The annual Tejano Conjunto Festival is not just three days of lively music and dancing, it’s about educating new generations about a century-old folk tradition.
So said festival founder Juan Tejeda and Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center executive director Cristina Ballí at a Tuesday press conference announcing the winner of the festival’s annual poster contest in advance of the May 17-19 event at Rosedale Park.
Ballí said while thousands enjoy the party atmosphere, the Tejano Conjunto Festival is also “a place where people learn about their culture, where we learn about this beautiful folk tradition that we have here in South Texas and Northern Mexico.”
‘That looks like you’
Each year, the festival kicks off early with the announcement of the poster contest winner, whose work will represent the festival on social media, T-shirts and other merchandise. This year’s top prize went to Anna Arce, a San Antonio native attending college in Indiana.
As if to emphasize Tejeda’s and Ballí’s point about bringing new generations into the tradition, Arce’s lotería-style poster depicts a young Tejana holding a blue accordion, nearly mirroring 15-year-old Mica Rivas, who performed huapongos to open and close the press conference — the first performance on a shiny blue accordion.
Rivas, from Corpus Christi, travels to San Antonio for conjunto lessons with Santiago Jimenez Jr. at the Guadalupe Center.
When the winning poster was unveiled, Rivas said smiling, “I saw it and I was like, that reminds me of me! And my brother came up to me, he was like, ‘Mica, that looks like you.’”
Continuing the tradition
During his comments, the 70-year-old Tejeda emphasized the importance of teaching conjunto music to younger people.
“I’m very, very happy to see more young people than ever taking classes,” he said, crediting community institutions such as the Guadalupe Center for offering lessons while expressing hope for an expansion of formal classes in San Antonio schools.
The poster contest is one way to draw in young people, Ballí said, with categories for middle school, high school and college-level students in addition to the open category for anyone who wants to submit.
The middle school category winner was Annalise Solis from Portland, Texas, and Northside Independent School District student Victoria Leal won in the high school category. Alejandro Rocha won the college category and open category entrant Andy Benavides — winner of the 2021 Fiesta poster contest and the recent Spurs mural commission — was runner-up to Arce.
Poster entries depicted an array of South Texas and San Antonio motifs, from accordions, bajo sextos and dancing couples to lowriders, veladoras and the Tower of the Americas.
Before announcing the winners, Tejeda said, “It does my heart good to know that these kids are continuing our music and our tradition and our culture and our language.”
Festival lineup
The 2024 Tejano Conjunto Festival performers lineup was also announced Tuesday.
On Friday, May 17, the festival kicks off with Conjuntazzo with Joel & Sarah, Los D Boys, Gilberto Pérez Jr. y su Conjunto, Los Conjunto Kings de Flavio Longoria, David Flores y Los Tremendos Alacranes and Los Desperadoz.
Saturday, May 18, features student conjuntos from the Rio Grande Valley, Retoño, J.R. Gomez y Los Conjunto Bandits, Mando y La Venganza, Conjunto Prestigio, Bernardo y sus Compadres, Impozzible, Los Tellez, Los Monarcas de Pete y Mario Díaz, Ruben de la Cruz, Los Cucuys de Rodney Rodriguez and Lázaro Pérez y su Conjunto.
“Sunday is going to be woman power,” Ballí said, announcing a lineup including the Texas Sweethearts, Linda Escobar, Susan Torres y Conjunto Los Pinkys and Cindy Ramos y su Conjunto.
The festival will close with Los Delta Boyz, Santiago Garza y la Naturaleza, Eva Ybarra y su Conjunto Siempre, Los Texmaniacs with Flaco Jimenez and Los Fantasmas del Valle.
Tickets, including a $50 three-day festival pass, will go on sale March 15 on the Guadalupe Center’s website.
