SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE: A.B. Quintanilla III released an apology on Instagram and then deleted it after losing his cool during a performance at Tejano Explosion 2024 on Saturday night.
Recommended Videos
In the since deleted video, Quintanilla said he lashed out at the fans because he was not taking his medication.
“I want to share something with you guys that’s a little bit personal,” said Quintanilla.
Quintanilla mentioned about three weeks before the on-stage rant, he was advised by a doctor to get checked for cancer.
To not affect the results of a biopsy, Quintanilla said he was told by his doctor not to take certain prescribed medication.
“I broke last night. I said things that I don’t mean, that I don’t feel in my heart. From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to apologize to everybody,” said Quintanilla.
Quintanilla requests for his fans to have some sympathy for him. After Selena’s passing, various mental health issues have troubled Quintanilla, according to the deleted Instagram post.
The Tejano music star was not diagnosed with any form of cancer, Quintanilla mentioned in the video.
ORIGINAL STORY: A.B. Quintanilla III was not feeling some of the San Antonio crowd during a performance Saturday night, and he made sure to let everyone know exactly what was on his mind.
A.B. Quintanilla III y Los Kumbia All Starz were the closing act of Tejano Explosion 2024, a multi-day Tejano music festival dating back to the 1990s held during Fiesta.
In between songs, Quintanilla got on the mic and spoke directly to the crowd about a perceived lack of energy.
Some of Quintanilla’s expletive-filled rants, fans’ expletive-filled reactions and other language some may consider offensive were captured in the TikTok videos below.
“Like somebody put a gun to your head, and forced you to be here tonight, you know what I’m saying?” Quintanilla said to the crowd. “And that feels horrible, as a musician, to work so f---ing hard over all these years to bring you hits and you guys come here, and you can’t even f---ing raise your hands to f---ing clap or be happy, man. You know, that feels sad for us.”
@eat_teach_repeat #tejanoexplosion2024 #abquintanilla #selen #sanantonio #fiesta2024
♬ original sound - Always hungry
Quintanilla was far from done. He voiced his displeasure further with a declaration.
“For me, I’ll take my music somewhere else. Not here in San Antonio,” Quintanilla said. “This is the last Tejano Explosion I’ll ever do. So you guys enjoy the rest of the show, you know what I’m saying?”
Quintanilla, a Corpus Christi native, traveled from Las Vegas to perform.
He also took time out to highlight a potential inconsistency between the Tejano music fans at his show and football fandom.
“Just like you support the Dallas Cowboys, who lose every f---ing year, you should support your bands and Tejano music, OK?” Quintanilla said.
For the first time in the video, some in the crowd could be heard letting Quintanilla know what they think of him.
“Y’all can boo me all y’all want. I don’t care. That doesn’t affect me. Boo all you want,” Quintanilla said. “Boo yourselves for not participating in the show. I’m trying to show y’all love through music, man. Come on, man. Y’all show a little bit of love. … Y’all are sitting there like y’all don’t even want to party or nothing, man. You know what, whatever y’all want to do. It’s all good on me. It’s all good. It’s all good.”
Quintanilla appeared to cool down some as the show continued, invoking his sister and Tejano legend Selena, along with reminiscing about the musicians he encountered over his career.
“And everybody that left shooting the middle finger? God bless y’all. I don’t wish nothing (sic) bad upon them,” Quintanilla said in another TikTok. “Those are not real fans, man.”
@eat_teach_repeat #abquintanilla #tejanofest2024 #sanantonio #fiesta2024
♬ original sound - Always hungry
The TikTok user who uploaded the videos, @eat_teach_repeat, had more Quintanilla sound-offs from Saturday night.
The last video shows Quintanilla walking back to his tour bus. One festival attendee, remembering Quintanilla’s threat to never perform in San Antonio again, sang his own familiar tune.
“Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye!” the attendee said.