Roberto Pulido
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This Week in Texas Music History, we’ll meet an eager student of music who went on to mentor many other young players.
Roberto Pulido was born on March 1, 1950, in Edinburg, Texas. As part of a migrant farming family, he learned to play music from his father and uncle while working in the fields. Pulido played saxophone in high school, and did so well that he earned a music scholarship to attend Pan American University in Edinburg.
After graduating, he taught high school before eventually launching his own successful recording career. By the late 1970s, Pulido had become one of the most popular Tejano singers in the Southwest.
Roberto Pulido helped redefine the modern Tejano sound by blending country music with Mexican folk traditions. As a result, he was a major influence on such younger Tejano recording artists as Emilio Navaira and Ricky Treviño, as well as his own children, Bobby and Alma.
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