Elena Betancourt Garcia’s entrance at this year’s Tejano National Music convention was dramatic, dynamic and divalicious.
Emerging from the shadows stage right, with signature Tejano-style accordion and brass bumping, Garcia ripped through the opening number. With a twist of the hips and a flex of her right arm, her powerful vocals explode with the ferocity of mariachi queen Lola Beltran and the swagger of Jenni Rivera.
It was the culmination of a dream that began when her brother Ruben Betancourt asked her to sing in his band.
Now Garcia fronts Elena y Los Tejano Ryders. They perform Friday, Sept. 25, at Hacienda Mexican Grill in Salinas. Betancourt’s band Ruben y La Nueva Onda opens.
“Tejano music to me is having a good time with family and friends,” says Garcia, who hails from Parlier, a small town outside of Fresno. “It’s dancing till the break of dawn and throwing gritos.”
Those gritos are high-pitched shouts that are a tradition of Mexican folk music, which furnishes the Tejano’s foundation.
Tejano is a Tex-Mex-ish hybrid of Mexican folk and pop, with elements of rock and rhythm and blues sometimes brought in for extra sabor.
Artists like Freddy Fender and the late Selena Quintanilla helped bring it to the mainstream. More recently, Los Lonely Boys have upgraded the genre, with emphasis on Latin Rock power chords.
Elena y Los Tejano Ryders prefer the traditional sound. “I understand that artists my age want to bring a new feel and audience to Tejano music,” says Garcia, “but I feel that we can do that with what Tejano music originally started from.”
On the heels of the Tejano convention, Garcia was recently nominated for best new female artist at the upcoming Tejano Music Awards, another big honor.
“I have been blessed and the best is yet to come,” Garcia said. “We are humbled by the Tejano industry for giving such recognition to a band from California.”
ELENA Y LOS TEJANO RYDERS and RUBEN Y LA NUEVA ONDA 9pm Friday, Sept. 25. Hacienda Mexican Grill, 1449 Davis Road, Salinas. $25. 424-6400.
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