On Tejano Music 3: Aesthetics of Hair, Clothing, and Colorings

A seasoned Musician (Vocals, Guitar and Piano), Filmmaker, and Actor, J.D. Mata has composed 100 songs and performed 100 shows and venues throughout. He has been a regular at the legendary ‘Whisky a Go Go,’ where he has wooed audiences with his original shamanistic musical performances. He has written and directed nerous feature films, web series, and music videos. J.D. has also appeared in various national T.V. commercials and shows. Memorable appearances are TRUE BLOOD (HBO) as Tio Luca, THE UPS Store National television commercial, and the lead in the Lil Wayne music video, HOW TO LOVE, with over 129 million views. As a MOHAWK MEDICINE MAN, J.D. also led the spiritual-based film KATERI, which won the prestigious ‘Capex Dei’ award at the Vatican in Rome. J.D. co-starred, performed and wrote the music for the original world premiere play, AN ENEMY of the PUEBLO — by one of today’s preeminent Chicana writers, Josefina Lopez! This is J.D.’s third Fringe; last year, he wrote, directed and starred in the Fringe Encore Performance award-winning ‘A Night at the Chicano Rock Opera.’ He is in season 2 of his NEW YouTube series, ROCK god! J.D. is a native of McAllen, Texas and resides in North Hollywood, California.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Music tends to be associated with sound and people groups, as well as style, dress, colours, food, and even something as specific as ‘wedding music.’ It comes with a whole ceremony around weddings. So, with Tejano, what kind of colours or cultural artifacts are associated with it?
J.D. Mata: That’s an interesting question and topic. When I was playing Tejano music back in the 80s, it was everything you saw in terms of 80s style:
Parachute pants
Tight Sergio Valente jeans with boots
Hot pink colours
A very Michael Jackson-esque type of wardrobe—almost glam
It was glam Tejano. There were a lot of bright colours: hot pinks, reds, fuchsias, aquas, and bolo ties. I’ll send you a picture of one of the Tejano bands I was in, and you can get a cool idea. You can post about the style of the 80s in this episode. As with any other band, and I still do this, you have artistic license to dress up. Anything goes for concerts and performances. I just got back now. I was a little late to our session because I went to a second-hand store to find some clothes for a photo session. I found this cool vintage jacket. I wouldn’t wear it to my best friend’s wedding or a funeral, but it’s great for the stage. It looks cool, hip, tight-fitting, and very uncomfortable, but you pay the price to look interesting. The more interesting, the better.
Anything goes, yes, it does. There is a certain degree of astuteness, but some of the most ridiculous stuff is the most popular. You look at Gilbert O’Sullivan; he used to dress as a schoolboy. The guy from AC/DC also had that schoolboy outfit, which is ridiculous, but it works. And Selena was very a lot the same. Despite being a great singer with great songs and a band, her wardrobe was incredible. She designed her wardrobe. It was a little bit risqué. It’s legendary that her father was very pissed off at first when she started wearing this risqué type of outfit on stage. She was quite young, too.
Jacobsen: She was very young. People were probably aesthetically protective of her, too.
Mata: Oh yes, for sure, for sure.
Jacobsen: Would you say the Mexican part of the culture in Tejano music is more conservative, familially, and modest than American?
Mata: 100%, yes.
Jacobsen: Do you think they’re at the root of it?
Mata: Yes, they’ve been at the root of it. Even some of the ruto bands, which are very traditional Mexican roots, would wear traditional cowboy hats and jeans, which are very conservative for musicians. But Tejano artists, who were Texans and U.S. citizens of Mexican heritage—that’s where Tejano comes from, Texas, Mexicano, Tejano—combined the two words. It’s the American way of saying you’re Mexican-American and defining the music. Even though our families were very conservative, we became artistically licensed to the nth degree with our wardrobe.
Now, that’s for concerts. A lot of Tejano artists played weddings and quinceañeras. So there was a uniform for concerts and another for weddings and quinceañeras, and that’s how you made a lot of your money. Of course, it would be a little more conservative for those events: some nice coats, sports jackets, and many tuxedos. The guys would wear tuxedos and suits, but everyone would dress the same. Usually, everyone wore the same colour, but the lead singer always wore something different to stand out. Bling is also important—something that sparkles, like necklaces.
Jacobsen: Bejewelled…
Mata: Yes, yes.
Jacobsen: Crusted shapes or crosses or…
Mata: Yes, crosses and anything goes, man, it’s all.
Jacobsen: It’s overtly colourful and flashy but in a modest, conservative way.
Mata: Copy that.
Jacobsen: Is that fair?
Mata: Yes, that’s very fair to say.
Jacobsen: Whereas if you had more American influence than Mexican influence on the culture’s aesthetic, it would probably be more colourful and flashy in a sexualized way.
Mata: Correct, yes.
Jacobsen: So these pinks and reds and fuchsias, where did they have their roots?
Mata: Where did they have their roots? Yes, so the roots came from watching MTV.
