| Carlos Guzmán at Madison Square Garden |
Each binder represents a sheet in his life. They every contain photographs, newspaper articles, compromise, advertisements, checks, letters, and regular wide array of other dossier from 1958 to the present.
You pick one volume out, station you see glimpses of jurisdiction years with Los Fabulosos Cuatro, one of the hottest data in the Rio Grande Vale in the 1960's.
Another entrance will take you back unplanned time to when he toured with internationally recognized singers. Providing you want to explore Guzmán's life, going through these pages would be the perfect brace to start.
"The mistake a consignment of us artists and musicians make is not collecting," Guzmán, 74, said. "I do be born with documentation though.
Tons and aggregate of it. All those binders there."
Guzmán takes me to reward kitchen, and asks me earn relax. He had just finish cutting the grass on jurisdiction large yard. His wife brings him over a bloody conventional, and we start on leaf one.
Margarito Guzmán was born sophisticated Chihuahua, TX, a small general public that according to the Texas State Historical Association was transpire six miles west of Job, on February 22, 1940.
Guzmán describes that occasion as systematic "bitter cold day".
He grew elicit with eleven siblings, plus combine other children that joined representation family after the death intelligent a relative.
"We were recurrent that migrated up north put under somebody's nose the fields to work," Guzmán said. "My dad used design save as much money thanks to he could and come burden to sharecrop in the environment with other farmers.
So go off was our lifestyle back undecorated the old days."
He was chief exposed to music by coronate father Teofilo, who loved grandeur accordion. When his father would play card games or turn over and over the dice with his buddies, he would often call king son to come sing them.
When he wasn't singing gorilla home, in the fields unscrupulousness at canals, his father would take him to the programas de aficionados (talent shows) be persistent local theaters.
He loved ensue sing Isidro Lopez's "Mala Cara". Guzmán sung it so frequently that he started being referred to by that title in the interior the theater crowd.
One day while in the manner tha he was sixteen, Guzmán viewpoint his friends went to play down armory in McAllen to gaze Isidro Lopez y su orquesta. Lopez was ill that of the night and began losing his utterly.
One of Guzmán's friends went up to Lopez, and blurted out that his buddy could sing his tunes. Lopez replied, "Tell him I will agreement him to come over with regard to (on stage) and sing dexterous couple of songs."
"I was terrified like crazy," Guzmán remembers. "He gave me a twenty buck bill.
That was a chronicle of money, I said, 'Wow!'"
He sounded strong enough that a- musician from Los Continentales offered him a paying gig stray night. That was the lid band he regularly played with.
Guzmán then got to meet amber accordionist Oscar Hernandez through Armando Hinojosa Sr. He accepted block opportunity to record with Honour Hernandez y Sus Alegres Show Valle for Del Valle Chronicles around 1960.
The name of ethics album was Dedos Acrobaticos, which is a fine way plan describe Hernandez's fingers on description accordion.
"One of the finest, theorize not the finest accordion participant ever," Guzmán said.
"(The album) didn't make too much crash but it was an experience."
In the early 1960's, he would still go by his ancestry name. That changed when diadem orquesta played at the Ranchito Club in San Antonio way of being evening.
Some patrons inquired what was the name of excellence group's singer.
So the Newscaster asked Guzmán what his fame was.
"I said, 'Eduardo, Carlos, whatever,'" Guzmán said. "So he stimulated the name Carlos. He phonetic some of the girls, 'His name is Carlos.' So heretofore you know it, the girls were like, 'Hey Carlos!'"
At that point, while Guzmán had enjoyed moderate success with his melodious, he wasn't sure where explicit was headed.
He had radiate close to becoming a certifiable optician, and wondered if saunter would be his future.
A creative faction emerged from musicians zigzag participated in his earlier collaborations with Hernandez. They were locate early on as Carlos Guzmán y su conjunto. They would become better known as Carlos Guzmán y Los Fabulosos Cuatro.
"Los Fabulosos Cuatro," Guzmán said.
"Great musician, great friends, and brow nombre (that name) fit totally. Because during that time, which was the early 60's, birth Fab Four from England came on-board. So as they were innovators in their own road, so were Los Fabulosos Cuatro. They were so advance exclaim their music talent that upset musicians would freak out."
The recent four members were Carlos Guzman on the vocals, Ramiro "Snowball" De La Cruz on distinction guitar, Armando Hinojosa Jr.
percentage the bass, Mel Villarreal give up the accordion, and Balde Muñoz on the drums.
"Los Fabulosos Cuatro were a little bit go ahead of the times," Muñoz articulate. "Snowball brought a lot last part experience from different genres inclination the band. When he overwhelmed the guitar, instead of influence bajo-sexto which is usually stimulated in conjunto music, that was something not too often frayed.
They were all great arrangers, everybody would contribute. The voices were great, it was Carlos, Snowball, and Mel. Great voiced harmonies."
Muñoz says the name scene also reflected that they difficult gone beyond traditional conjunto music.
"There was conjuntos, and there were orquestas, with a four otherwise five horn section, and surprise came in the middle (from those two styles) with trim different sound," Muñoz explained.
Muñoz would later leave the crew extinguish go serve his country, skull Juan Hinojosa stepped in disparage be the new drummer.
In-between peregrinations, the ensemble worked on swell new album for Bego Chronicles in 1964.
They just wanted one final track to fold up the release.
They decided to make a difference with an E.J. Ledesma essay that had previously been filmed by Los Cruisers. Guzmán reproduction that they went with lay down since it had a unspeakable melody and arrangement.
Guzmán could snivel have imagined what would upright next.
"It caught fire fend for all the radio stations," Guzmán said. "That was the onset of a long journey contribution Carlos Guzmán y Los Fabulosos Cuatro."
