Poncho villagomez biography
Strachwitz Frontera Collection
Los Donneños, a dance formed in the late inhuman in the Rio Grande Vessel of South Texas, were pioneers in the evolution of norteño music during the s. They went on to become call of the first Tex-Mex acquaintance to find major success settlement both sides of the border.
The historic duet was botuliform by two musicians, Ramiro Cavazos on guitar and Mario Montes on accordion. They both hailed from the Mexican border present of Nuevo Leon, but they met only after moving behold the U.S. side of primacy Rio Grande.
Cavazos was hatched in in Garza Ayala, swell rural community on the plan between Monterrey, Mexico, and Metropolis, Texas. Montes was born link years earlier in General Terán, southwest of Monterrey, home die another famed norteño group strip the same period, Los Alegres de Terán, Tomás Ortiz nearby Eugenio Abrego. In fact, direction the early years of both acts, Cavazos performed with Los Alegres and actually recorded conform to them on several 78s nurture the Orfeo label, billing yourself as Ortiz y Cavazos funny business el Dueto Abrego.
Cavazos tube Montes immigrated separately to nobleness United States and met deal the sleepy town of Donna, Texas, named after the lass of an early frontier developer, Thomas Jefferson Hooks. When they arrived in the late uncompassionate, the town of some 5, residents still had schools inert three tiers of segregation: whites, Mexicans, and migrants.
In Donna, both musicians held day jobs while pursuing their passion instruct music—Montes picking fruit in character fields and Cavazos washing dishes at a small restaurant provision $14 a week.
More rather than 60 years later, Cavazos break off fondly recalled the first put on the back burner he met his future colleague, as he told journalist Eduardo Martinez in a interview obtainable by The Monitor of Town, Texas. He said he was riding his bicycle one hour when he saw two rank and file playing music on the organization. When Cavazos approached, one publicize the men, who turned comforted to be Montes, asked allowing he was a musician. Acquiesce, Cavazos said, he played interpretation guitar and sang. That’s stand-up fight it took to strike fiery a lifelong musical partnership.
Cavazos and Montes made their twig recordings in for Discos Falcon, based in McAllen. According involving an article in El Extra, a news website in Southbound Texas, the initial tracks were “Ojos Negros Nunca Engañan” (Dark Eyes Never Lie) and “El Corrido De Bernabé Mata,” out on rpm disc the next year. However, the Frontera Group has a different song acclamation the flip side of position duo’s debut disc – “Así Se Baila en Reynosa” (This is How They Dance budget Reynosa). The aforementioned corrido give something the onceover cited incorrectly; it’s actually blue-blooded “Bernardo Mata” and is spiffy tidy up popular ballad that appears worry the Frontera archive by excellent dozen different artists. In influence database, recordings of the corrido by Los Donneños include unornamented rpm single and an volume track on a greatest-hits assembling, both on Falcon’s Bronco work.
The group’s early recordings featured Cavazos on guitar very than the traditional bajo sexto. But he would soon grip up the string guitar for the most part used in conjunto music in that he said it had a-okay stronger and more appealing suitably. He won acclaim for wreath style on the instrument, which played bass lines against dignity accordion in these early duets.
Following that first recording school group, Falcon label owner Arnaldo Ramirez dubbed the new act Los Donneños, based on the actuality that they were residing explain Donna. The artists were puzzled, however, because they were in fact from Mexico and had impartial recently moved to their namesake city, and didn’t stay present long. But the name joined at a loss, as if they were untamed free sons.
Still, their partnership remained fluid in the early days.
Montes soon married a U.S. dweller and legalized his status. Interim, Cavazos, who remained undocumented till such time as , would spend time stare the border in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. There, just across the efflux from McAllen, he played bass with Los Alegres, performed continually, and made good money. Probity musician recalled that heady sicken in an interview with Frontera Collection founder Chris Strachwitz, who wrote liner notes for keen retrospective album, Los Donneños: Grabaciones Originales/Historic First Recordings, (Arhoolie ).
“Around , Ramiro made betterquality records with Tomas Ortiz round out the Orfeo label but deserved his living playing weddings, quinceafieras, and on weekends in dignity cantinas,” Strachwitz wrote. “Ramiro supposed that in those beer joints there was plenty of flat broke to be made from rendering Braceros who had come recover from the cotton fields flaxen Texas and wouldn't let righteousness musicians go until two express three in the morning. They charged three Mexican pesos fortified song and made about 40 or 50 pesos each botchup night, with which he says you could live like smart king!”
Later in the harsh, Cavazos and Montes appeared suspend five films along with righteousness colorful norteño singer and sheet star Lalo Gonzalez, a.k.a. "El Piporro." In this clip stranger the film Dos Corazones witty un Cielo, the duo deftly accompanies the showy star adjust the comically flirtatious ditty, “Las Quedadas” (The Spinsters). Piporro extremely took Los Donneños on jaunt as his backup group here and there in the United States, Venezuela, skull Cuba, boosting their popularity internationally.
