new project. What about a mural featuring the Royal Jesters, Rudy Tee and the Reno Bops and Dimas Garza of the Lyrics, whom all went to Lanier High School?
The ideal location for this one would be the side of a building coming off the Guadalupe Street bridge from downtown. Besides, the bridge leads right into the former site of the Alazan-Apache Courts and is near Lanier High School. Another thing, they could add to the mural is the Maya and Progresso movie theaters.
It could also include Sunny Ozuna of the Sunliners, Rene Ornelas of Rene and Rene, Arturo “Sauce” González, Spot Barnett, Jimmy Edward, Little Henry, Joe Posada, Louie Bustos and Al Gómez to name a few since all are exponents of the “Westside Sound.”
Paying tribute to San Anto’s women, Rita Vidaurri, Beatriz Llamas plus Emma Hernández, who sang with the Emilio Caceres Orchestra; and leading up to Patsy Torres, Lisa López and Shelly Lares could be the subject of another project.
The list goes on and on, but in reality, one wall would not suffice. So on the positive side, perhaps this will induce and motive someone with a building off the Guadalupe Street Bridge to provide the San Antonio Cultural Arts program with a wall to paint another mural. And it does not have to stop there since someone can also create something artistic as a “Gateway to San Antonio’s Southside.”
Meanwhile, the Alamo City now has a new tourist attraction and source of pride for el barrio del Westside.
Linda Escobar Sheds her Shirley Temple Image
For years, Linda Escobar had been unable to shake off “The Little Princess” image.
“That’s because I began my musical career singing “Frijolitos Pintos,” at the tender age of seven,” the statuesque songbird said during an interview that began at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives and ended at Gilbert’s Restaurant where she was accompanied by Lydia Herrera, who with her husband Henry, owned Benny’s BarBQ in Corpus Christi.
After the 1960 Cometa Records hit, six more tunes, including “Colorcito de Sandia” were included in her father, Eligio Escobar’s Bernal BELP 2006 long-play album. It about during this period Beatriz Llamas would babysit Escobar when her father was onstage. Then, in what seemed to be the blink of an eye, El Gordo Delgado had the then 11-year-old Alice, Texas native booked at the Hollywood Palladium and on tour with José Alfredo Jiménez, Lucha Villa, Resortes and The Dinos, than featuring Bobby Lira and Serafino Perales.
Years passed and at the end of the last century she fell in love with Kenji “El Gato” Katsube.
“We’re like rice and beans,” the Escobar Records recording artist said during that period. “He’s the rice and I’m the beans” referring to the Japanese being known for eating rice and Mexicans for eating beans. “And our children will probably be frijolitos pintos.
Her father had prophesized this during her youth and she even wound up going to the Land of the Rising Sun, where they performed at Al Sur De La Frontera in Osaka, Japan. During that winter trip, Katsube took her to a hot springs and as she remembers, “I had a hard time finding a bathing suit because their women are so tiny.”
They wrote their own wedding rites, Tony De La Rosa had agreed to perform at their wedding and all the padrinos were already chosen when Katsube was diagnosed with cancer and he succumbed to the fatal disease on May 16, 2003. The next year, she wrote and released “Llorando En Silencio,” which features an enigmatic piece of artwork for the cover. She followed that up with four more productions on her own label.
Today, after suffering great tragedy, her life-long fans look at the grandmother of four and still see the stereotype of that little girl they saw grow before their very eyes.
“I was always very conservative,” the 5-feet-8-inch tall songstress said. “I wouldn’t do anything out of the norm, but that was the rancherona in me. Besides, I am truly shy when it comes to dressing in a revealing way.
“It was Chente Barrera who wanted for the other side of me to come out. He wanted me to come out of the cage, be more assertive, stand my ground, not take any crap from anyone and to show what I’ve got because, as Shirley Temple, I was a child star and everyone stayed with that image.
“I never had a chance to come out,” Escobar added.
That was the basis and concept for “Leona Enjablada” (“The Caged Lioness”) to free that pent up spirit. As we listened to each song, La Diva de la Canción offered a brief synopsis of each tune.
In the Barrera penned “Quedate Tranquilo,” she is telling her former beau, “Don’t worry because I’m out of your life.”
“I did ‘La Monja’ because I like to include a corridor in every CD and it’s my favorite Mingo Saldivar song,” Escobar explained.
She recorded Chelo Sílva’s torchy “¿Sabes De Qué Tengo Ganas?” with the same original arrangement in what probably is the best tune in this album.
After seducing her listeners with the aforementioned sensuous number, she turns around and throws darts at all men with “Hombres Malvados,” a tune made famous by Paquita la del Barrio.
Then there’s “Colorcito de Sandia,” which is a flashback to the past – 41 years to be exact. She recorded the Christian-oriented “Tango Lento” to remind fans of God. And the closing tune, “Stonewall Jackson Blues,” by Rosa Canales Pérez, is a rocking bilingual tune that should garner some airplay on English-language radio stations.
Needless to say, the very youthful-looking, shapely warbler was a big hit at this year’s Tejano Music Festival during which she brought Kenji’s squeezebox and bajo sexto player, Noriyoshi “Honorio” Imamura, a former member of Kasube’s group and now leader of Conjunto J, did Escobar the honor of playing Kenji’s accordion and singing a couple of duets with the diva.
For more information on the 2003 Tejano Roots Hall of Fame inductee, go to www.myspace.com/lindaescobarysuconjunto.
Little Joe: “I’m diabetic. Are you?”
When Little Joe believes in an organization, he does not hesitate to become a crusader, advocator and spokesperson for their cause.
