Three new inductees to the Edinburg Walk of Fame are Bobby Pulido, Ricardo Guzman Jr., and Balde Muñoz, who will join a long list of talented artists that have been recognized by the city. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])
EDINBURG — The city of Edinburg held a news conference Wednesday to announce three new inductees to its Music Walk of Fame, paving the way for a more pronounced focus on the arts.
Tejano artists Bobby Pulido, the late Ricardo Guzman, Jr., and Balde Muñoz were announced as the newest class of inductees during the news conference. They will be receiving stars on a walkway near the newly opened amphitheater.
“These stars are going to go along the amphitheater, and eventually make its way here to City Hall,” Mayor Ramiro Garza said after the news conference. “Today we just wanted to announce to the public who those inductees are, and also the events that are associated with the induction.”
The new inductees mark the first new class to the city’s Walk of Fame since 2001. Magdiel Castle, assistant director of cultural arts, said that the newly resurrected Walk of Fame was a product of the city’s designation of a “Music Friendly Community.”
“One of the things that sparked the interest again was that program itself,” Castle said.
He recalled an occasion last year when he met a couple from North Carolina who were visiting the Walk of Fame.
“I asked them if there was any program that they were attending, and they said that they were here for the Walk of Fame,” Castle said. “In discussions, we thought that this is something that’s actually bringing people to our city. It’s something that we should grow and keep on growing.”
Castle said that individuals who are inducted into the Walk of Fame must have a significant impact on the music community. He said that for next year’s class, nominations will be open to the public.
“The community is going to be able to send in their recommendations, their nominations, and then the music committee is going to narrow them down to two or three stars that are going to be inducted,” Castle said.
Pharr native Balde Muñoz, one of the three inductees this year, was at Wednesday’s news conference.
“It’s hard for me to explain, but it’s a big honor,” Muñoz said. “I’m very humbled to have been chosen as one of the inductees with the class of 2022. I’m going to be elbow to elbow with Bobby Pulido, a great superstar. Of course, we’re going to celebrate the late Ricardo Guzman and myself. I’m just elated. I’m happy. I’m honored. It means a lot to me.”
Muñoz got his start playing drums for a band called Oscar Hernandez Y Su Conjunto before joining another band called Carlos Guzman Y Los Fabulosos 4.
Following a call to serve his country during the Vietnam War, Muñoz returned and kicked off a nearly 50-year career playing in multiple bands, including Los Unicos, Snowball & Company, and Grupo Felicidad.
Muñoz spent the last 15 years of his career, prior to his retirement in 2001, playing with Fandango USA, a group that saw tremendous success with their rendition of the song, “La Charanga.”
“They still play that song,” Muñoz said. “We recorded that song in 1993. I’m not going to brag, but I think it’s going to stay as one of the classics like Little Joe’s ‘Las Nubes’ and other songs.”
Fans will have an opportunity to see Muñoz, Pulido and Guzman’s son, Ricardo Guzman III, perform their hits in an intimate setting Thursday during the Edinburg Music Walk of Fame Induction Ceremony. The event will be held in the Hidalgo Room at the Region One Education Service Center, located at 1900 W. Schunior Street.
Tickets are available at edinburgarts.com/emf for $65 each, or two for $100. Doors will open at 6 p.m.
“We all do it for the same reason, which is that we want to keep our culture going,” Muñoz said. “Our music, it’s musica Tejana, it’s something that you build from scratch. Tejano musicians are very different from other genres. When you get a Tejano band, mostly everybody can play a polka, a huapango, a cumbia, a bolero, country, rock or blues — usually all Tejano musicians are very versatile.”
“We want our children, the young generation, not to forget their culture,” Muñoz continued. “The art of music, it’s beautiful. And it was born here, the Tejano music. That’s why it’s Tejano.”
