UT San Antonio launches first-ever Tejano music ensemble – led by one of the genre’s stars

As a cultural crossroads, Texas music can mean just about anything when it comes to genre, but few genres are so inherently Texan as one in which “Texas” is literally baked into the name.

Take the folk traditions of conjunto music, blend in synths and more modern electronic instrumentation, and you’ve got the essence of Tejano music, a genre that’s been on wane in recent years, but there are signs of a comeback of sorts.

Case in point: For the first time, a new ensemble at the University of Texas at San Antonio will give students the opportunity to study and perform Tejano music.

The program is spearheaded by Michael Acevedo, UT San Antonio’s mariachi director, as well as Shelly Lares, UT San Antonio’s first artist-in-residence and Tejano music icon in her own right.

Acevedo and Lares joined the Standard to discuss the new program. Listen to the interview in the player above or read an extended interview transcript below.

This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:

Texas Standard: “Sonido Tejano” is the name of this new ensemble. How did the idea first take root?

Shelly Lares: Dr. Glenn Martinez, who is really the one responsible for my being the very first artist-in-residence, reached out to me in probably 2021-22 when I was about to step off the road after 40 years and transition.

This has been something we talked about from day one. We wanted to- because he’s very passionate about the mariachi program as well, which is obviously huge and continuing to rise. But he also wanted to be able to have the very first opportunity to learn about Tejano music and have the Tejano ensemble.

So, you know, it didn’t quite happen the first couple of years, but we remained patient and we began just really planting the seeds within the students.

Finally, here we are in the third year of my being artist-in-residence and the university was all for it and they gave us the go. I just was kind of trying to brainstorm on an actual name, and I thought, yeah, “Sonido Tejano” is perfect because I think it just really captures really all of the sound of Texas. Tejano is really Mexican-American music, so it’s perfect.

Shelly, you’re obviously bringing a lot of experience and star power to this. What’s it been like interacting with the first students participating?

Shelly Lares: Oh it’s been incredible. Well let me just brag a little bit that we have probably the most gifted students at the School of Music. I’m talking on a very high level of musicianship, in my opinion.

So having our first class, I think Michael and I were very, very pleased with the effort and excitement that they have and it’s like you know they want to learn about the genre.

Not only do they want learn stylistically but they also want to learn the  history of Tejano. Where did it come from? Where did it originate from? And that’s something we’re still going to be tapping into.

We’re only on our third class coming in today. So, you know, yeah, we’ve got a lot to learn, but they’re very excited and very talented.

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We’ve talked a bit on the Texas Standard about what sorts of elements go in to make the Tejano sound. I know this is something you’ll really be digging into with this new ensemble, Michael, but what can students expect to learn about playing Tejano music in this program directly, and are there particular standards that they’ll learn to play?

Michael Acevedo: So there’s definitely a lot of standards. There’s more than I can count, standard-wise. There are so many artists, so many musicians that are from Texas that have kind of been the pioneers – Shelly included as well in all that.

So I think that’s one of the coolest things for myself as a teacher, is to have someone like Shelly there. You know, if I have questions, well, I’m just going to ask Shelly because she definitely has a lot of experience.

But I think, you know, with the students… First of all, a lot of them probably have never played in a Tejano band. They’ve heard all this music growing up and getting to play even one of their songs…

You know, last class there was a saxophone player – there was a song, a huge saxophone song, and they just wanted to play it over and over and over because they’ve heard it and they’ve played it but they’ve never played it in a band.

So I think just getting all of this stuff out that these students have kind of been raised with and to actually perform it and to showcase it… You can hear the passion just coming out of their instruments because they’re like, “we have an avenue, now we can play.”

Let’s talk specific songs, like what? We’re talking about standards. What would you include that you’d like to hear with this ensemble? Either of you jump in.

Shelly Lares: Yeah, you mentioned in your opening the where it originated from – conjunto music, right? This is like the great-grandfather of Tejano, is where it where it originated, which is from obviously our Mexican side and then as we kind of transported like maybe into the like ’60s/’70s, then the brass came along. And then as the ’70s/’80s came, then the synthesizers came along, became progressive Tejano.

So we’re definitely implementing standard songs in each stylistic, which is conjunto. We have one that’s more or just  we have another one that’s progressive.

