A note from the Narciso

NMCAC Celebrates 10th Year Anniversary of “Taquachito Nights”
at the 17th Annual Narciso Martinez Conjunto Festival

The Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center invites all to join in  for the 17th Annual Narciso Martinez Conjunto Festival for two days,  Saturday, October 25, 2006 from 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm and Sunday, September 26, 2006 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the NMCAC, 225 E. Stenger Street , San Benito , Texas

The Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center, Glazer’s Distributors and the City of San Benito are proud to announce the re-scheduling of the 17th Annual Conjunto Festival, October 25 and 26, 2008.

The Center marks a special milestone as it celebrates the 10th year anniversary of the release of the Festival’s CD entitled “Taquachito Nights.” The caliber of the festival garnered national attention in 1998 as the Smithsonian Institution’s Folkway Recordings label produced a CD entitled “Taquachito Nights.”.

This year will feature a reunion of the 1998 musical line-up which included Gilberto Perez, Ernesto Guerra, Ricardo Guzman, Freddy Gonzalez, Martin Zapata, Beto Martinez, and Conjunto Aztlan. Two deceased conjunto greats will be represented by their family. Flavio Longoria will be represented by his son, Flavio Longoria and Tony de la Rosa will be represented by his nephews, Los D Boyz.

Other featured bands this year will include some Festival regulars such as Juan Lugo y su Conjunto and Los Angeles del Sur. Highlighting the Festival will be two conjunto legends - Oscar Hernandez and the headliner, Esteban Jordan.

“We’re happy to be celebrating another milestone,” says NMCAC co-founder and Festival artistic director, Ramon de Leon. “We’ve done a lot of work over the years to celebrate our music and our people and we’ve had good results, like Taquachito Nights.”

The celebration includes live music, dancing, and food and beverage for the entire family. General admission is $2.00 each day; children under 12 receive free admission.

NMCAC invites interested parties to join the Conjunto celebration as volunteers, food or crafts vendors. For information on the Festival contact Rogelio Nuñez at (956) 361-0110 or (956) 367-0335.

The Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center preserves, promotes and develops the rich cultural heritage of the “Mexicano” community through programs in the visual arts, music, theater, dance and literature.