Juan belongs to the Board-of-Directors for Tejano R.O.O.T.S, the Official Hall Of Fame for Tejano Music since 1999. He is also a second generation Tejano singer. He currently sings with Tonka Y Libre and Ted López Y El Conjunto Recuerdos. Juan enjoys writing and doing reviews of Tejano shows and events.

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Miedo De Perderla
Juan Sifuentes Jr

Yo se que ella sufre
por mi amor
y se que me ha aguantado
hasta lo peor
y con un sólo beso que le dé
se olvida y perdona lo que soy

Talvéz estoy seguro de ese amor
porque hoy siento miedo de perderla
por alguien que comprenda su dolor
ó pueda formarle una ilusión
ó pueda robarle el corazón
mi vida se la di sin condición
yo sólo se quererla como soy
pero ella merece algo mejor

Talvéz estoy seguro de ese amor
porque hoy siento miedo de perderla
por alguien que comprenda su dolor
ó pueda formarle una ilusión
ó pueda robarle el corazón
mi vida se la di sin condición
yo sólo se quererla como soy
pero ella merece algo mejor

Tonka - Tommy Velásquez

For Tonka, a veteran of the conjunto circuit, quality is first, last and everything. Tonka is a singer, songwriter, and arranger who has been involved in conjunto music for more then twenty years and known simply as Tonka, a tag he was given while still a youngster in his hometown of Robstown, Texas. Tonka's early influences read like a who's who in conjunto music. A musician's musician Tonka has more than 50 recordings for different labels under his belt and years of experience playing in the music circuit with groups like Massizo, Los Chachos, Tony De La Rosa, Steve Jordan, Juan Sifuentes and Tonka y Libre.

In 1976, while doing vocals for another group, Eloy Bernal approached Tonka and asked him to join El Conjunto Bernal. It was while touring with Bernal that Tonka had the opportunity to study voice under the tutelage of Bernal. To those who recall the glory days of conjunto, Tonka's music has stimulated a nostalgic nerve. But something else is happening; younger fans are experiencing the quality that can be achieved with harmony in the hands of a master like Tonka. An active performer Tonka tours with a group of artists who prize professionalism and musicianship. Candid and honest, Tonka admits he is still influenced by the experiences he realized in the Bernal organization and acknowledges the stylistic connection to Bernal, however, he points out he is much more than a parody of the original. By infusing new techniques and arrangements to his style, he keeps it contemporary and fresh. Tonka continues to experiment with voices; new techniques and arrangements that make his band a reminder of the days when music was taken seriously and fans knew good music when they heard it. In short, Tonka is reintroducing a passion for Tejano and Conjunto music that has been absent for many years.

Discography
Pudo Más Tu Orgullo - Hacienda Records 2000
Corazón Ángel - Latin World Recors 2004
 

Tonka and Joe Lozano
La Villita - Alice, Tx  Nov 2006

Max Baca, Juan and Joe Farias at
Noche De Fiesta Weekend 2006
 

BACK TO LA PAGINA DE FELINHO

January 2008

Got Conjunto ?

  I know Corpus Christi did Sunday Night for Jimmy Lee’s Cd release party. It was held at a place called  “ Tejanoville”. I have never been there until last night. It is a very nice place to go to. It is definitely a club. I was impressed with how clean the place was. Good Tejano music being played by the DJ.This is also a place for the sports minded people. I have never seen so many monitors in my life. There were monitors everywhere. I went to the restroom to wash my face and guess what? There were 7 urinals in there and each one had it’s own monitor! I am serious folks. The place was very nice. I congratulate the owners. I will go back. Anyway…. let’s get down to the music.

  First on stage was my good friend, from Mathis, Mr. Joe Lara Y Expression. Joe tore it up on stage. He made his chromatic accordion work. Awesome sound with good, clean, climbs of the scales. Every note was right on.  The contrast in sound, between a chromatic and regular button accordion, was like using a twelve-string guitar instead of a six string. Simply beautiful sound. Joe and his group gave us a mix of progressive playing and good old fashion mix of conjunto. He played classics like “ Cruz De Madera” to other hits like Rene Serrata’s “ Quiero Conocerte”. His brother doing great backup vocals. Joe puts his own style of ‘phrasing’ when he sings and it gives a song a different flavor. Joe’s bajo player gave us his rendition of MAZZ ‘Voy A Pedite Perdon’. Totally great performance. I was really impressed.

  Next on stage was a conjunto by the name of Creasion (not sure of spelling). This conjunto started the crowd going with some classic rendition made famous by Los dos Gilbertos. Puro conjuntaso folks. The dance floor was filled. Excellent bajo sexto and the bass player really laid a solid foundation for the rest of the guys. The accordion player had his own style and personality. Good vocals and the bajo sexto player added great backup. Nice strong tenor voice. This conjunto music is very characteristic of how conjunto is played in South Texas. A lot of Heart and Soul was put into the music and the crowd was feeling it. Great job guys.

