Kingsville native Beto Cavazos is pictured with the prestigious award he received from the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame for his contributions to Tejano music in the Orchestra/Big Band category. (Photo by Gloria Bigger-Cantu). Beto Cavazos looks through an album nostalgic with memories for him where he is pictured as a saxophone player with musical groups. Cavazos played the saxophone in conjuntos, Tejano bands and his own orchestra. While he enjoyed playing gigs on weekends, he also kept his day job as a vocational teacher at H.M. King High School where he taught auto paint and body classes.

“This brings back a lot of happy memories and makes you wish we were 30 or 40 years younger,” Cavazos, said as he shows photos of himself in various bands and also with his orchestra.

“I just played because I liked making people happy and used to see the dance floor full of people having a good time,” said Cavazos, in an interview on Monday.

SAX PLAYERS — Saxophone players are featured in His uncle, Baldo Cavazos, who taught him to play the saxophone in 1955, influenced the Kingsville native. Baldo Cavazos played with the Oscar Cabra band. After his uncle moved to San Antonio, Cavazos continued to learn and play by ear. He began with the Conjunto Bernal in 1955 and later played with the Tony De La Rosa conjunto and other bands. Conjuntos are small groups of four or five musicians that feature an accordion player, a drummer, a bass player, and a saxophone player.

Cavazos decided to form his own orchestra in 1964. His son, Sonny, joined him as one of the first father and son teams to perform together.

“Bernal and De La Rosa were becoming famous and going out of state; I had a house payment and family and wanted to keep my job,” Cavazos said.

LAST GIG-Beto Cavazos continued to play in bands throughout the years. His last gig was playing with the Canales Brothers until 2003. Band members pictured from left to right standing are Juan Olivarez, Bobby Ruiz, Celso Abundez. Seated from left are Joe Canales, Cavazos, Manny Canales, Emi Canales Jr., and Emi Canales. Beto Cavazos and Orchestra played throughout South Texas in cities like Brownsville, Laredo, San Antonio and Victoria.

“We would get back in town to get back to work Monday morning,” Cavazos, 80, said. Work for him meant teaching auto paint and body classes at the high school. He worked as a vocational teacher for 28 years for the Kingsville Independent School District until retiring in 2000.

“I loved it and taught a lot of students,” he said.

Cavazos learned the work ethic when he began working at the age of 16 at grocery stores. He later drove trucks and at the age of 20 earned a living with paint and bodywork on railroad passenger cars.

CONJUNTO DAYS-Beto Cavazos played in Conjunto groups for many years. Pictured from left in the Conjunto Alegre are Lico Cano, Julian Juarez, Cavazos, Cavazos Ricardo Vela in a picture taken on May 1956. “That’s where I learned about paint and body work,” he said.

Before becoming a vocational teacher, he worked as a salesman selling tools and paints at auto paint and body shops.

Meanwhile he stayed busy every weekend when Beto’s Orchestra played mostly at dance halls, weddings, and private parties. They played polkas, boleros, cumbias and rancherias. His vocalist, Balde Garcia, worked with him for 17 years. Garcia was also a composer and created the song, “Mi Ultima Paranda” that became very popular.

Cavazos cites his favorite polka as “Monterrey.” His favorite songs include “Tan Chula,” “Mil Besos” and “La Cumbia del Sol.”

His last music gig was playing with Canales Brothers Band until 2003.

In his younger days he also played semi professional baseball with the Wildcats and later with the King Ranch Cowboys for many years.

He and his wife, Tula, a local hair salon businesswoman, have been music and dance enthusiasts before and after they married 60 years ago. When they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary they danced the jitterbug often.

“We used to call it ‘the swing,” Tula Cavazos said. The Cavazos have two children, Sonny and Mary Dall Del Bosque, nine grandchildren and three great great grandchildren. He gave his great great grandson, Tres Esquivel, a saxophone to encourage his musical talents. Tres, a sixth grader, plays with the Ricardo School Band.

He comments that Tejano music is part of the culture, but is becoming more modernized and getting better and better. His favorite Tejano groups are Tierra Tejana from Seguin, Texas, La Herencia from Corpus Christi and the Texas Revolution from Austin.

Cavazos was recognized and honored by the Tejano Roots, for his contributions to Tejano music and selected to the Hall of Fame 2009 award in the Orchestra and Big Band category. He received this award at the 10th annual Noche de Fiesta Tejano Induction Ceremony and Awards held in Alice in January. Other inductees were honored in various Tejano music categories.

“I was surprised and honored and did not expect such a great honor,” Cavazos said referring to the Tejano

City candidate Roots award. a band. Pictured from left are Oscar Barbour, Homero Cortez, Beto Cavazos. David Salinas plays the guitar in the back and Raymond Guzman plays the drum. Photo taken in the mid-1960s.