It is 6:30 a.m. Saturday 15^th of July. I go towards the picture window and open the curtains. I witness one of the most breath taking scenes of my life. The mountains surrounding Las Vegas. The sun was just coming out and its rays were beautifully painting the Earth. The mountains had a purplish/lavender hue around them. For some strange reason I finally understood and felt the meaning of "Purple Mountain Majesties." All of a sudden the scene becomes unfocused from my eyes and I go back to the night before.
 

I am entering the ballroom and remembering a familiar voice and song. It was the lovely Linda Escobar and she was singing " Frijolitos Pintos." Mingo Saldivar accompanied her. What a combination folks. Linda looked beautiful on stage. She was wearing a Black sequined gown. She was singing like there was no tomorrow. She went into another song and worked her magic with the crowd. She sashayed back and forth on the catwalk and along side her was Mingo playing the accordion they way only he can play it. Then they started playing a duet together I believe it is called " Conjunto Dreams." In my eyes they were exactly where they belong…On stage in Las Vegas. The audience loved every minute. The Conjunto style is one that brings everyone to their Tejano roots and it takes them back to the Baile Grandes that every one was accustomed to going to back in the days. This special song had a little Honky Tonk beat to it. Linda had a hit song when she was only about 8 or 9 years old in the 60’s. The song sold one million copies. This was way before Selena or Our Reina Laura Canales. Javier Villanueva gave her the title of ‘The first Lady of Conjunto’ a title she very well has earned. Linda finished her set with a thunderous applause from the people. Cameras were flashing everywhere.
 

Our next treat was truly magnificent. Mingo Saldivar and his accordion. I made my way to the front of the stage to witness every minute of this great man and his accordion. Unlike some artist who doesn’t like to be video taped, Mingo is just the opposite. If you pull out a video camera…watch out…. You will witness a tejano music moment just out of this world. Mingo just gets even better. He sang a lot of his signature songs. I looked at the rest of the band and recognize a very good friend of mine on the Bass. We know him as " El Chivo." Truly a great musician who has played with some of the great conjuntos that Texas has to offer. I notice a smile on his face when he saw me and it warned my heart that he recognized me. Mingo then announced that he was playing his version of "Falsom Prison Blues" a great Johnny Cash song but with a very definite Tejano Flavor. Mingo gave me chills when he made the accordion sound like a train whistle. Really great effects with a "rock-a-billy" style. The song began with his harmonica player who just played the heck out of that harp. The crowd was going wild. Then Mingo added his signature short, staccato riffs, on his accordion and then played up and down the scale. They don’t call Mingo the dancing Cowboy for nothing. The dance floor was filled to the max and the crowd by the stage was just as big. This is the kind of music that the Conjunto aficionados live for. When Mingo finished the song we were blessed by another great song "Ring of Fire". It was pure conjunto heaven. I remember Mingo walked up the catwalk and stopped before a beautiful blonde haired lady and he did a "Wolf Call" with the accordion. That was great! OF course the lady blushed but she knew it was all in the name of fun.
 

I was quickly brought back to the present by a loud," Hurry up. It’s time to get to work!" It was JV who is always on the go. He is what keeps me on my toes. I quickly close the curtains and brush my hair. Jv and Chanty are already out the door on their way to the second day of the "Meet and Greet". I quickly rush back to the curtains, taking one last look at the mountains, and I wave "Good Bye" to them.

We are at our booth and it was a very exciting time for us. There were more people than the day before and we were having a blast showing off our museum’s artifacts and answering questions for the masses of people that were there. Arizona, California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Michigan, New York, Florida, New Mexico, even my hometown of Alice, Texas was in the house. I kept glancing at my friend JV to make sure he was OK. I knew he was hurting so I wanted to make sure he was comfortable. JV is the kind of person that has always put himself behind the others and doesn’t like to complain. Got to love the man. It is closing time for the "Meet and Greet" and we are quickly off to get a bite to eat and get ready for Saturday’s dance…
 

It is 7:30 p.m. and I am running late. The dance has already started with Gary Hobbs. JV gave an excellent review of Gary. All I can add is that Gary’s booth, earlier in the day, was full of people, wanting autographs and pictures taken with him. Gary is also a very accomplished musician. I saw him once play classical music on the piano. It was truly remarkable.
 

I arrived at the ballroom and met with many people from earlier in the day. Some people wanted to take picture with me and they wanted to thank me for what I write. They said that I was a legend to them because I was their only connection to Texas. People, please, make no mistake. I AM NOT A LEGEND. I appreciate the compliment but I only write because I know that many cannot attend these great events. I am only their "EYES".
 

I hear music and I quickly make my way to the stage…..SHOW TIME….It is David Lee Garza and Los Musicales. Man they were dressed in red, squared, Cowboy shirts and they looked really sharp on stage. I think his new singer is Mr. Ledesma. Really good tone to his voice. He had good pitch, intonation, and pronunciation. David lee was pumping the accordion like John Henry on a railroad track. You could tell that the whole band was having a great time. I looked at the people on the dance floor and some looked back at me and were giving me a "thumbs Up" meaning…. they loved the music. One of the Highlights of David’s performance was a song written by the Bajo Player. It wis called, " who’s that Gringo." Really good tejano song with a strong spice of country into it. The crowd loved it. David y Los musicales gave us lot’s of music that included some cumbias and other of his hits like," Regalame una noche mas". David kept changing accordions. They were very classy accordions. He pulled out a small one that looked like it was made out of wood. Each accordion had it’s own unique sound. Gabbanelli’s were his weapons of choice. Then the crowd was treated to a great surprise…Emilio Navaira in the house. Emilio gave props to David Lee stating that David had the best band in the house. They went into a popurri of some of the songs that Emilio recorded with David. This show really got the crowd wondering if it could get better…and it did.
 