  The final act was Jimmy lee Y Tentazion. What a performance it was. Jimmy got them going with his rendition of “ Se Lo Dejo A Dios”. This got the crowd throwing gritos and dancing. Jimmy has a group a guys put together like non-other. A low-rider style of conjunto playing. Jimmy has one hell of a bass player, bajo sexto player (who sings back up), a drummer who keeps a nice steady beat, and a spitfire accordion player. The young man was pushing a pulling the bellows like his life depended on it. Absolute ‘ accordion abuse’, like no other, this side of the galaxy. Jimmy’s smooth, suave , voice was the icing on the cake. Se Avento El Carnal. His father was beaming with pride and rightfully so. Jimmy gave us a lot of conjunto. He even added one of his uncle’s, Rene Serrata, song Mi Ultimo Romance. The highlight of his performance was  ‘Folsom Prison Blues’. Great job with the song. The accordion player really did a great job of doing a ‘train whistle’ sound. The whole conjunto gave the song a very distinct flavor. It was conjunto at it’s best. Look for more great things to come from this young man and his conjunto.

  As I drove home (Alice, Texas) I couldn’t help but shed a tear or two. I thanked God for allowing me to witness another Tejano Music History…. From A Front Row Seat. I sang some of the songs, I heard that night, on my way home. Not with a loud voice but with a “ Tejano Whisper”

 November 2007

Can We Survive Number Four? Las Vegas….Back Again! Part 2

 It is now Saturday morning. I am awakened by the sound of some one talking on a cell phone. It is my friend and fellow Board member Joe Lozano. He was talking to his wife and telling her about the awesome musical talent displayed the night before. I walked towards the window and gazed out looking at the traffic moving so fast on the freeway. Joe finished his conversation and asked what I was looking at. I told him that we were in this wonderful hotel having a great time but the people out on the freeway were on their way to work. They were oblivious to why we were here and they could care less about the Tejano music history that happened the night before. I told Joe that the rush hour resembled that of a colony of ants going back and forth at a hundred miles an hour. Joe just looked at me and gave me a bewildered look. READ FULL ARTICLE

October 2007

Can We Survive Number Four? Las Vegas….Back Again! Part 1

 I could not believe I was on my way to Las Vegas for the Fourth National Tejano Music Convention. We were driving out of New Mexico and into Arizona. We drove all night out of Alice, Texas. This trip was very special. My two youngest sons came with me. They wanted to witness Tejano Music history from a front row seat. The trip was long. Very long but we were determined to make the sacrifice. READ FULL ARTICLE 

July 2007

Ricky Martinez  
“The passing of a True Conjunto legend”

 Where do I even begin to describe the impact of losing a true conjunto Legend like Ricky Martinez? Perhaps I should start with a history of the Martinez family. I talked to Ricky many times through out the years but I never asked him about how the family got into the music. The following is a history of the Martinez family, in the music, sent to me by Lefty Ray Chapa. I believe the story is by Bino G. of BNET Radio.
READ FULL ARTICLE

April 2007

February 2007

Tejano 2007 - Are you ready for it ?
Man it is hard to believe that we are in the 7^th year of the millennium. It seems that just yesterday we were enjoying the very distinct sound of our music everywhere we went. Whether in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, or the Valley our beautiful music was being played all over.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that our music would come close to total extinction, from the airwaves, despite the fact that the instigators of the hostile take-over of the airwaves warned us. No one believed that it would actually happen. 1999 through the present has been a tough climb for our music. Many people defected and embraced the ‘Musical Fusion’ of Tejano/Norteno style. I call it ‘Mutation’. READ FULL ARTICLE
 

November 2006

7th Annual Noche De Fiesta Tejana
Kick-off Dance
I enter the historic La Villita Dance hall with a lot of anticipation and worry at the same time. The time for a totally Tejano Experience was about to begin. I brought my guitar to see if I could get it autographed. There were people to the left and right of me. Everyone looked a little jittery and were glancing at the stage. They new something big was about to happen and they couldn’t wait. I said my usual "hello" to a lot of people and made a lot of new friends. While I was walking about greeting some people I found out that Chicago, Kansas, New York, California, Oregon, New Mexico, Monterey Mexico, Arizona, and many other people from all over were in the house. Suddenly the lights dimmed. There was a cool calm quiet about the air. It was 8:00 p.m. Showtime! READ FULL ARTICLE
 

September 2006

July 2006

The Gathering
2006 NATIONAL TEJANO MUSIC CONVENTION AND VEGAS REVUE

3 peat in Las Vegas - part one

The pilot announces that we are landing in Las Vegas. It is pretty close to 12:00 midnight. I peer out the window and I witness one of the most beautiful sites that I have ever seen. The night-lights of Las Vegas. The city actually looks like a country of it’s own being that it is encompassed, from the rest of the world, by mountains. As we land the pilot states that the temperature was 101 degrees…was this a taste of things to come? Vegas was sizzling! The Tejanos have landed…
READ FULL ARTICLE

3 peat in Las Vegas - part two