Jacobsen: What’s the zeitgeist of the day?
Mata: It was the 80s. The zeitgeist was almost, again, almost Astro outfits. So yes, regarding the colours, the Fuchsias were big. The brighter, the better. So that was the root. What I am proud of and what makes Tejano stand out is that Tejano was its beast.
Of course, Tejano music evolved from the German polka, but we had no predecessors. We were the pioneers of Tejano music, and therefore, we were also the pioneers of wardrobe choices. We were influenced by the zeitgeist I’ve discussed, but at the end of the day, we created our image. If you look at Tejano artists, that’s a very interesting question.
We’ve yet to explore this topic extensively, but it’s another groundbreaking topic for us in terms of Tejano music. What makes this series interesting and different is that nobody’s ever asked that question about the wardrobe in Tejano music.
Jacobsen: So, yes, where did the colours come from? Well, the colours came from our minds. It was an unconscious choice influenced by the zeitgeist of the 80s. Most Tejano artists grew up with Tejano music in the 70s. The 70s also had a grungier style with long hair compared to the 60s and 70s. So, it was a 70s unconscious influence because we were 70s kids who came into our own in the 80s. Unconsciously, we had the blueprint of how Chicano bands dressed. They would wear bright-coloured tuxedos too.
One could probably postulate that the bright colours of the 1980s—fuchsias, purples, greens, aquas—were influenced by the zeitgeist of the 1980s. But I now think we were probably more influenced by the ’70s Chicano bands and their bright tuxedos than the ’80s bright colours. It was probably 70% influenced by the Chicano bands and 30% by the ’80s hip hop and Michael Jackson style.
Jacobsen: What made it sparkle?
Mata: Oh yes, that’s a very good question—many times we had to buy the stuff ourselves. I remember we had glue guns and would go to the craft store to buy these leather sparklies. We put them on our clothing. We had to invent our sparkles. There were some stores like Merry-Go-Round and Chess King, but that was expensive. All the money we made went to buy equipment, speakers, and enhancement equipment. We were good entrepreneurs; we put our money back into our business. We were industrious. They say necessity is the mother of invention. Selena did that, too; she made her sparkles. Most artists I know created their sparkles.
Jacobsen: Given its flair, this clothing requires extra fabric and material. It will weigh more, and the material will likely be thicker. Yet, in the earlier session, you described how early Tejano artists would travel in difficult weather to blue-collar worksites. How does that make it a harder work environment for the performers wearing this heavy, thicker clothing in a hot, sometimes humid environment?
Mata: That’s great; you’re asking some great questions. This is stuff that I have yet to hear discussed when talking about Tejano music. What’s fascinating is that you’re triggering some memories. I should know. We would look great on stage, but you would want to avoid getting near us. When you got close, we were stinky, man. Because you would have to wear the clothing, it was rarely washed. It’s just a reality. I’m speaking from my frame of reference.
When you’re writing songs, rehearsing, trying to find the next gig, and travelling to the next gig, the last thing you want to do is laundry. At least I can speak for myself. There were about four or five rotations of wardrobe that you go through before it gets a nice wash. You’re on stage for two or three hours, getting sweaty, and it gets a little musky. Then you’ve already been the next day for two or three days. It does get uncomfortable, and the sweat, but I tell you what, for me, if you’re not sweating on stage and your wardrobe doesn’t feel wet and a little bit heavy, you’re not doing it right. You’ve got to feel all that. You’ve got to go through all that wardrobe purgatory if you will.
Jacobsen: You suffer with the workers on stage.
Mata: You suffer with the workers on stage, indeed, yes.
Jacobsen: International statistics, as a note, are very clear. The longest working hours per year of any culture is Mexican culture. So, this culture is about hard work. It’s a culture that outdoes even the Protestant work ethic. Americans work a lot, Canadians work a lot, and Koreans work a lot, but Mexicans, as a culture and as a nationality, portray that. This is the World Economic Forum. These are serious people. In Mexico, they work approximately 2,255 hours annually, averaging 43 weekly. That is more than anyone, even if you take Europe. The longest work year of hours for the Europeans is for the Greeks, and they only come out at 2,035. So the Greeks are at 220 hours fewer, even as the hardest working Western European or European country. This builds on the fact that these performers are in complete stench, suffering, and performing while enjoying every minute.
Mata: To piggyback on what you’re saying, there’s the setup—that’s much work. Then, after the show, you’ve got to tear down. Unless you’re one of these big, famous Mexican Tejano bands and have some roadies, you do it all yourself. But again, I’m speaking for myself when I did Tejano and even today. I love that aspect of it. I love setting up, the performance, and tearing down. As you said, in terms of the work ethic, 100%, it’s work. It’s much work, and there’s much pride. There’s much physical labour involved. It’s much physical exertion, but it’s not work because I’m passionate about it. I love it so a lot. I don’t mind. I see setting up equipment and speakers and lugging around the keyboard and various guitars, and it’s heavy going up and down my stairs because I keep my stuff in my apartment. I see it as exercise, too; it’s great exercise. That’s my view.
