SAN ANTONIO – The 89th annual Battle of Flowers Fiesta Band Festival is back with some new sounds this year.
For the first time, Conjunto music will be part of the festival at Alamo Stadium.
KSAT’s RJ Marquez visited Edison High School to meet some of the students who are bringing the classic South Texas sound, music and culture to Alamo Stadium.
“It’s an incredible honor. I play drums. I’ve been playing the drums since 8th grade,” said Maria Jose Ramirez, Edison student. “My dad is a singer, so is my mom and my brother, and so it was just something I grew up with.”
“It’s the music of my people. This is where I came from. This is my favorite kind of music,” said Dario Hernandez, an Edison student. “Bass is the heartbeat of the Conjunto. It’s what connects the drums, the accordion and guitars together.”
The students say that many of their influences come from both old-school and new-school Conjunto bands.
“Modern Mexican Conjuntos like the Grupo Rizgado and Pleso Pluma and more like that,” said Hernandez.
“Intocable, Pesado, but some of them are modern stuff too, like Grupo Frontera,” said Ramirez.
The Edison Conjunto Band says it is ready to bring its unique sound to the band festival.
“We’ve been preparing a bunch of music for a long time, and we’re ready to perform for the people,” said Hernandez.
“We’ve never been here, but it will be a huge honor,” said Noah Lopez, an Edison student who plays drums.
“Expect to see a lot of dancing and a lot of fun,” said Ramirez.
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