Rancho Alegre
Many moons ago, seeing a criminal underdocumentation of Tejano and Conjunto music, Austin-based nonprofit organization Rancho Alegre began an ambitious project to travel the state of Texas recording oral histories with legends, veterans, and up-and-coming artists in Tejano and Conjunto music. These were a sort of proto-podcast, living on ranchoalegre.org. Now it’s time to move these over to podcasting platforms for the rest of the world to enjoy. These are in English, Spanish, and Spanglish, depending on the preference of the interviewee, and conducted by the one and only Baldomero Cuellar.
Episodes
Chano Cadena passed away yesterday, September 19, 2025 at age 87. This interview was recorded in October 2011.
He was a Texas music legend, pure and simple. Recognized for his longevity and technical skill, he is admired by fans and colleagues alike. A hall of famer several times over, he played and toured with all of the legends, even a very young Ruben Naranjo back in the early 1960s.
Chano was the first interview on our famous ...
Songs played on this episode of Rancho Alegre on KEDA - Saturday 9/6/25:
- Ruben Rivera - La Tormenta
- Gilberto Perez Jr. - Un Mal Entendimiento
- Nick Villarreal - El Mudo
- Los Hermanos Farias - Los Albañiles
- Los Mungiazz - Mujer Perdida
- Los Fantasmas Del Valle - La Rafaela
- Manuel Guerrero - Yo Tenia Dos Corazones
- Conjunto Soliz - La Puerta Negra
- Conjunto Los Pinkys - Flor de Dalia
Break - bedding music: Big Head Todd & ...
As bandleader of a solid, hardworking conjunto for over 40 years, San Antonio's Rudy Garcia was truly ahead of his time. He wrote and registered his own songs. He managed himself and played all over Texas. He had his own record label called Godfather Records. His sound was truly unique.
Back in May 2016, we caught up with Rudy and a couple of his long- time band members at his home in San Antonio.
He...Songs played on this episode of Rancho Alegre on KEDA - Saturday 8/2/25:
Interview with Flaco Jimenez, recorded in 2016.
- Interview part 1 - song: Silencio Corazon
- Interview part 2 - song: Señorita Cantinera
- Interview part 3 - song: Viva Seguin
- Interview part 4 - song: Open Up Your Heart
- Interview part 5 - song: He'll Have to Go
- Interview part 6 - song: Sweethearts Together
- Interview part 7 - song: Streets of Bakersfield
- Inte...
Songs played on this episode of Rancho Alegre on KEDA - Saturday 8/23/25:
- Los Aguilares with Roberto Pulido - Flor Triste
- Ruben Naranjo y Los Gamblers - Don Luis El Tejano
- Bernardo y Sus Compadres - El Muchacho Alegre
- Tony De La Rosa - Tras Las Rejas Del Penal
- Ramz Guerrero y Los Pioneers - La Güera Preciosa
- Rene Joslin y Los Favoritos - Hasta Que Retoñe Ese Arbol
Break - bedding music: Hall & Oates - I Can't Go for...
Songs played on this episode of Rancho Alegre on KEDA - Saturday 8/9/25:
- Linda Escobar - El Gambler
- Brown Express - Por Una Mujer Casada
- Epi & Friends - Laguna de Pesares
Break - bedding music: Jackson Browne - Somebody's Baby
- From the Vault: Ruben Naranjo y Los Gamblers - Barquita de Madera
- Los Venaditos de Abel Cantu - Carta Jugada
- Los Hermanos Cardenas - El Columpio
- Los Pavos Reales - El Cafetal
Break ...
Songs played on this episode of Rancho Alegre on KEDA - Saturday 8/16/25:
- Chano Cadena y Su Conjunto - Alma Rendida
- Tony De La Rosa & Ruben Vela - A Que Has Venido
Break - bedding music: Patrice Rushing - Forget Me Nots
- From the Vault: Los Tremendos Gavilanes de Juan y Salomon - Los Ojitos de Mi Elena
- Los Dos Gilbertos - Cuando Llego El Momento
- Fruty Villarreal y Los Mavericks (with Flaco Naranjo) - Vamonos Par...
Join Piper and Frank for an hour of talking about Rancho Alegre's upcoming busy month in March! Plus, hear some background stories and the origin story of the festival and the organization!
Links mentioned
Amplify Austin donate link: https://www.amplifyatx.org/organizations/ranchoalegre
Austin Public watch link:
https://www.austinfilm.org/austin-public/watch/
Consuela:
Rancho Alegre festival inform...
"El Gallo" Dez is a brand new voice in Tejano music who is just now embarking on his first adventure in the genre. Luckily for him, he is already off to a great start, having been discovered by Tejano music icon Shelly Lares, who is producing his music, mentoring him, and guiding him on this path.
