Juan Tejeda

Juan TejedaJuan Tejeda is a musician, writer, ex-jefe danzante Mexica-Azteca, arts administrator, educator, activist, editor and publisher. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Chicano Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and his Master of Arts degree in Bicultural Studies from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

For eighteen years (1980-1998), he was the Xicano Music Program Director for the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center where, among his many duties, he created the internationally renowned Tejano Conjunto Festival en San Antonio and directed it during its first seventeen years; created and edited the GCAC Newsletter and Tonantzin; directed the Performing Arts Series; produced the opera Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe which was composed by Dr. Edward C. Garza; created and implemented music classes for the community (including classes in the button accordion, bajo sexto, voice, violin, guitar, Latin percussion, mariachi group, and others); and produced various live audio/video productions including The Best of the Tejano Conjunto Festival (1989, 1997, and more recently, eight CD's from 2008-2015), and The Best of the 11th Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival, 1992 (video). He still works as a consultant for the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center and the Tejano Conjunto Festival.

He has written and lectured extensively on the history and socio-cultural significance and importance of Tejano and Conjunto music and is the co-editor of the acclaimed book Puro Conjunto: An Album in Words and Pictures/Writings, Posters, and Photographs from the Tejano Conjunto Festival en San Antonio, 1982-1998 (2001), published by the Center for Mexican American Studies/University of Texas at Austin and the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center and distributed by the University of Texas Press. He wrote the Preface and captions for John Dyer’s historic book of photographs, Conjunto (2005/University of Texas Press), and he is also the author of a book of poems, short stories and songs entitled Enamorado, en la guerra, y reconociendo la tierra, Aztlan ’76-’78 (1980/M&A Editions, San Antonio, Texas).

Learn more about Juan:
https://juantejeda.net/