DALLAS, TX. (Texas
Music Project) - With a little cumbia, a few strums of the flamenco guitar, and echoes of salsa,
Latino artists from throughout
Texas will jam the house starting July 1, 2004, when the special-edition "Don't Mess With La Musica de Tejas" CD is released. All proceeds will benefit music education for
Latino students in
Texas schools.
The compilation of the best of Texas Latin/Tejano music is the latest in the series of CDs in which Texas music legends and up-and-coming artists are brought together by the Texas Music Project (TMP) to support music education throughout the state. TMP is a statewide initiative founded by the Social Marketing Resource Center to strengthen and restore music education in Texas schools. Proceeds from the CD benefit schools via TMP grants for music education distributed through the Texas Commission on the Arts.
This compilation CD with a Latin twist is anchored by music from GRAMMY-Award winner Flaco Jimenez. "To me, music is as important tolearn as the ABCs, whether a young person makes a career out of it or not," said Flaco Jimenez, one of Texas Music Project's 2004 honorary chairpersons. "It is an expression of ourselves in a way that all can understand, which makes it an important subject for our youth to learn."
From cumbias to new-world flamenco guitars and from Tejano to rock, this CD promises to set the music scene on fire and to raise much-needed funds for music education programs in schools with a high Latino student population. "Don't Mess With La Musica de Tejas" follows the successful Volume One of "Don't Mess with Texas Music," which was launched in September 2003.
The first release of the Texas Music Project, which brought together Texas musicians like Founding Chair Willie Nelson, Clint Black. Erykah Badu, and the Dixie Chicks, generated more than $500,000 in publicity for music education and will contribute more than $100,000 to music education programs beginning September 2004, according to Bruce Orr, co-founder and President for TMP.
"Thanks to Texas musicians, our statewide corporate sponsors, and the communities that have supported this initiative, we are beginning to make an impact by meeting both the needs of Texas communities and the companies that serve them," Orr said.
The special performers whose music makes up this unprecedented compilation of Latin/Tejano talent include Ruben Ramos, Los Lonely Boys, Jay Perez, Del Castillo, Havana NRG, Michelle, Los Desperadoz, Elida Reyna, Grupo Fantasma, Patricia Vonne, Latin Breed, Grupo Vida, Randy Garibay, Sisters Morales, Michael Salgado and Henry Brun. Because they understand the critical situation facing music education in Texas schools, all the artists donated their talent to produce the CD.
The "Don't Mess With La Musica de Tejas" compilation also was made possible by the support of community, arts and educational organizations and the generosity of corporate partners like Starbucks Coffee, Dell, HEB, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group, Brooks May Music Company, Quilling, Selander, Cummiskey & Lownds, P.C., and Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center.
The unique Latin/Tejano CD - whose vibrant cover by artist Arthur James features the symbols and spirit of Tejano and Latin music - will be available to the public at select Starbucks Coffee and HEB locations, online at www.texasmusicproject.org, and wherever CDs are sold.
As it works to increase the understanding of music education needs, TMP will work with Texas musicians to hold benefit performances and to increase corporate support in conjunction with the annual release of the "Don't Mess with Texas Music" CD and with special edition CDs like "Don't Mess With La Musica de Tejas."
The first of these benefit concerts will take place July 2 at Gilley's in Dallas with a performance by Tejano music legend Little Joe y La Familia and special guest Grupo Vida, with a portion of each ticket benefiting TMP. The following week, July 6-10, TMP will join National LULAC in San Antonio at their 75th annual Convention and Exposition at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. "The Texas Music Project fills a void highlighting the benefits of music education and needs of schools. National LULAC supports efforts to ensure schools can provide music education to our Latino students, and we are glad to support this project," says Hector M. Flores, National President of LULAC. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the oldest and largest Hispanic Organization in the nation. "VIVA the Texas Music Project and VIVA LULAC!"
The Texas Commission on the Arts will facilitate the distribution of funding, which will be accessible to Texas schools and awarded based on need. It is the intention of the Texas Music Project that grants be used to support the implementation of full-time, rigorous music education curricula.
"The Texas Music Project provides the Texas Commission on the Arts with a long-term opportunity to work with private sector partners toward a shared goal of improving arts education, especially in the area of music, for school children throughout the state," said Ricardo Hernandez, executive director, Texas Commission on the Arts.
'Don't Mess with La Musica de Tejas' also brings to light the tremendous contribution that Tejano/Latino musicians have made to the cultural fabric of Texas," he added. "The project highlights the power and positive economic and social impact that pride in one's cultural heritage can bring to bear on a community. Those of us with Hispanic roots understand that our stories have always been told through our art, especially our song."
