A NIGHT OF CONJUNTO: Three-day festival kicks off with strong showing

(Staff photo by Jacob Lopez) Conjunto Los Delta Boyz are shown performing and kicking off the 23rd annual Narciso Martinez Conjunto Festival at Plaza de San Benito on Stenger Street, where hundreds attended Friday evening.

(Staff photo by Jacob Lopez)
Conjunto Los Delta Boyz are shown performing and kicking off the 23rd annual Narciso Martinez Conjunto Festival at Plaza de San Benito on Stenger Street, where hundreds attended Friday evening.

By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com

Some people love rock, rap, pop or even the more traditional musical standards such as blues and jazz. But for folks like the Baldenegros of Santa Rosa, California – there’s only conjunto.

Manuel and Pauline Baldenegro were among hundreds who flooded Plaza de San Benito on Stenger Street to catch their favorite conjunto musicians perform at the 23rd annual Narciso Martinez Conjunto Festival, which kicked off Friday and will conclude Sunday, Oct. 26.

Hosted annually in San Benito by the Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center (NMCAC), the festival attracts upwards of 3,000 people or more to the area for a three-night conjunto extravaganza that features the biggest names of the genre.

It’s rare that the Baldenegros will miss an event, barring a death in the family that prevented them from attending last year. Such dedication to the festival is rooted in their love for the music. But it wasn’t until listening to “Taquachito Nights” on the radio in California that the Baldenegros learned of San Benito’s premier event.

“Taquachito Nights” is a live recording of the 1998 Conjunto Fest in San Benito that attracted the attention of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, which recorded the event, packaged and released it for wide distribution.

“We heard the CD ‘Taquachito Nights’ in Santa Rosa on FM radio,” Pauline said. “We called to find out about it, and they told us (about Smithsonian Folkways) in Washington, D.C., and they (Smithsonian) told us about this, so we started coming because of the CD.”

Pauline added, “We try to come every year unless something comes up, like last year we had a death in the family so we didn’t come. And we usually fly. It’s the music that brings us out here. A lot of us are all retired, but we love the music. So we come to support it (festival) and to keep it alive and keep it going.”

NMCAC co-founder Rogelio Nuñez was pleased with Friday’s turnout and optimistic that the event may produce its largest crowd in recent memory.

“There are people who are still coming in,” Nuñez said less than an hour into the event. “We had calls all day yesterday and today, and they’re just coming in and coming in. I think it’s going to get better before the night is over.”

Nuñez said that there were people setting up their chairs as early as 7 a.m. on Friday.

“They’re coming in from out of town and already checked into hotels and stuff, but they came here early because they just wanted to make sure they had a place,” Nuñez said. “They’re definitely enthusiastic about coming out to see the festival. I think this is going to be even better than what we’ve had (in the past). If the flow is continual, it’s going to be a great night tonight.”

What’s more, Nuñez said attendees hail not just from San Benito and the Rio Grande Valley but from California, Port Lavaca, San Antonio and Corpus Christi. In fact, Nuñez said there may have been more people from outside the Valley who attended than there were local spectators.

The Baldenegros, for instance, have little ties to the Valley but only make the trip from California to San Benito on a near yearly basis for the event.

“I was born north of Austin, but we moved to California when I was a little girl, and Manuel is from Arizona,” Pauline said.

Manuel added, “My mother-in-law is the one who brought us out here, because she grew up in San Antonio and showed us around the Valley.”

Pauline said, “People listen to jazz, the blues and rock and roll in different parts of the country. We do the same thing, but only with conjunto music.”

“The button accordion, bajo sexto, what we’re seeing right here, what we’re hearing…you won’t hear in California,” Manuel continued. “In California, we’d have to pay $75 to see Flaco Jimenez. In San Benito, we just pay $5 here and see a whole series of those artists for a whole weekend.”

The Baldenegros said their favorite conjunto musicians consist of Gilberto Perez and Los Fantasmas del Valle, the latter of which will be performing at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

The event will continue from 4:15 to 11:15 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25 and from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26. Other performers scheduled at the festival include Chano Cadena, Los Dos Gilbertos, Eva Ybarra and Los Monarcas.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2014/10/25/a-night-of-conjunto-three-day-festival-kicks-off-with-strong-showing/

1 comment

    • Ron on October 28, 2014 at 3:37 pm
    • Reply

    23rd annual. Wow! Congratulations to the volunteers for again making it happen. Thanks to Rogelio Nunez and Dr. Ramon De Leon for having the vision to stay with the event and continue to make it grow.
    Our City officials need to continue their support and really get behind this awesome cultural event.

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