Freddy Fender’s daughter to read excerpt from the first volume of Fender’s biography
Photo courtesy of Tammy Lorraine Huerta Fender
EDINBURG, Texas — The Museum of South Texas History will host a Sunday Speaker Series presentation, “Freddy Fender’s Meteoric Rise to Stardom,” featuring author Tammy Lorraine Huerta Fender at 2 p.m. on July 23.
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Huerta Fender authored the first volume of a three-part biography on the true-life story of her father, the late Baldemar Huerta known as Freddy Fender, the King of Tex-Mex. Volume I: “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights: A Meteoric Rise to Stardom” is published through Xlibris.
Huerta Fender will read the introduction from the biography and describe the depth of Fender’s mindset and childhood. Growing up fatherless, Fender and his younger siblings became migrant workers. They grew up in San Benito in an environment that amplified Fender’s musical talents and the colorful life he led in this South Texas town. The author will describe her father’s “raw reality of the oncoming obstacles and demons that would challenge him throughout his adult life.”
Huerta Fender will start the presentation with a short introduction followed by a Q&A session and a viewing of a short documentary on Freddy Fender. Copies of the book, “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights,” will be available for purchase at the Museum Store and will be signed by Huerta Fender after the presentation. Fender-themed T-shirts will also be available.
Fender sang for four presidents at their inaugurations. He holds a Star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is a Grammy-award winner. He achieved numerous awards and sang for kings in a musical career that spanned 60 years. Huerta Fender states that “she is honoring her father’s last wish: Freddy wanted an authentic, uncompromising book to be written about his life.”
Sunday Speaker Series is included in the fee for regular museum admission. FRIENDS of MOSTHistory are admitted free as a benefit of FRIENDship and must present their FRIENDship card at the Admissions Desk.
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This program is made possible with generous support from the Carmen C. Guerra Endowment. Mrs. Guerra was deeply committed to supporting educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley. This named endowment was created at the museum by her family to honor her memory and to continue her commitment to providing opportunities for education to the community.
About Museum of South Texas History
The Museum of South Texas History is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It is located downtown Edinburg at 200 North Closner Boulevard on the Hidalgo County Courthouse square. Founded in 1967 as the Hidalgo County Historical Museum in the 1910 Hidalgo County Jail, the museum has grown over the decades through a series of expansions to occupy a full city block. In 2003, following the completion of a 22,500 square foot expansion, the museum was renamed the Museum of South Texas History to better reflect its regional scope. Today, the museum preserves and presents the borderland heritage of South Texas and Northeastern Mexico through its permanent collection and the Margaret H. McAllen Memorial Archives and exhibits spanning prehistory through the 20th century. For more information about MOSTHistory, including becoming a FRIEND, visit MOSTHistory.org, like us on Facebook and Instagram, follow on Twitter, find on YouTube or call +1-956-383-6911.
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