PHARR — With a nod to the past and the future of conjunto music, the South Texas Conjunto Association will present the 9th Annual Conjunto of the Year Awards on Sunday at the Pharr International Convention Center.
“Very few people expected us to last this long. But we’re like the conjunto culture itself, we never go away,” said Lupe Saenz, STCA president.
The 6 p.m. event has more than 20 conjuntos scheduled to perform as awards recognizing the different aspects of the genre are handed out.
Because the show is being recorded for broadcast next month most of the bands will be lip-synching. The exceptions will be the younger bands who compete in separate categories.
“There’s no way we would have time to present 20 bands if they all played live,” Saenz said.
Setting up instruments and sound checks would last all night if everybody performed, Saenz said.
KMBH TV 60 is scheduled to record the event for broadcast during its August membership drive.
A $10 charge at the door will cover the awards show and the dance that follows.
Saenz said he is expecting people from across South Texas as well as from Laredo, Corpus Christi, Austin, San Antonio and Houston to attend as in years past.
“One of our biggest supporters is a radio station from Corpus Christi,” he said.
The South Texas Conjunto Association is a non-profit, educational organization that promotes conjunto music, especially for younger generations.
Some of the bands such as last year’s Conjunto of the Year winners Mando Y La Venganza will also present awards this year.
“The musicians like that,” Saenz said. “It gives them more exposure.”
If any of the presenters can’t think of what to say, Saenz has a script. “We have to be ready, this is also a TV show,” Saenz said.
STCA Hall of Fame inductee this year will be Valley radio legend “El Gallito Madrugador,” Jesus “Chuy” De Leon from Donna.
Saenz said De Leon was a fixture in morning radio starting back in the 1950s.
The nominees for Conjunto of the Year are Roberto Riojas Y Nosotros, Conjunto Express, Los Nobles and Los Monarcas.
Nominees for the STCA’s Album of the Year include “Monarcas Special” by Los Monarcas; “New Breed of Conjunto” by Los Gilitos; “Ensema a Cantar” by Boni Mauricio; and “Y llegaste Tu” by Ricardo Guzman Y Sus Nuevos 3 Aces.
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The South Texas Conjunto Association will present the 9TH ANNUAL CONJUNTO OF THE YEAR AWARDS on Sunday at the Pharr International Convention Center. Tickets cost $10 at the door and include the dance immediately following the show. For more information, call 956-684-5883 or 956-454-2207.
