Art by Therese Spina
Official 35 Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival poster
From May 11 through May 15, the 35th Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival is going down, thanks to the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. Taking place at the Guadalupe Theater and Rosedale Park, the fest will be a non-stop celebration of the creativity of the genre that syncretizes the European polka with the indigenous music of Mexico.
On Wednesday, May 11, the fest will kick off with a free Senior Conjunto Dance with music from SA's own Bene Medina y el Conjunto Águila at the Guadalupe Theater.
May 12 will see the premier of Conjunto Blues, a theatrical performance about the development, cultural resistance and liberation of conjunto music by San Antonio-based poet, musician, actor and political activist Nicolas Valdez. Get ready for the unexpected, as Conjunto Blues blends poetry, live music and documentary footage of musicians, academics and aficionados.
Head on over May 14 to improve your accordion tuning, maintenance and repair skills at Tim Schofield's workshop.
The rest of the fest will be held at Rosedale Park with a three-day long ode to the best in Tex-Mex.
Friday, May 13
5:30pm – Opening Ceremonies/Poster Contest Exhibit & Awards
6pm – Acero (San Antonio)
7pm – Santiago Garza y La Naturaleza (Jourdanton)
8pm – Los Clavos del Wesso (San Antonio)
9pm – The Hometown Boys (Lubbock)
10pm – Los García Bros. (Eagle Pass)
11pm – Jaime y Los Chamacos (Houston)
Saturday, May 14
12pm – Conjunto Student Showcase
3pm – Conteño (Brownsville)
4pm – Conjunto Deltaboyz (Elsa)
5pm – Los Nuevos Chachos de Jesse Gómez (Mission)
6pm – Los Badd Boyz del Valle (Edcouch)
7pm – Los Tremendos V (Corpus Christi)
8pm – Lázaro Pérez y su Conjunto (Bishop)
9pm – Los Monarcas de Pete y Mario Díaz (Houston)
10pm – Los Fantasmas del Valle (Mercedes)
11pm – Boni Mauricio y Los Máximos (Corpus Christi)
Sunday, May 15
1pm – Conjunto Cats (Seguin)
2pm – Conjunto Baraja de Oro (Dallas)
3pm – Bernardo y sus Compadres (Laredo)
4pm – Eva Ybarra y su Conjunto (San Antonio)
5pm – Dwayne Verheyden (Montford, Netherlands)
6pm – Los Texmaniacs de Max Baca (San Antonio)
7pm – Flaco Jiménez y su Conjunto (San Antonio)
8pm – Ricky Naranjo y Los Gamblers (Alice)
9pm – Roberto Pulido y Los Clásicos (Edinburg)
Tickets range from $12-$15 dollars and a three-day Tejano Conjunto Festival pass is yours for $40.
