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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Gilbert Velasquez of San Antonio has made |
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significant contributions to Texas music over the course of a |
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remarkable career spanning more than four decades; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Seguin and raised in the Alamo City, |
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Mr. Velasquez began playing guitar in church and then in garage |
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bands; he joined Chicano soul band The Royal Jesters in 1974 and |
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went on to perform for military troops in Europe and the Far East as |
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a member of Tejano band SugarJammer; after a stint with the group |
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People, he embarked on a 25-year affiliation with the legendary |
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Latin Breed; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Velasquez also worked as a studio musician and |
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became involved in arranging and recording; in the early 1980s, he |
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was hired as a staff producer for Cara Records, and he recorded and |
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produced such seminal groups as Mazz, La Mafia, Selena y Los Dinos, |
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Bobby Naranjo y Direccion, and Charro Band; he produced the |
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landmark CD Breakin' the Rules for Latin Breed, as well as Tejanos |
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for Hunger, featuring almost every top Tejano artist of the day; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1995, he launched his own production house, |
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Velasquez Productions, and a music publishing company; he also |
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traveled to Mexico during the 1990s to produce and engineer |
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recordings for Universal Mexico, EMI Mexico, Balboa Records, and |
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Discos MCM, mostly in the norteño and grupero genres; his work |
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continued to gain recognition, and in 2004, he received the first of |
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five Grammy Awards in the Best Tejano Album category; in addition, |
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he has collected five Latin Grammys, nine Tejano Awards, three |
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Tejano Academy Awards, and a Tejano Entertainers and Musicians |
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Association Award; he was inducted into the Tejano R.O.O.T.S. Hall |
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of Fame in 2006, and at the 2007 National Tejano Music Convention, |
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he was presented with the Tex-Mex Gibson Special Achievement in |
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Music Producing Award; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Velasquez serves on the board of governors of |
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the Texas Chapter of the National Association of Recording Arts and |
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Sciences; in recent years, he has continued to record prominent |
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Tejano artists while branching into other genres and collaborating |
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with up-and-coming local artists; and |
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WHEREAS, Dubbed "one of Tejano music's chief architects" by |
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the San Antonio Express-News, Gilbert Velasquez has made a lasting |
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cultural impact, and his work has enriched the lives of innumerable |
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people in Texas and beyond; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby honor Gilbert Velasquez for |
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his achievements in the music industry and extend to him sincere |
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best wishes for continued success; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Velasquez as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |