CHELO'S MARRIAGE TO PAREDES IGNORED BY PRESENTATION

By Juan Montoya
"Sabes, de que tengo ganas..," so starts a popular tango interpreted by Brownsville native Chelo Silva that propelled her into stardom from the 1940s well into the late 1960s.
It's author, Salvador Velázquez Gonzáles (Chava Chino), probably never knew what a hit it would become throughout Latin America delivered in the dark, husky voice of La Reina del Tango.
But may local people do.
And they were mystified when they attended a presentation on the works of local historian Americo Paredes and she was never even mentioned.
Those attending said that Richard Flores, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, said they were at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Brownsville campus on Wednesday evening, when Flores commented under the tutelage of Paredes.
Paredes is best known for his expertise as a Mexican-American folklorist, teacher, writer, poet and musician, according to a UTRGV press release.

In fact, Paredes seminal works on border land culture and border corridos has spawned a generation of resistance scholars and academics. 

The local daily quoted John Morán González, associate professor of English and assistant director of the Center for Mexican American Studies at UT-Austin.
“He was really one of the first Mexican American intellectuals to get a traditional education and then teach at the university level in the United States,” González said. “He introduced a new topic for academics of that day at a time when Mexican Americans were not considered a people.

At the presentation, mention is made that Paredes married a Filipino woman and lived the rest of his days with her.

But there was nary a mention of Chelo or her contribution to Paredes' work or to Hispanic culture.

Her career, in fact, may have overshadowed Paredes academic endeavors in the time she was performing.
Someone reminded us that Chelo's parents used to own a restaurant where Javier Ruiz's 1,2,3 Bar is now located on 14th Street. In fact, as a teen she used to wait on tables for her parents.

Her biographers say that Chelo, called La Reina del Bolero (Queen of the Bolero), reigned over Tejano music scene with her romantic ballads and passionate performances in 1940s and into the 1960s.
She was born Consuelo Silva on August 25, 1922, in Brownsville, the oldest of seven children. She began singing as a teenager at school and in her church (Guadalupe Catholic Church on Lincoln Street). In fact, locals say her first public performance was at a Guadalupe Church Kermess.
Pharmacist Vincent Crixell used to say that Chelo had been noticed by local musicians while still in her early teens. A few years later, she was singing regularly with a local group, the Tito Crixell Orchestra, headed by Vincent's father.
"Chelo performed in the first Charro Days in 1938," he remembered. "My dad had to ask permission from her parents so she could sing."
Her online biography said Chelo made her mark on a wider audience in 1939 when she was asked to sing on a local radio program hosted by the poet, composer, and author Americo Paredes. The two were married the same year, but the marriage ended in divorce some years later. They had a son.
That radio show gave her wider exposure and opened the doors for her. It wasn't long before she was performing regularly at Corpus Christi's Continental Club.
However, it wasn't until she was 30 that she landed her first record deal with Discos Falcón of McAllen, Texas, where she would go on to record over seventy titles.
Liner notes on a compilation of her hits indicate that by 1955 she signed with Columbia Records. The move paid off almost immediately as Silva put together an impressive string of hit songs, including “Imploración,” “Esta Sellado,” “Sabes de Que Tenga Ganas,” “Soy Bohemia,” “Inolvidable,” and “Amor Aventurero.”
A few bars in her old neighborhood have Silva's recording on their jukeboxes, notably Willy Garza's Border Lounge, and – when there used to be bars on Market Square, at Domino's and now, El Capitan.
"Many people in my generation remember Chelo," Willy Garza recalled. "We kind of grew up with her music."
The success of the Columbia recordings led to several touring opportunities throughout the Southwest and Mexico, including tours with then-notable stars such as José Alfredo Jiménez, Javier Solis, Vicente Fernández, and Lola Beltrán.
By the 1960s, Silva was the most well known of the female Spanish-language singers, her popularity reaching outside the United States and into Latin America. Many of her venues were places where people lived hard, and drank hard, therefore the npopularity of her torch songs. It was the music of the mass of the people.
Silva died of cancer in 1988 at the age of sixty-five. Fortunately for fans and historians, much of her music has resurfaced in the form of reissues and compilations. Following the death of the Tejana superstar Selena, there was a resurgence in the root music that had paved the way for younger generations.
In 1995, Arhoolie Records released “Chelo Silva,” a best-of collection that includes some of Silva's most-loved songs, including “Imploración,” “Esta Sellado,” and “Amor Aventurero.” Now, after her death, Chelo Silva remains one of the most influential figures in the history of Mexican music. And where do you think Chelo is best remembered?
Not in her hometown, that's for sure. Except for some indications that Chicano-In-Residence Meme Maldonado at UTB-TSC is working on yet another cultural documentary, no one seems to remember that Chelo put Brownsville on the musical map.
In 2004 Silva was inducted into the Tejano R.O.O.T.S. Hall of Fame. She was also a member of the South Texas Music Walk of Fame. And in 2008, the Water Street Market Music, Art and Surf Fest held in Corpus Christi included tributes to Chelo alongside rock legend Bill Haley.
"Brownsville is like that," Ruiz said. "We would rather recognize people from outside than to remember our own artists."
"Sabes de que tengo ganas?," that one day someone will stop belittling local artists because they feel some sort of moral superiority over what they did in their personal lives.