Robert Rivera Ojeda and the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture presents “Tribute To The Mexican American Orquesta, The History and Influences on Music by Mexican American Musicians.” Performed by Robert Ojeda’s Bronze Band, this tribute will chronicle the history and development of Mexican American music across a 50 year span from the 1930s through the 1980s. Throughout this journey, Ojeda will lead audiences through the rich historical background that gave rise to the “Mexican American” generation in the post-WWII era, to the “Chicanos” of the 70s and 80s. This will include an exploration about the influences left by American performers such as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie after their performances at Mexican-American venues like the Galvan Ballroom in Corpus Christi.

Come out to the URBAN-15 Studio for this FREE event Sunday May 17th from 5 PM to 8 PM CST. 

Robert Ojeda, a respected musician, educator, and historian, states that the Tribute to La Musica Chicana is to fill the gap in San Antonio’s music history by preserving, promoting, and performing the music of San Antonio’s history. He is a 2024 grantee of the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture Individual Artist Grant. These grants support a diverse portfolio of artists in their creation of new original work in the literary arts, media arts, multi-disciplinary arts, performing arts, and visual arts. Ojeda is thankful to the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture in recognizing the need to showcase music and histories of Mexican American music.

The Bronze Band is a group of seasoned musicians that will perform a myriad of genres created over the years, including Indigenous, Tex-Mex, Chicano rhythm and blues, country-western swing, cumbias, boleros, oldies and much more that reflects the creations by Mexican American musicians.