This is Ramon Cantu, one half of South Texas' "Los Cuatitos Cantu" duet, a well known band that performed for a few decades. As is evident by this video performance on the legendary The Johnny Canales Show, he was a dwarf. But he wasn't just any ordinary dwarf, he was pretty talented at the squeezebox, had a good voice, and was also the lucky recipient of an extra finger. Yes, he had six fingers instead of five, and he ended up becoming an excellent accordion player (maybe thanks to that extra finger?).
Apparently, the other Cantu brother was also a six-fingered dwarf who could rock it on the squeezebox as well as Ramon. Sadly, I think by this point (I'm assuming this video is from the 1980's), the other Cantu brother had already passed away. One of the stories told of that time period was that this duet was so well known in the Rio Grande Valley, that people would innocently joke that when they saw two people who were really close together (like best friends, brothers, etc), they would say - "Ay van los Cuatitos Cantu". Here's a neat photo of this sweet duo.
3 comments:
Being from Michigan, I had never heard of Los Cuatitos Cantu, until moving to Uvalde, Texas, in 1976. My grandmother used to turn up the radio when she heard their music. We would dance together while cooking in the kitchen. Ever since, I've always had a special place in my heart for them.
Thank you for posting.
Sadly, deformities are prolific when humans choose to partake in drugs...all too common amongst valley people.
Also from michigan, when I first heard los quatitos I was hooked. Real good conjunto. Puro taquachito!
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