La música tejana
Los Fantasmas del Valle play la música tejana, also called "Tex-Mex" or conjunto, a lively style originating in the late 19th century when German, Czech, and Polish immigrants introduced the button accordion into Mexican working-class communities in southern Texas. Prior to this time, the music in this region was a mix of traditional Mexican genres and popular European dances such as the polka, schottische, mazurka, and waltz. Over the next 50 years, a new form evolved, combining the accordion sound with this dance music. By the early 1930s the modern conjunto style had emerged as a vibrant and distinctive Tex-Mex fusion. A boisterous music performed primarily for dancing, it revolves around the sounds of the accordion and the bajo sexto, a 12-string guitar-like instrument that adds a bass rhythm. Electric bass and drums were added later, beginning in the 1950s. Los Fantasmas del Valle formed in 1968 in Mercedes, Texas, a city in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Known to locals simply as "El Valle," the region's a hotbed of conjunto (which literally means "group") music. Inspired by the lyrics of their first recorded song, "Mis Pasos Andaran," about a young man whose ghost still haunts the girl he loved, the group adopted the name "Fantasmas" (ghosts). Since then, Los Fantasmas del Valle has made nearly 40 recordings in their 33 years together, and performed all over the U.S. and in Mexico. Founding members Hector Barrón (bass) and Julián Figueroa (bajo sexto, vocals) were joined 8 years ago by drummer Cruz González. The group's newest member, 17-year-old Rodney Rodriguez (accordion), joined in May of 2000. He replaced Mike González, who contributed to the success of the group for more than 25 years before leaving for health reasons.
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Music Sampler: "Bellos Recuerdos"