86R21260 BPG-D
By: Shine H.R. No. 982
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Tejano legend Little Joe Hernández, the leader of
the enduringly popular Little Joe y La Familia, has been named the
2019 Texas State Musician in recognition of his outstanding
achievements; and
WHEREAS, Born in Temple in 1940, José María de León Hernández
was a teenager when he started singing and playing guitar in his
cousin's band, David Coronado and the Latinaires; Little Joe took
on leadership of the group in about 1959, and the band recorded
songs for several Tejano labels as well as for Buena Suerte, Good
Luck, and Leona Records, each launched by Mr. Hernández; in the
mid-1960s, they released their first albums, Por un Amor and Amor
Bonito, and the group evolved into one of the top Tejano orquestas;
and
WHEREAS, Mr. Hernández was inspired by César Chávez and the
Chicano movement while performing in California, and he changed the
band's name to Little Joe y La Familia to reflect his growing
dedication to the cultural and political advancement of his
community; the group became the leading band of Tejano's Onda
Chicana, or Chicano Wave, with a lineup that included some of the
top musicians in the genre; in 1972, Para La Gente showcased its
lush arrangements and organic synthesis of ranchero and jaitón, and
the album yielded many hit songs, among them "Qué Culpa Tengo," "La
Traicionera," and especially "Las Nubes," a prime example of Onda
Chicana code-switching between Spanish and English; and
WHEREAS, Through the years, both the Smithsonian Institute
and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have
featured Little Joe y La Familia during National Hispanic Heritage
Week; the band has won many significant honors, including Grammy
Awards for the Best Mexican-American Album in 1991 and Tejano Album
of the Year in 2008 and 2011; in 1997, the Texas branch of the
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presented
Mr. Hernández with its Governors Award for his contributions to
Texas music, and he later received the Smithsonian's Lifetime
Legend Award; the City of Temple celebrated Little Joe Day in 2018
and renamed part of Sixth Avenue in his honor; and
WHEREAS, Little Joe Hernández has left a lasting imprint on
Texas music over the course of a remarkable career spanning over a
half century, and he continues to enrich the cultural scene and
delight the myriad fans of La Familia; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Little Joe Hernández on his
selection as the 2019 Texas State Musician and extend to him sincere
best wishes for an enjoyable tenure and continued success; and, be
it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. Hernández as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.