Little Joe & La Familia
Para la Gente
Album · Tex-Mex · 1972
Already a major figure in Tejano music, "Little Joe" Hernandez embraced Chicano pride on this 1972 album, which aimed to expand the style's possibilities. While some songs feature traditional ranchero sounds, the best ones stretch the boundaries. "Las Nubes" touches on big-band jazz and is recorded in both English and Spanish. "This Time" is a straight-up pop song with a hint of Bacharach in the arrangement, while "La Tuna" is a hot slab of Latin rock with echoes of War and early Santana.