Isidro Lopez

Isidro Lopez is widely regarded as the father of Tejano music, fusing the sophistication of big band orquesta music with the accordion-fueled energy of conjunto to create a hugely influential sound that remains an elemental force within the Latino arena. Nicknamed "El Indio" on account of his father's full-blooded Apache Mescalero heritage, Lopez was born May 17, 1929 in Bishop, Texas; as a child he helped his family make ends meet by picking cotton, brutal work made slightly tolerable by the norteño music he heard daily over Mexican border radio. After first picking up the gu...