U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro regularly calls for nominations for Latinx films and music to be included in Library of Congress. Credit: Facebook / Joaquin Castro

San Antonio Democrat Joaquin Castro on Wednesday revealed three Latin songs selected for inclusion in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress after soliciting nominations from the community.

The three songs by Latino artists selected for inclusion in the prestigious registry this year are:

  • “El Rey” by Vicente Fernández
  • “Before the Next Tear Drop Falls” by Freddy Fender
  • Lin Manuel-Miranda’s original cast recording of the musical Hamilton

“El Rey” was originally written by José Alfredo Jiménez before Vicente Fernández popularized it, making the regal honorific so synonymous with him that the New York Times titled his obituary “Vicente Fernández, ‘El Rey’ of Mexican Ranchera Music, Is Dead at 81.”

“Anyone who has heard mariachi music knows ‘El Rey’ is like the staple mariachi song,” Castro said in an Instagram video announcing the induction of the three songs.

Freddy Fender, the Tex-Mex artist who crossed over into country-pop, was also inducted for the track “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.” Originally born Baldemar Huerta in the South Texas town of San Benito, Fender went on find success with hits including “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights.” Fender was also a member of supergroup the Texas Tornados, which also included Flaco Jiménez, Augie Meyers and Doug Sahm.

Lin Manuel-Miranda took Broadway by storm with the smash hit Hamilton, a rap-biographical musical based on the 2004 biographical book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. The musical was groundbreaking for casting Black and Brown actors as the white Founding Fathers.

A total of 25 songs or albums have been inducted this year into the National Recording Registry, meaning this year’s Latino artists represent 12% of the new inductees, an improvement over prior inductions.

“Every year you help me nominate Latino and Latina artists for recognition,” said Castro in the Instagram video. “And that’s important because right now they make up only 5 percent of the inductions into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.”

Latinx people represent 19% of the total population of the United States according to Pew Research Center, making them the second largest racial or ethnic group in the country, meaning even the Library’s new induction rate of 12% has a ways to go until racial parity is achieved.

“As I’ve said before, the Latino story and Latino achievements have often been left out of the larger American story,” the congressman continued, adding that he hopes the community will join him in the nomination process again next year.
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This article appears in Apr 2-15, 2025.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.