And to more specifically just to answer kind of what you’re wanting, orchestra-wise – orquesta sound – obviously, we’re gonna add Little Joe, “Las Nubes,” because that is the national anthem of Tejano music.

Ruben Ramos, as well. “El Gato Negro” is a classic Ruben Ramos song. We’re also implementing some David Lee Garza, some Ram Herrera, which is more on the progressive side. So we’re doing like “Amor Querido” from Ram Herrera, which is, you know, in the ’90s, a huge hit, and still his biggest hit to date.

So it’s so hard, as Michael mentioned, there’s too many to mention. I mean, over the decades, there’s just been so many amazing standard songs, but we’re very excited because I do want to mention that one of the things we’re prepping for, as well, is we have a really big show coming up, April the 15, at the Empire Theater.

This is going to be a huge show that obviously is going be for scholarships for the School of Music, but were also really focusing on the Mariachi Los Paisanos and we’re focusing on Sonido Tejano that evening. And we’re gonna have some iconic, iconic, and I’ll say iconic artists, Tejano artists, that are going to be there, and they’re gonna share the stage with our students. And they will be actually doing these standard songs with the original artists that recorded these records.

And so we have more details coming, but everyone mark it off your calendar, okay? April 15 at the Empire Theater. Just save that date because we are definitely going to do some really, a bunch more press and it’s going to be a night where our students are going to shine – our Mariachi Los Paisanos and our Sonido Tejano are going be on fire that night.

You know, I was talking with a music scholar recently over from Texas State and he really knows this stuff inside and out. And I was taking about how Tejano has struggled a bit as a genre, in part because of the decline of Tejano-specific radio stations, regional radio. Also, of course, the death of Selena was huge.

But the challenges in that if somebody in Texas isn’t picking up this baton and building on it, I believe he sort of saw a danger of it sort of passing into history and not being a kind of alive sound.

And in part, when you think of some of the Tejano classics, I think a lot of people would go back to the ’90s sound, or the ’80s, as being sort of the height of Tejano music in Texas. And a big part of that was because it incorporated sounds that were very much a part of the discovery of synthesizers and electronic music and their prominence in pop music.

Nowadays it’s sort of different. You find the use of electronic instruments often lower in the mix in popular music, but it’s such a prominent part of Tejano music. It’s so important having that particular sound. And I think he was sort of concerned that nothing’s being done to preserve or advance, even, Tejano music.

And I’m wondering, Michael, I wanted to hear a little bit more from you, what this means to you now, as someone in the academy. You know, you’re part of the culture of higher education. And what this means to have Tejano studies, an integral part of what you’re doing.

UTSA’s Sonido Tejano ensemble. Courtesy of UT San Antonio

Michael Acevedo: This is huge. When I took this position as the mariachi director at UTSA a couple years ago, one of the visions that I had was bringing Latin music of some sort, not just mariachi, but having at some point at the university level different ways that students can connect with Latin music, different types.

So, to me, having this… You know, the first was the mariachi ensemble. Then there was a second mariachi ensemble, which means more students were interested. So adding this, which is the third, you know, Latin, essentially, ensemble in the program, and one of the first ones at the collegiate level has just been amazing, because it’s part of that vision, you know?

And as you know, when you have a vision, you need supporters, you need help – someone that will back you up. And I feel like that’s where we’re at right now. And then bringing Shelly in the mix has been just a huge, you know, it’s like I’m on a booster seat right now with it, because Shelly has paved the way so much in this genre.

So having it at the university level and showing the other professors there that might’ve not ever heard of Tejano music, may have just kind of passed by, just kind of educating them on what it is and how important it is to our community and to music in itself, I think that is one of the coolest things that we can do, is educate people about it. That’s how we keep it alive.

» RELATED: San Antonio remains integral to conjunto and Tejano’s legacy, even as the genres evolve

What is “mission accomplished” for you, Michael? What do you hope to accomplish with the program overall?

Michael Acevedo: The program overall, I guess, is having a Latin degree studies at UTSA, which means there’s salsa music, there’s Tejano music, there’s Conjunto music, Latin jazz… You know, there are so many different Latin genres.

So I don’t know when, where, but you know I’m calling it into existence – is we will have a Latin Studies program at UTSA to keep all these traditions alive, to push them forward and push them out there for a new generation to continue moving that forward.

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