Latin music’s massive popularity made headlines earlier this year as the group of genres became the fastest-growing category in the U.S. On Tuesday, Texas Monthly launched a new podcast about Texas’s contribution to that movement through a genre that has influenced some of Latin music’s biggest artists today: tejano music.
On Viva Tejano, a ten-episode series hosted by J.B. Sauceda, listeners will get a chance to hear from legendary tejano artists and fans who share how the genre has shaped their lives. Guests include Grammy-nominated artist El Dusty; the “Queen of the Accordion,” Eva Ybarra; Los Texmaniacs founder Max Baca; the “Queen of Conjunto,” Linda Escobar; tejano music star Bobby Pulido; and more.
The series will also feature exclusive recordings from The Johnny Canales Show, the beloved eighties and nineties TV program that introduced the world to tejano music and iconic artists such as Ramón Ayala and Selena. (Texas Monthly is an executive producer of an upcoming documentary called Take it Away, about the show’s legendary namesake, who passed away in June.)
New Viva Tejano episodes will drop each week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and TexasMonthly.com, with audio subscribers enjoying early access and exclusive content.
Viva Tejano is produced by Ella Kopeikin and Patrick Michels and produced and engineered by Brian Standefer. Other members of the team include Megan Creydt, executive producer; Aisling Ayers, podcast coordinator; Adrian Arredondo, consulting producer; and Jenn Hair Tompkins and Victoria Millner, graphic designers.
Fans of the podcast can join Sauceda in an upcoming Reddit AMA to discuss the series and further explore tejano music’s influence on so many of our lives. Details will be released at a future date on Texas Monthly‘s social media channels.
