Rosita Fernandez
Rosita Fernández (Monterrey, 1919–San Antonio, Texas, 2006), was a Mexican-American popular singer and actress. She was named "San Antonio's First Lady of Song" by Lady Bird Johnson,[1] was a Tejano music singer, radio star, actress and humanitarian. She was born in Monterrey, Mexico and received her early education in Laredo, Texas. She moved with her family to San Antonio, Texas at age nine.[2]
She began her singing career at age 14, performing with her uncles in their group, Trio San Miguel.[1] In 1932, she became the star of a radio program on WOAI in San Antonio, and in 1933 recorded jingles for several radio commercials. In 1949,[1] she performed on the first broadcast on WOAI television, and later became a regular on several shows.[2]
In 1938, Fernandez married Raúl A. Almaguer, and the couple had two children.[2][3][4]
On the silver screen, she was cast as the main part in Sancho, The Homing Steer, a 1963 Disney made for TV movie. She also had roles in The Alamo with John Wayne in 1960, and in Three Hundred Miles for Stephanie, and Seguin.[2]
Beginning in the 1950s, Fernandez performed in the annual summer show Fiesta Noche del Rio at the Arneson River Theater on the San Antonio River. She also was a featured performer each spring at the A Night in Old San Antonio event at San Antonio's Fiesta celebration.[2]
Fernandez retired from performing in 1982. That same year, a bridge crossing the San Antonio River at the Arneson River Theater was named the "Rosita Bridge" in her honor. Other honors include induction into the San Antonio Musicians Hall of Fame in 1979, the Woman of the Year award in 1983, and induction into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame in 1984.[2]
Rosita Fernandez was named "San Antonio's First Lady of Song" for her sixty years of cultural contribution to the Mexican American musical traditions. She was a pioneer of corridos and ballads, which began much earlier than the mariachi movement. Rosita Fernández is now part of the Smithsonian Collections at the National Museum of American History with her china poblana dress, made in the 1960s.
- 1 2 3 UTSA Special Collections Top Shelf Blog
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 A Guide to the Rosita Fernandez Papers, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries (UTSA Libraries) Special Collections.
- ↑ Gender on the Borderlands: The Frontiers Reader - Page 183 Antonia Castañeda - 2007 She met her future husband, Raul Almaguer, while taking these evening classes (Fernández, interview, May 5, 2000).
- ↑ Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia - Page 256 Vicki Lynn Ruiz - 2006 "Fernández's career continued to advance following her marriage to Raul Almaguer on March 21, 1938, and the birth of their two children, Raul Javier and Diana Rosa Orellana. Fernández did not step out of the spotlight."
External links
- Rosita Fernandez at the Internet Movie Database
- New York Times obituary
- Interviews with Hattie Elam Briscoe, April 29, 1997, University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Oral History Collections, UA 15.01, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.
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