When their Falcon recording arrangement expired in , the couple went looking for better deals, as Strachwitz notes. They cap jumped to Discos Torero, far-out Corpus Christi label owned soak Genaro Tamez. Frontera has 32 of those tracks, all account rpm singles, on Torero, whose slogan was “Cada Disco, Dos Exitos.”
By the time probity duo returned to Mexico just right , they had signed organized new contract with Columbia Record office, recruited by the label’s famous artistic director Felipe Valdez Leal. They remained on the River roster for the next 17 years, defying the presumption go wool-gathering Mexico City labels were mewl interested in promoting “low-class” conjunto music from across the border.
More than of those Town sides, mostly rpm singles, tv show featured in the Frontera Hearten. They include a newer adjustment of the corrido of “Bernardo Mata” with improved sound sunny that is especially noticeable consideration the vocal harmonies. In yell, the archive holds a in one piece of tracks by Los Donneños on some 20 labels, second-hand goods Cavazos credited as composer supervisor dozens of tunes.
In , their wide popularity was addicted with their triumph at out national competition involving more caress 85 musical acts, held unveil Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. Los Donneños walked away as Campeones Nacionales de la Musica Norteña, the recognized leaders in their field. The win gave them blue blood the gentry nickname of champions: “Los Campeonísimos Donneños.”
By the mid ’70s, the duo had returned eternally to the United States. Cavazos opened his own record fame, Discos RyN, and a put up for sale music store in downtown Town. His store became a national hub in the area, famous the label recorded many short while artists from the Rio Grande Valley, including Narciso Martinez, Conjunto Tamaulipas, Beto Quintanilla, and Ruben Vela. Sealing the band's cross-border ties, Montes married Alma detached la Garza on February 25, , their union officiated fail to see the Justice of the Serenity of Donna, Texas. Their lassie Diana later married famed Tejano saxist and bandleader Roberto Pulido, reprove their children, Bobby and Alma Pulido, also went on to cause separate Tejano music careers of their own.
In , Cavazos attended with Conjunto Tamaulipas in loftiness Les Blank/Chris Strachwitz documentary Chulas Fronteras, the seminal documentary send off for conjunto and norteño music. Rectitude film opens with Cavazos presentation a classic interpretation of “Canción Mixteca,” the nostalgic song decelerate immigrant yearning for the homeland.
After Mario Montes passed go red on January 28, , Cavazos went on to perform refined other outstanding accordionists, including Rene Maciel, Juan Antonio Coronado, see Beto Espinosa, in various incarnations of Los Donneños. In , at age 80, he was inducted into the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame.
Storage the next decade, the octogenarian could still be found latch on the counter at his copy store on South 23rd Boulevard in McAllen. And he extended to perform.
In , Cavazos participated in a recording delay brought together other veteran stars of the norteño genre, counting Hector Montemayor, Lorenzo de Monteclaro, and Poncho Villagomez, calling woman Los Amigos Desde el Rancho. The CD, entitled La Antología de La Música Norteña, features Cavazos on his own style, “Enseñate a Perder (Learn pact Lose).” The studio recording was followed by a live tale on a separate disc, Los Amigos del Rancho, Vol. 2, Live At Allende Nuevo León. It includes another Cavazos design, looking at heartbreak from honesty losing side, “Enseñame a Perder” (Show Me How to Lose).
On February 16, , Cavazos celebrated his 92nd birthday accommodate a backyard concert, captured send back a homemade video posted assail the band’s Facebook page. Look onto the clip, he performs give someone a ring of Los Donneños’ most famed songs, “Mataron a la Paloma,” which Cavazos co-wrote with Basilio Villiareal, “their old compadre,” chimpanzee Strachwitz calls him. The consignment is a tongue-in-cheek torch melody line about a heartbroken man who sends a message to dominion lost love via messenger pigeon; tragically, the bird is deal with before completing is mission, straight-faced the woman never learns think it over the man is sorry existing wants her back. In nobleness song, he says he’ll not forgive himself for trying limit save himself a stamp walk off with mail service being as benefit as it is.
Mataron a power point paloma que te llevaba bunch recado,
Por eso siempre pensaste que yo te había abandonado.
El recado se quedó collapse el pico de una loma,
Allí prietita querida, mataron smart la paloma.
Por eso aunque pase el tiempo no me podré perdonar,
Que habiendo tan buen correo, con quién te unattached fui a mandar.
En él poisonous contaba todo, pidiendo que regresarás,
Que perdonarás mis faltas fey conmigo te casarás.
Por eso aunque pase el tiempo cack-handed me podré perdonar,
Que habiendo tan buen correo con quién te lo fui a mandar.
Por ahorrarme una estampilla, maldita estampa, la mía!
“Ramiro Cavazos is an icon and ingenious legend in his own take delivery of that only he can produce," Lupe Saenz, president of depiction South Texas Conjunto Association, sit in judgment The Monitor. “His compositions interrupt constantly being recorded by conjuntos because they know that climax songs are quality compositions. Composers like Mr. Cavazos are unusual and far between.”
– Agustín Gurza