Tejano Music History
From the South Texas Border to the Country Music Hall of Fame: A Journey to Advocate for Freddy Fender's Legacy
By Veronique Medrano · 5 min read
Freddy Fender’s story starts in the bars and cantinas of Deep South Texas — in a small cluster of border towns known as the Rio Grande Valley. In San Benito, Texas, we find Baldemar Huerta, the man who would later be known as Freddy Fender. Huerta came from a migrant family, working the fields alongside them across the United States as a child. Between the ages of 8 and 10 his interest in music grew, earning him singing competitions and cantina gigs in the cities his family passed through — the foundation that would lead him out of farming and into music, into rock & roll, and eventually to his crossover hit “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.”
A Dream Deferred
Before his death, Fender made his one big dream known in a 2004 interview with the Associated Press: “Hopefully, I’ll be the first Mexican-American going into Hillbilly Heaven…” — a hope for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In the twenty years since that interview, no Mexican-American or Latino(e) artist has been inducted.
I want to make it crystal clear that I started this journey after graduating with my Master’s degree at UNT in 2022. When I first wanted to start in 2016, with only a Bachelor’s degree and in the middle of launching another record, it became apparent I didn’t have the time or capacity for the commitment this undertaking demands. When I did begin, it was on my own, with no communication from preservation organizations on how to move forward in a process that had no published steps and no explanations.
The Campaign Builds
Then the volume of support was seen, and suddenly conversations started happening that weren’t happening before. That collective drive of voices reached the executives of Fender’s estate: Vangie Huerta and Marla Huerta, who have provided knowledge and clarity for the work ahead. At 1,000 petition signatures, the campaign started receiving local coverage. At 5,000, it earned the estate’s formal support — and Fender was honored by the State of Texas with a Historical Commission Marker.
“Why does Freddy Fender deserve to be inducted? The answer starts at the impact point: the 1974 release of ‘Before the Next Teardrop Falls’ — and the 20 country hits that followed it.”
The case is built on hard stats: the timeline of Freddy’s recorded impact in country music, the scope of twenty hits in the genre rather than the three that come from passing knowledge, the co-sign of peers covering his songs — no small thing in the country industry — his features on trusted country programs, and his Grammy awards. His legacy is featured in museums and on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It stands to reason it’s time for the Country Music Hall of Fame to honor the full spectrum of his impact and the place of Mexican sounds in country music.
As Saving Country Music put it, a Veteran’s Era induction realistically requires a constant, dedicated campaign of at least five years. That is the work — and championing a person who cannot do it for himself, from the border region I call home, is where I face my great challenge.
Written By
Veronique Medrano
Singer-songwriter, writer, and archivist out of Brownsville, Texas — Veronique’s writing covers Tejano history, culture, and the artists who built it.