We caught up with the California native on a beautiful summer day here in Austin and got to know more about his background and what bro...
Jimmy Gonzalez passed away 6/6/2018. Thanks to an assist from Freddie and Marc Martinez, we recorded this interview at Most Precious Blood Catholic Church in Corpus Christi in December 2012.
Most Tejano fans know where they were when they heard that Jimmy Gonzalez, bandleader of Grupo Mazz, passed away. We happened to be on an interview trip to San Antonio that day along with our friend and board member Joe Olvera of lovemytejano....
Beatriz Llamas, La Paloma Del Norte, passed away yesterday, May 15, 2023. This interview was recorded at her home in San Antonio in June 2015.
Known as La Paloma Del Norte, Beatriz was the first female recording artist on the storied Tejano record label Bego Records. Her strong, passionate voice, ever-present cat-eye makeup, and engaging stage presence made an indelible impression on Tejano and Conjunto fans all over Texas and bey...
Festival Coordinators Piper LeMoine and Monica Castilleja discuss the 2023 Rancho Alegre Conjunto Music Festival. Audio taken from our Facebook Live broadcast on 4/24/23, so it might be a little choppy.
Complete information available at https://www.ranchoalegre.org/festival
For any questions about the festival, please email us at info@ranchoalegre.org.
--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rancho-al...
Recorded in July 2011 at El Torreón Restaurant in San Antonio, Texas.
Joe Gonzales passed away today in San Antonio at the age of 61. He was known in the Conjunto world as "El Gambler" because of his time playing bass with Ruben Naranjo y Los Gamblers in the later years of Ruben's career, as well as his friendship with the beloved legend. After Ruben's passing, Joe began his own group and switched over to accordion and primera vo...
Recorded in June 2019 at Austin Central Library
In June 2019, Rancho Alegre finally caught up to Little Miss Dynamite herself, Shelly Lares. We had been after her since we first started doing interviews in 2011 and the stars finally aligned and our schedules finally allowed for us to finally meet.
And let's just say that the award-winning, hard-working musician, vocalist, entrepreneur, producer, arranger, bandleader, songwriter, an...
Recorded live on KOOP radio in Austin 3/25/17.
This episode is another blast from the past! Let's go back to March 2017 when Rancho Alegre's own Piper LeMoine sat in for Dot Matrix on her spectacular Girlie Show, which plays nothing but music by female artists.
What happened was radio magic - 11 female Tejano musicians in the studio at once. Most were from the Austin area, with a couple from San Marcos and another from San Antonio...
Recorded on 10/3/15 at the KOOP studios, Austin Texas. BJ Moncivais passed away in August 2018.
Rancho Alegre talked with BJ Moncivais of legendary Austin, Texas-based Chicano record label, Valmon Records. BJ's parents, Ben and Lupe Moncivais, started the label in the 1950s and recorded some of central Texas' favorite Tejano musicians like Little Joe and the Latinaires, Manuel Donley, Roy Montelongo, and more.
During the interview,...
Recorded in January 2013 at their home in Midlothian, Texas.
Conjunto Baraja de Oro is one of the hottest bands going these days. Affectionately known as Conjunto BDO or simply BDO, North Texas husband and wife duo Mario and Betty Barajas are taking the Conjunto world by storm, boasting multiple Tejano Music Award nominations, incredibly well-attended shows, high-quality songwriting and recordings, and a loyal army of fans.
Mario h...
Recorded in August 2017 at the Yarborough Branch of the Austin Public Library. Chencho Flores passed away in January 2021 due to complications of COVID-19 at the age of 91.
At the time of this interview, Chencho was 88 years old and had just started his own Conjunto earlier that year after a long tenure with Conjunto Los Pinkys.
This in-depth conversation, which we believe to be the only recorded interview with the very shy and hum...
Recorded in October 2011 at Roberto Pulido's ranch in Edinburg, Texas.
Rancho Alegre hit the road in October 2011 to interview some of our favorite artists in San Antonio, Alice, Robstown, then Edinburg, McAllen, and Mercedes. It was an unbelievable trip that we will always remember. Especially our visit with Roberto Pulido…
We showed up at his ranch in Edinburg, and he waves us to the back of the property to his shop where he make...
Recorded in 2011 at Janie's Record Shop in San Antonio, Texas.
Long known for their popurris, San Antonio's Los Aguilares have enjoyed great success over their 58-year career in music. With brothers Genaro on vocals and bass, and Emilio on accordion, the group became a fan favorite and, like other hard-working conjuntos, toured extensively around Texas and the rest of the country.
After Emilio’s passing in 2009, the band continued ...
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