SAN BENITO — Ramiro Cavazos was born on Feb. 16, 1927, and will soon celebrate his 91st birthday.
As the bajo sexto player, he joined Mario Montez in the 1940s to form the acclaimed conjunto Los Donneños.
He continues to perform in the U.S. and Mexico and is now accompanied by accordionist Beto Espinoza.
He sometimes is accompanied by his grandson Allan Cavazos who is an accomplished accordionist and is working to maintain the traditional sound of Los Donneños.
In a career that spans more than 75 years, Ramiro has worked with many famous artists.
He first worked with Tomas Ortiz and Eugenio Abrego of the acclaimed border conjunto Los Alegres de Teran.
When he came to the U.S., he teamed with Mario Montez to form Los Donnenos whose first recordings were with Arnaldo Ramirez of Discos Falcon.
In the 1950s, Los Donneños would go on to work with major motion picture star Lalo “El Piporro” Gonzalez.
They starred in five movies and toured all over the United States, Mexico, Venezuela and Cuba.
In 1976 Ramiro appeared in Les Blank and Chris Strachwitz “Chulas Fronteras”, which includes footage with Ramiro accompanying Narciso Martinez.
Ramiro Cavazos is the owner of R y N Records in McAllen.
In 2017 he was inducted into the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Conjunto Hall of Fame in San Antonio.
Ramiro has earned the title elder statesman of border music.
He’s a gentleman and a scholar with a wealth of information on the border and its history.
He’s still at the forefront of this important music. He’s a true border musician with a fan base on both sides of the border.
WHO: Ramiro Cavazos y Los Donneños
WHAT: 3rd Thursday Conjunto Nights
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.
HOW: Doors open at 6 p.m.
WHERE: The Historic La Villita Dance Hall, 261 West Robertson Street in San Benito.
COST: $5
