A gentleman with the username videostejano uploaded some really wonderful videos on his YouTube account. These videos have such a unique place in South Texas history, he's doing a great service to us all by providing these videos of major acts on the classic Johnny Canales show. I've only watched a few videos so far, but I've looked over his uploads library, and I'm so excited to go over each one. I found his account by stumbling upon this video of San Benito's own Freddy Fender and the legendary Valerio Longoria.
Valerio Longoria is an incredibly influential musician, he first picked up the accordion at the age of 7 years old here in the Rio Grande Valley. Valerio often gets credited for being the first musician that combined lyrics to Conjunto and accordion music. When he was a teenager, Longoria was known for playing his unique sound at weddings in the Valley, specifically in Harlingen, TX. Little Joe Hernandez remarked in the great documentary "Songs of the Homeland" (which airs on PBS every once in a while) how one of the noteworthy things Valerio did was to incorporate a drum set into Conjunto music in late 1940s. So enjoy seeing a couple of South Texas legends on The Johnny Canales Show.
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