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Artist
Ruben Vela
12+ albums
tejanomexicotaurus
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Excerpt from The Monitor, McAllen, Texas, March 9, 2010 - HARLINGEN — Conjunto legend Ruben Vela’s career stretched from his boyhood in dusty South Texas dance halls to the days of the powermix and the music video. The accordion mastery that kept people dancing for more than half a century has been forever silenced. Vela, 72, died Tuesday evening at Valley Baptist Medical Center. Known as the "King of the Dance Hall Sound," Vela started recording in the 1950s but scored his biggest success at an age when most people start considering retirement. In the late 1990s, Vela’s hits "El Coco Rayado Powermix" and "La Papaya" brought the 60-year-old international fame and a whole new generation of fans. Vela’s distinctive style kept dance hall crowds moving during a performing career that began when he was only 12. Whether it was a polka, ranchera or cumbia, the dance floor was always full when Vela started playing. Also from The Monitor, McAllen, Texas, March 9, 2010 - Born May 10, 1937 in San Antonio, Mexico, Vela grew up in Relampago and Mercedes. The Velas were a musical family and Ruben’s nine brothers and one sister could all play instruments. When he turned 11, Vela’s mother spent the princely sum of $70 to buy Vela his first accordion. Vela practiced day and night. At dances and quinceañeras, he would watch the playing of conjunto pioneers such as Narciso Martinez, Valerio Longoria, and in particular, Tony de la Rosa. By the next year he felt ready to start performing i
