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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 2000)
Thursday j k hjrsday, July 27,2000 AGGIE£ THE BATTALION .Rico Suave Tejano brings flavor of Mexico to College Station music scene Kristen Young The Battalion Local latino entertainment venues are the pulse of Bryan night life. In light of Bryan-Col- lege Station's large Hispanic population, Te jano is one of the most popular forms of music in the area. Several local night clubs, including El Tejano, Lulac and Tejano Ranch, feature live and deejayed Tejano music. Big-name appearances include Jay Perez, one of the most notable artists in the industry, who Recently per- ^ formed at Tejano Ranch. Tejano music is working-class music, and it parallels American country music. It comes in two principal genres: /»* ranchero, the modern country western type, and corrido, a traditional story ballad. These songs tend to be lyrically superficial and sentimental, evading provocative social and political issues. "In Tejano rancheros, someone usually falls in love, or loses a wife or a girlfriend, or goes to a rodeo or horse- nks in a game of pooll DOOl. bs surfaci Princeton Police Chief Tim Ksif used to comment further on tter Wednesday.’ Similar clubs have cropped •where in the United States, In March, Washington Attar reral Christine Gregoiresued 13f ters of a gifting club^caisingtk pehiting an illegal pyramidscher ed the Renewal Celebration. \nd last week, several male and! e police officers in Auburn,Mail e suspended or forced to resign: spending $2,000 to join the Ir ranging Lives" pyramidschemt Jack in Texas, the problem beta: •pidemic of sorts in Marchin ton, southwest of Dallas," ens of calls streaming in to If ce. We had so many co ut it. It became really so wi ad it became the talkoftheto' 1 re were so many people gettin: ed," police spokesperson Dee on said Wednesday, authorities eventually teamed i the Better Business Bureau a news conference warr ten of the clubs. Jo arrests were made, andU- ibers’were stuck to dwell onf icial losses. Arlington resident Dei [quist borrowed $5,000 fa c in March to join one suchd rever saw a penny of it again back riding," said Felix Torres, manager of KBMA, a local Spanish radio station. The typical Tejano band is comprised of a button accordion, a Mexican 12-string guitar, drums and an occasional alto saxophone. Tony Walker, drummer and manager of Third Floor Cantina, said Tejano music differs from other Latino music. "The rhythms and style of play are different," Walker said. Mario Juan, an employee of KBMA, added, "Tejano music is very accordion- heavy because that's really the prime in strument in Tejano and the regional mexican music." The universal icon of Tejano music is Selena. "Selena really brought Tejano music to the forefront, more so than any other artist ever has," Walker said. "Tejano mu sic is still reel ing from the ’ loss." Third Floor Cantina offers a mix of all Latino music types. "Third Floor was the first live music venue ever to conduct a Tejano night, and, at one time, it was the biggest thing in town," said Walker. "Manny Barraza (DJ) plays sal sa, merengue and mambo. He also plays American contemporary mu sic, hip-hop, jazz and country. "It's not all Te jano music." Likewise, the music venue attracts an eclectic conglomeration of individuals. Ac cording to Walker, patrons range in age frqm 18 to 65, and they come from every race and level on the socio-economic ladder. However, ap proximately 95 per cent are Hispanic working class. The remaining 5 percent include African Americans, Cau casian working class college students. As the sole local Spanish ra dio station, KBMA also of fers a wide variety of Lati no music. Blanketing this diverse population is a monumental task. "We try to play every thing," Juan said. "We play a lot of Mexican regional music, a lot of Tejano, and we also have international music on our playlist." "We play Mexican, Tejano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Honduran and Spanish," Torres said. "All the Latin American country music is played on this station. So we really have a variety of music on the air." He said the amount of air time dedicated to each genre is in direct proportion to the number of listeners from each segment of the Latino population. American pop music is also featured on the station, reflecting globalization and the blur ring of boundaries between music cultures. "Some American pop songs are translated into Spanish, but you also find a lot of the Spanish music being translated into English," Torres said. Several American hits are preva lent in the Latino pool of pop, for instance "Mambo No. 5." Likewise, Latino influence has leaked into American pop culture, especially in the case of Ricky Martin. Native Mexican music is also in demand in the College Station area. "The big local venue right now is the Lake- view Club in Bryan. Every Sunday night there is usually a big Latino Spanish band that comes and plays to pretty big crowds," said Juan. "The Lakeview Club primarily features Mexican music and dance. "It's mostly related to Mexico because there are people here from all areas of Mexico," said Torres. Accordingly, the club attracts primari ly working class Mexican-American patrons. Local Latino entertainment venues do not commonly attract the college population. "Alternative music is the most popular mu sic, obviously, with the Latino student popu lation," Walker said. "That's the one that's go ing to get the draw." The local Latino music subculture is vi brant and extensive. Torres encourages every one to venture out and "discover it with your own eyes and ears." /[bedrooms ** ^bathrooms t Your Monk? ric 2 Bdrm. Apts. n 8 •all & more npus ces & save 693-1325. ff j l ?t' (* Itl^ All prices slashed! 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