SAN ANTONIO – Preparations were underway early Friday morning for the 41st Tejano Conjunto Festival, which will take place this weekend at Rosedale Park.
“It’s the oldest and largest conjunto music festival in the world,” Juan Tejeda, musician and founder of the Tejano Conjunto Festival said.
Last year, more than 9,000 people attended the festival.
“We actually started it 43 years ago, that celebrates conjunto music which is an original American musical ensemble and style of music that we as Tejanos and Mexicans created back in the 1990s late 1880s. So it’s over 100 years old and it uses the European, usually German button accordion as its principal instrument,” Tejeda said.
Tejeda said you will hear how conjunto music continues to evolve.
“We play indigenous huapangos, we play African bass, cumbias and boleros from the Caribbean. And, you know, we play country music, it’s big within conjunto, Tejano music, jazz, blues, rock. So it’s this fusion. And some of the young bands are combining all of these things,” Tejeda said.
Thirty conjunto bands from throughout Texas will be performing. Plus students from both San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley.
“We want to keep this musical tradition alive. To preserve it. To promote it. To pass it on to the future generations,” Tejeda said.
To learn more about the festival and buy tickets, click here.