Narciso Martínez
Encyclopedia
Narciso Martínez dubbed early on, El Huracan del Valle ("The Hurricane of the Valley"), began recording in 1936, on October 21 precisely, and is the father of conjunto
music. The Spanish word conjunto means 'group' and in El Valle de Tejas
that means accordion
, bajo sexto
, and contrabajo
(string bass, known locally also as "el tololoche").
Don Narciso, the first widely successful conjunto recording artist, made hundreds of recordings of mostly instrumental dance tunes emphasizing the melody side of the accordion and leaving the bass parts to his bajo sexto player, Santiago Almeida
. This established a new sound, which is quickly identifiable as Texas-Mexican Conjunto Music.
Narciso Martinez is the recipient of the National Heritage Award for his contributions to one of the United States' important ethnic traditions. He recorded for IDEAL Records and Paco Betancourt
in San Benito, Texas
, as well as large American labels. He died in 1992.
Conjunto
Conjunto literally translates as "group," and is regionally accepted in Texas as defining a genre of music that was born out of south Texas at the end of the 19th Century, after German settlers introduced the button accordion. The bajo sexto has come to accompany the button accordion and is...
music. The Spanish word conjunto means 'group' and in El Valle de Tejas
Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
that means accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, bajo sexto
Bajo sexto
A bajo sexto is a musical instrument with 12 strings in 6 double courses, used in Mexican music. It is used primarily in norteño music of northern Mexico and across the border in the music of south Texas known as "Tex-Mex", "conjunto, or "música mexicana-tejana".A similar instrument with five...
, and contrabajo
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
(string bass, known locally also as "el tololoche").
Don Narciso, the first widely successful conjunto recording artist, made hundreds of recordings of mostly instrumental dance tunes emphasizing the melody side of the accordion and leaving the bass parts to his bajo sexto player, Santiago Almeida
Santiago Almeida
Santiago Almeida was a Texas musician influential in the development of the musical genres of tejano and conjunto....
. This established a new sound, which is quickly identifiable as Texas-Mexican Conjunto Music.
Narciso Martinez is the recipient of the National Heritage Award for his contributions to one of the United States' important ethnic traditions. He recorded for IDEAL Records and Paco Betancourt
Paco Betancourt
Paco Betancourt was an American businessperson, record producer and mayor of San Benito, Texas.-Biography:...
in San Benito, Texas
San Benito, Texas
San Benito is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States. The population was 24,250 at the 2010 census. It is the birthplace of Country and Tex-Mex music icon Freddy Fender. San Benito celebrated the 100th anniversary of the naming of the city April 3, 2007. The post office was named Diaz...
, as well as large American labels. He died in 1992.