Jacobsen: There needs to be more time in the day.
Mata: Yes, there needs to be more time in the day. No, there’s not. For my fellow Tejano artists, they are some of the hardest workers I know. Even the landscapers, you talk about Mexicans, you see them working their asses off. Why? Because they take pride in their work. They know exactly what they’re doing. We’re passionate about what we do. We’re very, very passionate about what we do. As a filmmaker, too, I drive my actors and crew crazy. I can go 24 hours nonstop because I am passionate about it. One could say, ‘Wow, J.D. has a great work ethic.’ Yes, but I also adore what I do. When you adore what you do and are called for it, you’re summoned, and it’s not even working.
Jacobsen: Can you do anything with your wardrobe to make it more bearable? Can you open the shirt, cut the sleeves, or put little holes in the clothing?
Mata: Man, again, very astute. The wardrobe will evolve. You cut the sleeves off, and the buttons fall off. This coat no longer has any buttons. You pull the rest of them off.
Jacobsen: There is too much moisture, heat, and dust. Movement wears down clothes.
Mata: It does. Look at the jeans I’m wearing now.
Jacobsen: Oh, yes.
Mata: I didn’t buy them like that. It’s just from work ethic. But I use these for photo shoots now. They’re popular. People wear them; you have to go with them, right? So, if some of the bling falls off, you replace it with a new one. Some red rubies, now you put green rubies instead or blue rubies: plastic, not actual rubies, but little plastic things. Yes, wardrobe is an important and underrated aspect of the Tejano industry. It’s as important as the sound, the way you look. Yes, for sure.
Jacobsen: It’s different than someone like Mick Jagger standing on stage with a sleeveless T-shirt.
Mata: Oh, yes, yes. No, no, no, no. You won’t see Tejano artists doing that. Again, you touched on that earlier in that the culture is conservative. That would be too much if you dressed like The Stones on stage as a Tejano band because most of your audiences are not stoner rock and rollers. These people go to work every day, dress nicely, and still wear very conservative clothing. So, if you see a band up there that looks like a bunch of homeless Tejano artists, you could try it, but I haven’t seen anyone dress like that. Again, you touched on whether conservatism influences wardrobe earlier. In that regard, yes.
Jacobsen: Are the fabrics mostly polyester cotton?
Mata: Yes, they are. Polyester cotton, absolutely, yes.
Jacobsen: No camel hair?
Mata: No, no camel hair, no. Maybe some, but yes, mainly polyester cotton.
Jacobsen: That’s probably the North, the American influence more than…
Mata: Yes, for sure, for sure.
Jacobsen: Just production.
Mata: Yes. So, let’s talk about it. Part of the wardrobe is shoes and boots. Boots are very popular among Tejano artists. Back when I was young, we would wear cool ’80s boots. We can get away with wearing sneakers; what do you call those, those Converse types?
Jacobsen: Converse, the flat-footed ones?
Mata: Yes, the flat-footed ones.
Mata: Yes, yes, exactly. Those are good with some nice pants and stuff, yes. Shoes are also very, very important. You won’t see anybody go up there in flip-flops. Usually, they’ll have some nice boots or nice Converse shoes. Nothing raggedy. Again, no grunge. There is no grunge in the Tejano market. There is no room for grunge.
Jacobsen: Do the styles differ a lot between men and women? Or are the colours the same, but the dress code for men and women and the shape are the same?
Mata: Yes, for sure. Women, the Tejano artists, do wear tight-fitted clothing. There’s a certain amount of sexiness involved, which is great. It’s part of their exuberant passion and beauty, their love for the art of music. Sexiness in terms of the dance—when you dance to Tejano music, you’re close. When you’re dancing, it’s a very passionate, very sexy dance. Therefore, the wardrobe for women will reflect that sexiness, too. People wear sexy outfits when they go dancing. You want to look good; you want to look passionate. So you wear clothes that reflect that. Therefore, the artist will also wear clothes that reflect what their audience is wearing. Again, these are concerts, clubs, if you’re playing clubs. Again, if you’re playing weddings and quinceañeras, you are mirroring what the audience is wearing—some nice suits; you want to look good.
Jacobsen: What kind of earrings?
Mata: Oh yes, earrings are good. Dangly earrings for the guys. One ear at the most. Most guys would wear either a stud or a diamond on one side. The women would wear more extravagant earrings. The guys wore just one earring, a stud or a diamond. That was acceptable in terms of Tejano music.
Jacobsen: The hair stays long?
Mata: In the 80s, it was the mullet. Now, it’s long or short—it’s all relative.
Jacobsen: All right, we’ll call it a day. I’ll see you next week.
Mata: Thanks, Scott. Happy belated birthday.
Jacobsen: Thank you very much
Mata: You sound great.
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Image Credit: J.D. Mata.