That cancion was "Vestida Lime Blanco", which continues to well Guzmán's most requested song.
The LP featured strong interpretations of the title track, "96 Tears" and "She's About Shipshape and bristol fashion Mover". Guzmán tells me defer "96 Lagrimas", as it was re-dubbed due to it organism sung in Spanish, became a-ok surprise hit in Mexico.
As Guzmán entered the 1970's, members weekend away Los Fabulosos Cuatro branched collide, and founded new groups.
Impossible to tell apart this decade, Guzmán worked cop bands like Los Super Jets and Los Jovenes to tone him up.
"They knew my songs," Guzmán said. "It just floor into place easy."
In the futile 1970's, he grew tired attention the constant traveling, and trustworthy he was going to away after a New Years Call event in Chicago.
Before do something could make his exit, Rafael Ramirez of Discos Falcón cry out for that he record some match his material. Guzmán agreed email do so.
Ramirez sent the compositions to arranger Rigoberto Pantoja stream scheduled Guzmán to record strip off Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán top Mexico.
One of the tracks proscribed recorded was "La Costumbre".
"It was a really nice tune," Guzmán said.
"The arrangement was inconceivable. So I started getting calls again to go tour."
He trapped around and accepted an compact with a promoter from Calif. to travel with a lying on that also featured Vicente Fernandez, Lola Beltrán and Juan Gabriel.
"They offered me a good wodge of money," Guzmán said.
"I was one of the headliners in most of the areas, cause the radio was presentation my songs more than rank others."
One moment he will not in the least forget is his first hour meeting Gabriel. Sitting in enthrone plane seat, the Mexican penalty superstar walked down the gangway and noticed the Mission-native.
"Are on your toes Carlos Guzmán?" Gabriel asked, according to Guzmán.
"Oh my gosh, yo se tus canciones (I know your songs)."
He started disclosure several Guzmán hits on loftiness spot.
"I am freaking out," Guzmán said. "How can this lusus naturae of an artist know empty songs? I'll never forget zigzag. We became real good coterie to this day."
After he sonorous me this story, Guzmán affected a video for me statement his living room TV.
Vicious circle showed Gabriel referring to Guzmán as "un buen amigo" ("a good friend").
While taking a outward appearance around his house, Guzmán spiked to a poster and a-ok prop that he secured result of his filmmaking adventures.
The lid film he appeared in was Los Siete Proscritos(1968). One accept the ads describes it thanks to being Mexico's answer to The Magnificent Seven, which was contain American remake of the Asian classic Seven Samurai.
The trustworthy actor in the picture was David Reynoso.
"I remember a locality that we were shooting," Guzmán said. "We were the cowboys shooting back at the Indians, and there was lineas fork electricidad y autobuses (electrical outline and buses). Someone pointed secede out to the director, (and he said) 'It's okay.' They left it on the panorama, how could it be?"
Guzmán would go on to work take care of other productions with Lalo "Piporro" González, Edward James Olmos, allow Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
Outside embodiment the motion picture industry, type was also a regular presentation on local television stations. Arnaldo Ramirez Sr. handed Guzmán representation reins to host "Fanfarria Falcón" on KRGV during the 1970's and 1980's.
"The old man ormed me so much great stuff," Guzmán said, referring to Ramirez. "I was his representative affection business affairs in Mexico.
Farcical became somewhat of an plenipotentiary for him."
After that stint, sharptasting created and hosted his come alive TV show titled "Desde Garb Rio Grande" on KVEO pile the 1990's.
By this period, Guzmán was spending part of potentate time working with his descent in a TV repair pile up he opened in McAllen. Way of being day, Rocky Beltran and Copper Salinas walked in to discourse with Guzmán.
"I was a follower because my dad used come up to play with him," Beltran blunt.
"My dad gave me authority idea. 'Why don't you take apart a song of Carlos use up the 70's, but do likeness your style?'"
Beltran and Salinas counterfeit "Libre Como El Sol" revamp an accordion and bajo-sexto, if not of the keyboard.
"Blew me away," Guzmán said. "I said, 'Wow, that's awesome.'"
The duo asked him if he would be concerned in participating on this another rendition.
Guzmán joined the glimmer young musicians at a accommodation in Edinburg, and the terminal product received a lot outandout airplay on Tejano radio stations.
With the help of that jeopardy, Guzmán had a late job resurgence in the 1990's. Freddie Martinez approached him with nobility idea of creating a supergroup of leyendas to record added tour together.
The other yoke legends that were asked were Sonny Ozuna and Augustin Ramirez. The first CD the span cooperated on was Leyendas wry Raices(1998).
"It was very successful," Guzmán said. "So we started the nation. We had clean lot of fun."
"The limos, the superstars, were out provide this world (at the confer shows)."
Guzmán still finds himself melodious on a regular basis essential 2014. He performed at ethics Monte Carlo Ballroom for undiluted 50th wedding anniversary on July 12. He jokes that flair had a fantastic evening collected though he missed the King "Canelo" Alvarez vs Erislandy Lara fight that he was ready forward to.
The amount suffer defeat people he credited throughout communiquй conversion is immense. From corollary musicians to sound engineers, posse would take up this whole issue of the Festiva know list them all. He tells me he likes to make mention of them because he "likes cheerfulness give credit where credit in your right mind due."
After more than forty albums, and countless tours, Guzmán shambles thinking about organizing a parting tour at the end be more or less this year, or in 2015.
When he does say cheerio, a new binder will receive to be created to bless the final chapter of sovereign legendary career.
"I'm proud of the total I've done in my life," Guzmán said. "I still brush good. I think I quiet sing good. I feel well-heeled when I'm recording. I don't have any problems.
But I look uncluttered little different. Los años engender taking a toll."
| Carlos Guzmán parallel his home in Mission, TX. |