Tejan Conjunto Tex Mex Festival: In the Eyes of Ramona Landeros

Tejan Conjunto Tex Mex Festival: In the Eyes of Ramona Landeros
By Paul Dale Roberts, HPI General Manager/Ghostwriter
www.hpiparanormal.net – President – www.jazmaonline.com

Question: Explain to me what the Tejano Conjunto Tex Mex Festival is?

Answer: It is a music festival that is dedicated to preserving the Tejano Conjunto music as part of our American history. It talks about the struggles and experiences of the Mexican/American in our country.
Question: What is your role in this festival?

Answer: I am the founder and organizer of this festival; a dream that I have had for some time.

Question: You mentioned something about Selena. How does Selena fit into this festival?

Answer: Many young Mexican American young ladies grew up during the time Selena was at the top of the world. When she was murdered, it devastated the Tejano community, so in her honor and to keep her memory alive, we have a Selena contest. This gives the younger generation an opportunity to get up on stage and sing their favorite song and also celebrate her life.

Question: Is there a website where readers can go?
Yes the website is www.Landarrowsproductions.com

Question: How can someone contact you?
I can be reached at 916.529.5299 or 640.5969

Question: How long have you been involved with this festival?

I started planning this festival back in 2003. It was first a dream that my late brother and I had. It took some time because we knew that this music is not heard on the air waves so decided to launch this very risky venue.

Question: Okay, I am intrigued! What exactly is Tejano Conjunto music? Please explain.

Answer: The Tejano Conjunto music is a unique blend of Country Blues, Rock, Jazz and German music, but with a Mexican American twist. Conjunto music was founded back in the early 30’s and was considered the working class peoples’ music with a heavy influence on the accordion. The accordion has become so popular that the younger generation has picked up on it. The music continues to grow in popularity and it shows by the numbers that arrive in Sacramento from all over United States.
This has grown so popular that the Smithsonian Institute now has a place for COnjuntomusic in their folk library. Earlier this week, NPR came out and interviewed me about the Conjunto festival, so there is a growing interest and people are beginning to see how important the contributions that the Tejanos have made to American culture.

Question: Okay, if it started in the 30s, how did it get started? Now, I am really intrigued!

Answer: The founders of Conjunto music such as Narcisso Martinez, and Santiago Jimenez started playing the accordion that was heard throughout South Texas by the German settlers. This is why there are towns in Texas with German names such as Harlingen, Edinburgh and such. They soon took the accordion and added buttons instead of the piano style and began to play what is now known as Conjunto music. One of the very popular musicians, Flaco Jimenez came out to Godfather the 1st Tejano Conjunto festival.

Question: What day, time and location is the festival? Pray tell!

Answer: It will be held at Cesar Chavez Plaza in Sacramento, California on Sunday, September 6, 2009 from 1:00pm to 9:00 pm.

Question: How did this music influence you? Please elaborate.

Answer: My family worked in the fields as farm workers. We lived in many labor camps where we worked from sun up to sun down. After a long day in the fields the Texan families would bring out their instruments namely the accordion and start playing in the labor camps. My dad would say, “this music is so lively that it can bring you back from the dead”. Because after working for a long day, you felt dead, but those accordions and that Conjunto sound can really bring a smile to your face. This is why it is known as happy music. My parents never missed an opportunity to dance to Conjunto music.

Question: Is there a special way to dance to this music?

Answer: Yes very smooth and just have fun with it. There is a similarity with the two- step that is derived from country music and also the polka style which comes from the Germans. Go figure!

Question: What is your email address in case people want to email you?

Answer: Ramonalanderos@yahoo.com

Question: What are your hobbies and recreational activities?

Answer: I am very involved in working with at-risk youth in the community.

Question: As a paranormal writer, I got to meet your sister and she has an exceptional paranormal story, can I have her tell it? Pretty please?

Answer: Yes because these accounts are very real and some one reading this may say….”hey something similar happened to me.”

Okay, here is the story. My sister Leticia Landeros was walking in a bad neighborhood at 3am, because her car broke down and out of nowhere a huge Rottweiler started walking with her. It paced with her and when two shady type of men approached her, the Rottweiler was on high alert. The Rottweiler walked my sister to the safety of a family member’s home. When the Rottweiler went into the back yard of the family member, they went back there and the Rottweiler vanished. There was no where that this dog could have gone. I believe it was a spirit guide or angel that was with my sister that night in the form of a dog.

Question: Thank you for the interview, any last words of wisdom?

Answer: I just feel very honored to be able to bring this music to the community and also to continue to preserve the Tejano Conjunto music. The music is virtually off the airwaves so it is up to us to continue to bring this very important music here to the capital of California. We would like for it to reach the status of other music festivals, but we will get there. It couldn’t happen without the support of the Landeros clan who believed in my dream and the wonderful volunteers who work tirelessly.