History & Mission

Mission

The mission of ALMA (meaning "soul" in English) is to increase knowledge and awareness in the community about local musicians and important historical figures in Austin’s Latino music scene, provide exposure and resources to local musicians, and to foster the development of young musicians who will keep Latino musical styles and traditions alive in the Capitol City.

Activity 1 - Music Production

To fulfill its mission, ALMA produces a variety of music programs.  The longest running program was first produced in 2001 and is called “Sonidos del Barrio” (i.e., Sounds of the Barrio).  The music series is intended to showcase a broad array of Latino musical styles.  “Sonidos del Barrio” Programs were produced on the following dates and featured the listed artists:
October 2, 2001
Grupo Fantasma, La Tribu
November 6, 2001
Nash Hernandez Orchestra, Manuel “Cowboy” Donley y Las Estrellas
December 11, 2001
Ruben & Alfonso Ramos
July 30, 2002
Del Castillo, Willie Santiago & Jazz P.R., C’est La Vie
November 14, 2002
Ghandaia, Del Castillo, Teye y Viva El Flamenco
February 24, 2004
Santiago Jimenez Jr., Johnny Degollado, Jesse y Beto Duran y Los Aguilillas, Los Pinky’s
May 19, 2006
Rick Trevino, Bert Rivera & the Ramblers, Justin Trevino with Special Guest Bobby Flores
May 25, 2007
Tres, Tumbateo, Djangos' Moustache & "The Jazzmanian Devil" Tomas Ramirez

 

In May 2005, ALMA established the “Sabor Latino” (i.e., Latin Flavor) noon-concert series.  The City of Austin co-sponsored the music series with ALMA.  Performances took place every Friday during the month of May.  The City of Austin continued the Friday noon-concert series through the month of October as the “Live from the Plaza” noon-concert series.  The performances that take place during the month of May as part of the “Live from the Plaza” music series continue to feature Latino musicians.  ALMA hopes to revive the “Sabor Latino” series in a somewhat different format.

 

In 2006, ALMA worked with a variety of community partners to designate May as Latino Music Month and helped to produce and promote various events during the month of May.  ALMA’s website is the host for the calendar for Latino Music Month.  This year ALMA hopes to produce another installment of “Sonidos del Barrio” that will highlight local Latin Jazz bands and musicians.  ALMA is also working with other local venues to have the last weekend in May be “Latin Jazz Weekend” in Austin.
Click here for more information about Latino Music Month.

 

On July 20, 2007, ALMA sponsored a local celebration of the music of Carlos Santana since July 20, 2007 marked his 60th birthday. In the late 1960's Carlos Santana & his band created a distinctive sound that fused many musical styles including rock, blues, jazz as well as Caribbean and Brazilian musical styles. Santana has influenced several generations of guitar players all over the world and has inspired many with his positive message of peace and unity. The event that ALMA sponsored was called "Santana-rama" and due to the great response, ALMA is planning to continue this program in 2008. The 2007 line-up included performances by El Tule, the Gustavo Rodriguez Band, Alter Ego (a teen rock band), special appearances by guitarists Buzz Guerra & Richard Segura, as well as video footage of vintage Santana at Woodstock, the Ed Sullivan Show, etc.

Activity 2 - Artist Recognition

ALMA has established a lifetime achievement award called "Idolos del Barrio" (i.e., Barrio Idols) to recognize influential Latino musicians, promoters and broadcasters from Austin.  Click here for a list of award recipients and brief artist biographies.


“The Trail of Tejano Legends” is a project that provides recognition to several local Latino musicians who were an integral part of Austin’s music scene in the 1940’s and 1950’s.  In some instances, the selected artists continue to perform to this date.  Many of these artists were/are recognized inside and outside of Austin and, in some instances, have received very prestigious awards.  All of these artists at one time or another lived in East Austin, and so this proposal highlights the contribution of these East Austin artists and thus to preserve this part of East Austin’s rich cultural history in a unique and exciting way.  The Trail of Tejano Legends helps to highlight artists that contributed to Austin’s live music scene long before Austin became know as the “Live Music Capital of the World.” 
Through this proposal, ALMA proposed to name a series of publicly-owned facilities in honor of local Latino music legends and to create a trail by which to link these facilities.  In May 2006. the City Council voted to approve the naming of the facilities, the creation of the “Trail of Tejano Legends” and the allocation of approximately $150,000 for establishing and improving the trail.  ALMA worked with the City of Austin to select an artist who will be responsible for designing and constructing public artwork to be installed along the trail.  In the future, ALMA hopes to further beautify the areas along the trail as well as to expand the trail to include tributes to other important Austin Latino musicians.
The following facilities were named in honor of the noted families and/or musicians:

(A) The Grand Plaza at the Mexican American Cultural Center were named in honor of the PEREZ & RAMOS FAMILIES

(B) Festival Beach Road was re-named in honor of NASH HERNANDEZ

(C) The Fiesta Gardens Pavilion was named in honor of JOHNNY DEGOLLADO

(D) Dedicate a small neighborhood park adjacent to the Holly Power Plant in honor of MANUEL “COWBOY” DONLEY and his brother ROBERT DONLEY.

(E) The Scenic Overlook located near the intersection of Canterbury Street and Pleasant Valley Road was named in honor of ROY MONTELONGO. (F) Established a small neighborhood park/plaza in the abandoned Medina Street right-of-way between E. 5th St. and E. 6th St. and named the park/plaza in honor of MATT VELASQUEZ and his brother ROY VELASQUEZ.

Click here for more information about the Trail of Tejano Legends.

Manuel “Cowboy” Donley Museum

In July 2007, the Austin City Council approved funding for construction of the Manuel "Cowboy" Donley Museum. As part of the creation of the Trail of Tejano Legends, a park was named in honor of Manuel Donley and his brother Robert Donley.  Through this proposal, ALMA hopes to establish a small museum honoring the musical career of Manuel Donley at Donley Park.  Manuel Donley is considered to be a pioneer of Tejano music and has been the leader of a Tejano orchestra for almost 60 years.  He has been a teacher, mentor and collaborator of many Austin Tejano music legends.  Manuel Donley was inducted into the Tejano Music Hall of Fame in 1986.  ALMA will be responsible for operating the museum.

Activity 3 - Music and Artist Promotion

Last year, ALMA launched a website for the purpose of highlighting its programs as well as Austin Latino music in general.  The website includes a music calendar feature that is intended to provide a listing of Latino music performances taking place in and around Austin.  The website also includes an artist directory that provides a listing of local Latino musicians.  ALMA’s promotion of Latino artists and musical styles through its website helps to highlight Austin’s diversity as well as an element of Austin’s music and arts scene that thus far has not historically received the attention it deserves.

In the future, ALMA may choose to produce music compilations that feature local Latino musicians and/or to make available the music of local artists (past and present) on its website.  ALMA may also choose to publish and disseminate a newsletter to highlight its programs as well as information about Latino music activities that are taking place in Austin.

ALMA Structure and Operations

ALMA is incorporated as a non-profit corporation with the State of Texas and has submitted its application for designation as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation by the IRS.  The regular board meetings are scheduled for the first Wednesday of the month.  ALMA also convenes a Steering Committee to help with the planning and promotions for Latino Music Month.

ALMA’s activities are funded through ALMA’s fundraising efforts that include corporate sponsorships, governmental support, and entry fees at some of the events.  The Austin Community Foundation serves as the fiscal sponsor for ALMA.