Michelle has never been a stranger to the music business. Her uncle is well-regarded music producer and engineer, Rick Garcia. He and his brother Roland Garcia along with Roland's wife, Annie, founded Hacienda Records (Corpus Christi, Texas) in 1979. Michelle is the current CEO of Hacienda. She's definitely the boss, but she can also relate to her talent roster and their experiences on their respective musical journeys.
Nick Villarreal was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. A member of the Zimmerle family, well-known for their musical talent, it was almost inevitable that Nick would continue in his family's footsteps. Nick's first music teacher was his grandfather, James Zimmerle, who first taught Nick how to play the accordion at 5 years old. James then moved on to teach his grandson how to master el tololoche, bajo sexto, and drums.
Grupo B&B is an exceptional family band based out of Bryan, Texas. Vocalist, Bren Ocañez was born and raised in Bryan, Texas. She grew up around music her whole life. Her parents are Ester Ramírez and Felipe Ramírez. Her father, Felipe, played bass in a band with her uncle.
Los Marceles are an accordion and bajo sexto duo based out of Austin, Texas. Brothers, Valentin & Marcial Chapa Jr., make up the group. The first incarnation of Los Marceles was founded in 2011. The original line-up consisted of Valentin, Marcial Jr., their four other brothers, and their father.
Conjunto Calidad is an exceptional group based out of Seguin, Texas. Like their name implies, Conjunto Calidad aims to put on a quality show every time. Johnny Moreno and Frank Sanchez founded Calidad when Johnny wanted to gift his mother a live band for her birthday. Conjunto Calidad was born and they've been going strong ever since. Johnny Moreno is Conjunto Calidad's accordionist. He started his musical journey at a young age.
Roger Arocha was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. While growing up in San Anto, Roger was exposed to the music of Henry Zimmerle, Toby Torres, Los Alegre de Terán, and the original "Flaco," Santiago Jiménez Sr. An admirer of the Jiménez family style, their influence is heavily imbued within Roger Arocha y su Conjunto's musical aesthetic.
The Conjunto Cats are a powerhouse ensemble based out of Seguin, Texas. Bandleader, Art Conjunto Cats Campos, began pursuing music since the age of 10. He learned the basics with assistance and was off to the races on his own after that. Young Art realized early on that his ear for music needed to improve.
Chano Cadena was born on October 31, 1937 on a little ranch near Palito Blanco just south of Alice, Texas. Since 1954, Chano has been delighting crowds all over the state and beyond with his lively music.
Mark Weber's love and admiration for conjunto music started in the early 90s. Weber began listening to conjunto while stationed at Fort Sam Houston military base in San Antonio, Texas. Intrigued by the accordion, Mark began taking lessons from the legendary Valerio Longoria†* in 1996. Both eventually became close friends.
Established in 2012, the Los Fresnos High School Conjunto Program is changing students' lives along the Texas/Mexico Borderlands.