The lights go back off and I hear one of the most awesome introductions I have ever heard. The lights go on and it is Jay Perez with a really special treat…AVISO joining him on stage. Man the stage and atmosphere was " smoking hot." AVISO was dressed in these very nice almost red colored suites. I couldn’t really tell because of the lights but they sure did look very professional. Jay also announced that he would take us back in time and gave his feelings of David Lee Garza. Jay sang "Que chulos ojos" with the brass from Aviso. One of the most musical combinations that these ears have ever heard. With out missing a beat Jay sang " Yo vendo unos ojos Negros" then he went into " Mala Cabeza." Jay then gave us his version of ‘El Tejano Enamorado’. Jay then dedicated a song to our troops in Iraq, " Don Luis el Tejano." With J.R. Lopez on accordion making the accordion cry. Puro Tejano to the max. A very higher standard of our music that every aspiring band should try and achieve. Jay shared some songs that he played with David Lee Garza. With a brass Like Aviso Jay, with no doubt, proved to us why he is known as "The Voice." When a singer has a top-notch brass, like AVISO, he doesn’t have to worry about missed entries or being out of pitch. ALL Jay had to do was what he does best…. being Jay Perez. Jay had his own band also who were playing their hearts out. They made it look sooo easy but what they were playing cannot be play by just anybody. Jay then went into one of my favorite songs, " Que metida De Pata." A song that my father wrote back in the seventies. Everyone went wild and started singing along. The people on the dance floor were tearing it up. I wanted to scream and shout and tell everyone that my father wrote that song. I thought to myself and said, " NO…the night belongs to Jay Perez." He earned it. He pleased the crowd very much. The keyboard player was really putting on a show playing the keyboards with his back to the keys. The percussion was doing an awesome job. It was Cumbia with Salsa. A great combination. The background vocals were totally awesome. Jay had nothing but the best…The night was not over yet. What we got was just a tease. The music went low, slow, but with a nice groove to it. Very familiar song. Then all of a sudden I hear Aviso’s saxophone player go into a spine chilling solo to " ME and MRS. JONES." Truly one of the best renditions that I have ever heard. The sax was playing up and down the scales giving a slight crescendo, with a little "double Tonguing" technique, then back down to an almost pianissimo volume. The crowd yelled with approval. After Jay did his thing with that song…. BOOM…. the band went into the song " SUAVESITO." Man talk about a West Coast sound. I could not believe what I was witnessing. Just when we thought it was over Jay hit us with another song…" Cowboys to Girls" a song made famous by Tierra. We just knew it couldn’t get any better…Wrong! Half way through the song I saw Jay motion to some behind the curtain….It was Steve Salas from Tierra. He finished the song with Jay bringing the crowd into a loud frenzy. Tejano Music History FROM A FRONT ROW SEAT….. AGAIN. MR. PEREZ. YOU ARE THE MAN. There was no way that LA MAFIA COULD BEAT THIS PERFORMANCE…BOY WAS I WRONG.
 

The light went off. Keyboards playing a very urban sound. It made me think of a "sunrise" in the morning. Suddenly white lights from everywhere on the stage were blinking off and on. Even on the huge monitors. Suddenly the music to ""TOMA MI AMOR" comes on and the crowd cheers. Song after hit song. It just kept getting better. No fancy moves or outrageous light show…Puro Tejano Musica. The guitar player was really into it giving us some great rhythm and solos. Mando on keyboards was at his best. The theme for the night was definitely old school. Oscar announced that he was taking us back in time to when his brother, Leonard, was with the band. He said that it was one of the best times of his life and off they went back in time. I have to admit that I was very impressed with Oscar’s voice. Very good vocals. He even had the crowd singing along. Oscar then sang a song from his new CD "Nuevamente". He sang a song " Si quiere Dios" (not sure of the title). Very good song. People were just standing there with a blank face loving every note that they heard. Young and old a like. They band finished their set and I was amazed that the people started to yell," More,More,More" and La Mafia came back with great cheers and applause from the audience. They came back and sang another song. Great ending to an incredible weekend of live uncensored TEJANO MUSIC.
 

The lights went on and people, by the thousands, were talking about how great a night it was. I will not say who was the best act or performance. As a musician, and music aficionado, I will say that all of the bands excelled in what they do best.…Play their style of music. I was left with tears running do my face on my way to the room. I found it hard to sleep just thinking about what happened that weekend. I enjoyed meeting the many people I had only talked to on the Internet. People like Danny Vasquez (Arizona), Elizabeth Miranda (Houston), Frank Herrera (Houston), and my two knew friends from Arizona. I took home the people of all the states that were there…they are in my heart. In the plane back the one thought in my mind was…How could anyone not love OUR MUSIC?….JUAN