Bill Text: TX HR435 | 2017 | 85th Legislature 1st Special Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Honoring Gilbert Velasquez for his contributions to Texas music.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Passed) 2017-08-17 - Reported enrolled [HR435 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HR435-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 435 | ||
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| WHEREAS, Gilbert Velasquez of San Antonio has made | ||
| significant contributions to Texas music over the course of a | ||
| remarkable career spanning more than four decades; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Born in Seguin and raised in the Alamo City, | ||
| Mr. Velasquez began playing guitar in church and then in garage | ||
| bands; he joined Chicano soul band The Royal Jesters in 1974 and | ||
| went on to perform for military troops in Europe and the Far East as | ||
| a member of Tejano band SugarJammer; after a stint with the group | ||
| People, he embarked on a 25-year affiliation with the legendary | ||
| Latin Breed; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Mr. Velasquez also worked as a studio musician and | ||
| became involved in arranging and recording; in the early 1980s, he | ||
| was hired as a staff producer for Cara Records, and he recorded and | ||
| produced such seminal groups as Mazz, La Mafia, Selena y Los Dinos, | ||
| Bobby Naranjo y Direccion, and Charro Band; he produced the | ||
| landmark CD Breakin' the Rules for Latin Breed, as well as Tejanos | ||
| for Hunger, featuring almost every top Tejano artist of the day; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 1995, he launched his own production house, | ||
| Velasquez Productions, and a music publishing company; he also | ||
| traveled to Mexico during the 1990s to produce and engineer | ||
| recordings for Universal Mexico, EMI Mexico, Balboa Records, and | ||
| Discos MCM, mostly in the norteño and grupero genres; his work | ||
| continued to gain recognition, and in 2004, he received the first of | ||
| five Grammy Awards in the Best Tejano Album category; in addition, | ||
| he has collected five Latin Grammys, nine Tejano Awards, three | ||
| Tejano Academy Awards, and a Tejano Entertainers and Musicians | ||
| Association Award; he was inducted into the Tejano R.O.O.T.S. Hall | ||
| of Fame in 2006, and at the 2007 National Tejano Music Convention, | ||
| he was presented with the Tex-Mex Gibson Special Achievement in | ||
| Music Producing Award; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Mr. Velasquez serves on the board of governors of | ||
| the Texas Chapter of the National Association of Recording Arts and | ||
| Sciences; in recent years, he has continued to record prominent | ||
| Tejano artists while branching into other genres and collaborating | ||
| with up-and-coming local artists; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Dubbed "one of Tejano music's chief architects" by | ||
| the San Antonio Express-News, Gilbert Velasquez has made a lasting | ||
| cultural impact, and his work has enriched the lives of innumerable | ||
| people in Texas and beyond; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas | ||
| Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby honor Gilbert Velasquez for | ||
| his achievements in the music industry and extend to him sincere | ||
| best wishes for continued success; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for Mr. Velasquez as an expression of high regard by the | ||
| Texas House of Representatives. | ||
| Arévalo | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 435 was adopted by the House on August | ||
| 15, 2017, by a non-record vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
