The Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center will host its 27th annual Conjunto Festival from Friday to Sunday at the Los Fresnos Memorial Park where dancing, food, beverages and music from 15 conjuntos are scheduled to entertain the community.
The event is a three-day festival and the conjuntos for the event are from the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, Kingsville, Alice, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas. The main purpose of the event is to document, preserve and promote this musical tradition.
“This is a Texan-Mexican conjunto festival that stays true to a tradition that started almost 100 years ago on this side of the border … It is very family oriented,” Rogelio Nuñez, director at the arts center, said. “It is 15 bands, three days, a lot of good dancing and good food and a lot of people.”
Some conjuntos that will be performing include Los Fresos High School Conjunto Halcon, Hector Barron of Los Fantasmas, Linda Escobar and Clemencia Zapata drummer with Conjunto Aztlan and Morales Boys from Dallas.
Nuñez said the event also helps the economy because a lot of people come from other parts outside the Valley to spend their money at the festival and hotels in the area.
“This helps the economy because a lot of people that come in are coming from not only the Valley but we have a group of people that are coming from Austin, San Antonio, Houston, California and Chicago,” he said. “They have come to the festival over the years and the whole idea is family and tradition.”
About 3,000 people are expected to attend the event and it will kick off Friday from 6 to 10 p.m., continuing Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. and will end Sunday at 9 p.m. Sunday’s performances begin at 4 p.m.
Daily tickets are $6 and three-day passes are available, too. For more information about the event, visit “Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center” on Facebook.
“ It is not only about music but it is also about people coming to the Valley to see this event which is unique,” Nuñez said. “The main purpose is to document, preserve and promote this important musical tradition, the documentation means that it is important that still happens … in a world of technology and fast-paced, things get lost and we don’t want to get things lost.”
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.
