PASSING ON THE TRADITION
Acrylic on Canvas - 2007

The Guadalupe Center of San Antonio, TX. is dedicated to the promotion and retention of Chicano/Mexicano Culture in Texas. They promote many educational and artistic programs in the Barrios of San Antonio. One of the ongoing programs is the 26th annual Tejano Conjunto Festival held in an Antonio. All the great and upcoming Conjunto bands come together for three days to wow the appreciative crowd and to induct a new member to the Conjunto Hall of Fame.

I have always wanted to enter the poster contest and attend the festival but for one reason or another I found it difficult to make the trip. This year I was determined to enter the contest. About a month before the festival an old family friend of my wife's family and Conjunto player himself passed away. He had played in the San Fernando Valley for years and had taught a multitude of local children how to play accordion he was responsible for passing on the tradition.

I wanted to honor this mans life and and thought about using his image in my poster. I contacted his widow and obtained her blessing and photos of her husband "Chuy Granados." I painted this image and called it "passing the Tradition." I pictured Chuy showing his granddaughter some "licks" on the Accordion. The piece took first place in the "open competition" but lost in the "overall competition" to a beautiful piece by a Texas artist. The original piece will be given to the Granados Family.