CONJUNTO FESTIVAL CELEBRATION. Top representatives of South Texas Conjunto music gather this weekend in San Benito, TX, for the 15th edition of the Narciso Martínez Conjunto Festival. On Latino National Heritage Month, Línea Abierta celebrates the Texas-Mexican conjunto, one of the most powerful regional musical styles created by the Mexican people. Guests in this program include Cristina Balli, director, Rogelio Núñez, chair, and Ramón de León, founder, of Centro Cultural Narciso Martínez. In addition, Flavio Longoria and Oscar García, from Conjunto Kingz de Flavio Longoria, join this program.

TEXAS EDITION – CONJUNTO FESTIVAL NARCISO MARTÍNEZ.Línea Abierta celebrates National Latino Heritage Month with a special broadcast from the Rio Grande Valley, home of the annual Narciso Martínez Conjunto Festival and one of the best musical traditions in the country. Alma Garza, host of Satélite Radio Bilingüe’s weekend Onda Tejana show and Carlos Spector Calderón, host of Línea Abierta’s weekly Edición Texas from El Paso, are in the valley to air three days of live programs from the studios of KMBH in Harlingen, TX. They begin the series interviewing veteran Eddie Lalo Torres and accomplished accordionist Juan Antonio Tapia.

Host:

Narciso Martínez Cultural Arts Center, San Benito, TX, www.geocities.com/nmcacsb/NMCACevents.html

CONJUNTO LEGENDS: LIVE FROM HARLINGEN. Co-hosts Carlos Spector Calderón and Alma Garza continue interviewing leadings artists that have come together in the Río Grande valley for the XV edition of the Narciso Martínez Conjunto Festival. Aired from the studios of KMBH, Harlingen’s public radio, this program features maestro accordionist Oscar Hernández from the valley, Cristina Balli, organizer of the Festival; and San Antonio’s Eva Ybarra, one of the best contemporary accordion virtuosos.

CONJUNTO LEGENDS: LIVE FROM HARLINGEN. On the second day of San Benito’s Narciso Martínez Conjunto Festival, this program originates from neighboring Harlingen and features live conversations with leading performers and features music from the concert. Radio Bilingüe’s co-hosts Alma Garza and Carlos Spector Calderón talk with Juan Texeda, director of Conjunto Aztlán, a renowned ensemble of the Movimiento Chicano; and veteran accordionist Enrique Vela.

CONJUNTO LEGENDS: LIVE TALKS. On the third and final day of the Narciso Martínez Conjunto Festival in San Benito, TX, this holiday edition provides conversations with headlining performers. Today, interviews include veteran Amadeo Flores, maestro of bajo-sexto and a Conjunto institution; Héctor Barrón, leader of Los Fantasmas del Valle; and Cristina Balli, organizer of the Festival. With this special broadcast from the Rio Grande valley, Línea Abierta culminates a two-year public radio series that addressed key issues relevant to Spanish-speaking audiences of the Texas borderlands. Línea Abierta, the talk show series, has been delivered to Texan Mexican audiences through the powerful signal of partner station XERF-AM, an Instituto Mexicano de la Radio station in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico.