Los Donneños were a 1950s Mexican Norteño duo formed by Ramiro Cavazos and Mario Montes and named after Donna, Texas. Ramiro Cavazos was the lead singer and played the bajo sexto, while Mario Montes was second voice and played the accordion. On some recordings they were joined by a string bass player, Rafael Gaspar.
Formation
Cavazos met Montes while working as a migrant laborer near Donna, Texas. They had been acquainted through their manual labor, but joined forces musically after Cavazos noticed Montes playing music by the side of the road. They formed a duet named after the Texas town, and continued to work as migrant laborers even after making records for Falcon Records and developing a following that spanned both sides of the United States-Mexican border. In the 1970s and 1980s Ramiro Cavazos had a record store on South 23rd Street in McAllen, Texas.
Later years
Montes died on 28 January 1993 and Cavazos continued performing with other musicians. In 2010, Cavazos participated in a recording that brought together other veteran stars of the norteño genre, including Hector Montemayor, Lorenzo de Monteclaro, and Poncho Villagomez, calling themselves Los Amigos Desde el Rancho.
References
- arhoolie.com Bio They were native from General Teran, Nuevo León, México.Accordion Dreams: Pioneers And Innovators
- Ragland, Cathy (2009). Música Norteña: Mexican Migrants Creating a Nation Between Nations. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-59213-746-6. - Limited access
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