This time he stepped up to the plate and is going to bat for the Social and Health Research Center’s diabetes prevention programs.
In the process, he is also not afraid to disclose what other entertainers might withhold from their fans due to fear of losing their status.
“I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes,” the Tejano music mega star revealed via a telephone interview from his home in Temple, Texas.
“It didn’t shock me, but for a month or two I was embarrassed to admit it, but what the hell, this is not worse than people with worse conditions.
“For years, different doctors kept telling me that I needed to bring down my blood sugar levels because I was border line, but that was it. They never told me what I needed to do to control it.
This was a surprise to those that know the living legend who has been a vegetarian twenty years, jogged, did yoga, worked with weighs and lived an overall healthy lifestyle until he kicked back and got a little lax. As for his family, his sister Carolyn has diabetes and his brother Antonio “Top” Hernández died from the disease at 78.
Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. And Little Joe found out during one of his routine bi-yearly blood tests.
“After I was told I was diabetic and was scheduled for a class, I found out Type II diabetes is real prevalent with children seven, eight and nine and I got real concerned since I love children.”
Little Joe, who turned 69 on October 17, has three sons, one daughter, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
“Why didn’t they tell me all this before?” he said. “After the class and after reading “Sixteen Myths of Diabetes,” a book my daughter Christie bought for me, it became a challenge for me. Then by eating proper portions and being more active, my triglycerides, my cholesterol, my high blood pressure and my blood sugar levels all got better, but getting the number controlled is an ongoing thing.
“The diabetes thing became something personal and when José Gallegos, who has been after me to be recognized for my 50 plus years in the business with a gala, brought it up again. I told him I would do it in one condition, that it benefited one organization in order to make a positive out of it.
“That right,” Gallegos added. “He being the humble person he is, said, ‘it’s not about me, I want to do something that is going to impact the growing epidemic that affects the Hispanic community.’ With that in mind, I introduced him to Dr. Roberto Treviño.
“He gave me his book, ‘The Forgotten Children,’ I read it and I knew I wanted to get involved to prevent diabetes, especially in children,” the King of the Brown sound said. “So I made a commitment to raise $100,000 and that’s not an easy thing to do. However, there are people in three different states that want to start Little Joe diabetes prevention chapters. So it’s a national campaign and I will raise that money and more later on.
“The money is important to get the message out, to make people aware,” Little Joe continued. “That’s what triggered this off, when I realized my diabetes could have been prevented had I been informed; and we should all have this information. So you can say that I’ve embarked on a children’s crusade I hope to lead until the day I die – to help the families that are already diabetic and avoid children from becoming diabetic.
Gallegos, now the national grassroots campaign director of the Little Joe Diabetes and Obesity Prevention, said, “Our mission is to battle this deadly disease through education and awareness to promote salud y bienestar de mi familia para su familia (health and well being from our family to your family).
“You know? Every Hispanic has a family member or friend who has diabetes and as a result is on insulin, is on dialysis, has lost a limb or has died, so Little Joe’s organization is an army waging a war to win the battle to stop diabetes.”
Their plan of attack includes media interviews, billboards, flyers and Little Joe speaking out on this subject, at all public appearances.
“I already came up with the slogan of ‘While we can’t do everything, let’s do everything we can’ and I’m also on the point of writing a little book which I’m titling ‘I’m diabetic! Are you?’ Little Joe said with great passion.
“I’m even carrying my personal fight on tee shirts bearing the title of the book because I want all the diabetics to come out and started getting treated. If I’m on a crusade, it’s because that’s the way I was raised – to do for mi raza.”
In regard to health related causes, Little Joe has previously done fund raisers for kidney, heart and cancer organizations, but this is the first health issue, he can personally relate to.
Most recently, the multi-Grammy Awarding winning vocalist risked his career to fight for a cause such as Vive Tejano, which was founded by Frank Fuentes and Rubén Cubillos.
The King of the Brown Sound stuck out his neck to protest the narrow mindedness of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for its devaluation of Tejano music, its culture and its people by taking Tejano music off the main stage. He headlined numerous protest rallies and parades for this organization and the Go Tejano Committee without losing any popularity.
Thirty three years ago, when La Raza Unida was in the process of being destroyed with negative publicity and concerned members asked themselves, “How can we get people to listen again? How can he regain their trust? How can we regain our creditability?” Almost magically, Little Joe and Johnny walked into the room full of LRU members to offer their help.
The issues the then radical King of the Brown Sound associated with were not the issues that everybody wanted to associate with because of the risk to their careers. Nobody wanted to come out and say ‘what can I do?’ until Little Joe came forward.
Then, since his dances drew up to 10,000 people, he allowed organizers to take center stage and address the audience between sets.
So no, the Grammy Award winning vocalist’s stand on diabetes is not his first crusade; and it will probably not be his last either.
On the entertainment side, his latest compact disc – “Live, A Night of Classics in El Chuco” – is selling like hot cakes and is receiving rave reviews.
El Chuco is a casino in El Paso and Little Joe says this is probably “because the people have been asking for those songs for some many years.”
With the exception of “Redneck Meskin’ Boy,” most of his 1960s hits were monaural, recorded in one, two and four-tracks and lack today’s quality. Therefore this production was dream come true for true audiophiles.
Little Joe fans are in for a double treat on Wednesday, November 4 when he will perform many of those tunes during his “Para La Gente” concert for the Social and Health Research Center. The concert will be held in the Edgewood (High School) Theater for the Performing Arts at 607 S.W. 34th Street.
Tickets range in price from $25 down to $15 and $5 balcony seats. For more information, call (210) 533-8886. The proceeds will benefit the Bienestar Health Program so far implemented in 80 schools.