Chicano Country Music Icon Dies

(Mission, Texas) One of the icons of Chicano country music has died. Roland Garcia Sr. was 80.

Longtime Country Roland Band leader Roland Garcia Sr., whose family music group had its heyday during the late ’70s and early ’80s, died Thursday afternoon in Mission.

The man known as Country Roland retired from music about two and half years ago, but his impact was not forgotten, son Roland Garcia Jr. said Thursday.

Roland Garcia Sr.’s name became synonymous with Chicano country music — a mix of country songs in Spanish and classic Mexican songs with a new influence. As a small boy he learned to speak English by listening to country music, his son said.

“You have country. Then you have Tejano and then you have Country Roland,” Garcia Jr., also known as Country Roland Jr., said. “It’s maybe part of both, but it’s definitely its own genre. … It’s distinct.”

Here's a song by the Country Roland Band.




Those who live in areas along the US-Mexico border get accustomed to hearing Chicano and Chicano country music all the time. Although my music tastes are spectrum-wide, I find Chicano music particularly pleasing when coupled with a modicum of cerveza.