[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 52 (Wednesday, April 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E589-E590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO FREDDY FENDER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 21, 2004

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an American 
patriot, cultural icon, and leader in our South Texas community: Freddy 
Fender, an accomplished artist whose appeal is ageless. Freddy proved 
his everlasting influence in 2002 when he won the Grammy for Best Latin 
Pop Album and again this year, as the Texas Folklife Resources 
celebrated 50 years of Freddy's music with a concert as part of its 
Folk Masters series on Saturday, April 10, 2004, at the Paramount 
Theatre in Austin, Texas.
  A San Benito, Texas, native and legendary performer, Freddy was born 
Baldemar Huerta. He began his career as teenager recording popular 
English language songs in Spanish that found an audience in Mexico and 
Latin America in the 1950s. In the 1960's his career took off in the 
United States with the hit, ``Wasted Days and Wasted Nights.''
  Those wild, early days eventually put him on more disciplined path. 
He went back to school and worked as a mechanic, but he continued 
singing.

[[Page E590]]

  His number one hit, ``Before the Next Teardrop Falls,'' was his re-
entry into popular culture. That album went multi-platinum, and Fender 
won best male artist of 1976. In the latter part of the century, he 
spread his wings, expanded upon his talent and worked with Robert 
Redford in the movie The Milagro Beanfield War and other non-
traditional projects.
  He found his stride, working in different parts of the entertainment 
industry. But he never strayed far from the bounds of music, working 
with The Texas Tornados.
  Freddy and his family have been tested in the fires of a near-death 
experience. After a protracted illness, Freddy received a kidney from 
his daughter, cheating death, and still singing and writing his songs.
  Freddy's Grammy Award-winning album in 2002 captured the yearning for 
a simple, romantic return to youth. The cover has a 4-year-old Baldemar 
Huerta dressed as a cowboy astride a painted pony. ``La Musica de 
Baldemar Huerta'' is 10 boleros with little accompaniment. Boleros are 
poignant ballads generally featuring sophisticated guitar picking and 
sensual rhythms.
  The biggest thing for which Freddy is known in South Texas is his 
generosity of spirit in establishing a scholarship fund for average 
students. An average student himself, and an avowed troublemaker in his 
youth, he has a unique understanding of the challenges before a young 
person who has either made a mistake, made only average grades, or 
both.
  I ask the House of Representatives to join me--and the Texas Folklife 
Resources--in honoring Freddy Fender a great American treasure, a South 
Texan, a friend, and lifelong cultural icon in North American music.

                          ____________________