TISH HINOJOSA
Singer/Songwriter
San Antonio, Texas; December 6, 1955 -
The cult presence of Selena has tended to obscure the deeper and ultimately more enduring contributions of Chicana artists, like the legendary Lydia Mendoza or contemporary musicians like Tish Hinojosa who carry on her legacy. The youngest of 13 children in an immigrant family, Tish was influenced early on by the Mexican radio stations that were a constant presence in the Hinojosa household. She took up guitar and singing at an early age, and actually made some recordings for a local Tejano label. In the late 1970s, however, Hinojosa moved to Northern New Mexico to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter. After a brief stay in Nashville, she returned to New Mexico where, in 1987, she recorded a promising debut cassette, Taos to Tennessee, backed by the local band, South By Southwest. A year later her husband was accepted to the University of Texas Law School, and they moved to Austin where her fortunes began to rise. A deal with A&M produced one highly acclaimed album, Homeland (produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos). It highlighted her lovely voice on original compositions with a true Southwestern feel ("Amanecer"), as well as a genuine concern with issues such as immigration ("Border Trilogy") and the hazards faced by migrant farmworkers ("Something in the Rain"). Her second recording for A&M (Culture Swing) stayed in the can, and Hinojosa was dropped when the label decided to go in a different musical direction.
Sadder but wiser, Hinojosa released two albums - Memorabilia Navidena and Aquella Noche - on Watermelon. Shortly thereafter, she got a deal with Rounder that led to the release of Culture Swing, a bilingual blend of Spanish/English musical styles and social consciousness that many consider Hinojosa's definitive effort. After a fine follow-up, Destiny's Gate, Hinojosa, backed by Santiago Jimenez and Mark Rubin (Bad Livers) embarked on an 11-city tour along the Tex-Mex border. Sponsored by Texas Folklife Resources, the Canciones y Corridos de la Frontera (Songs and Ballads of the Border) Tour included concerts and public school performances designed to keep traditional music alive for adults and new generations alike. Continuing in this vein, Hinojosa recorded Frontejas, an all Spanish recording of corridos (border songs) with guest appearances by Ray Benson, Brave Combo, and conjunto greats Eva Ybarra, Flaco Jimenez, and Santiago Jimenez. In 1996, she made a children's record, Cada Nino, Every Child. That was followed by a second album for Warner's, Dreaming From the Labyrinth, which found Hinojosa probing deeper into her cultural and spiritual heritage, with inspiration from Mexican literature (from Aztec poetry to Octavio Paz). That same year, Hinojosa performed at the White House and at the Olympics. In 1997, Watermelon issued The Best of Sandia, which packages Hinojosa's best material (including 4 previously unreleased songs) from 1991-1992; Warner and WEA International jointly released Sonar del Labertino - a Spanish version of Dreaming - for distribution in Central America and Mexico. In 1998, Tish and Warner agreed to go for the gold by having her do several "radio friendly" songs that hopefully would propel her into the national limelight and lead to a new full-length recording.
--David Goodman, author of Modern Twang: An Alternative Country Music Guide and Directory
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No Tour Dates Available |
12/15/2010 - Tish Hinojosa performs at Vineyard Playhouse -
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05/11/2007 - Singer leaves Austin for a Visalia visit -
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03/20/2007 - Tish Hinojosa to offer 'nice mix' of tunes at Casbeers -
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03/10/2006 - Summer of Arts acts announced -
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