The City of La Feria will open its doors and close Main Street once again to welcome visitors to the 22nd Annual Fiesta de La Feria on Friday, February 27 through Saturday, February 28 in downtown La Feria. Admission is FREE!

Last week we put a spotlight on one of the legendary conjunto performers scheduled to appear at this year’s event, Gilberto Perez. This week we highlight the headlining acts for this year’s Fiesta celebration.

La Sombra

Performing Friday, Feb. 27th • 8:30-10:00 pm

La Sombra de Chicago or La Sombra de Tony Guerrero was a Tejano band founded by brothers, Tony and Gavino Guerrero. Originally from the Chicago suburb of Aurora, Illinois, the group gained national acclaim and success after moving to Corpus Christi, Texas, the headquarters of their label, Freddie Records.

La Sombra released over twenty full-length studio albums featuring songs in both Spanish and English. Following numerous line-up changes, the group disbanded in briefly in 1995, reuniting in 2008 for a number of live shows. La Sombra is currently recording an upcoming comeback release entitled “Guess Who’s Back? Tony G y La Sombra de Chicago” with a release date yet to be announced.

La Sombra has been credited with influencing the Tejano and cumbia music fields in terms of musical style, dress, and concert performances as well as a generation of newer artists including the Kumbia Kings.

Ricardo Castillón y La Diferenzia

Performing Saturday, Feb. 28th • 9:30-11:00 pm

Musical inheritance came at an early age for Ricardo Castillón as he picked up a guitar and soon learned how to play. Following his father’s footsteps at age 12 and joining La Conexion Tejana, it immediately became a musical family affair for Castillón in the small, south Texas town of La Pryor.

With several years of experience under his belt, Castillón decided to take control of his talent in the early 1990s, forming his own band with childhood confidant Jose Luis Benavides. Ricardo Castillón y La Diferenzia, based out of San Antonio, Texas, quickly drew popularity making waves among radio listeners across their genre.

After the release of their self-titled debut in 1994, La Diferenzia won the hearts of their fans with chart topping hits such as “Si Lo Quieres,” “Linda Chaparrita,” and “Mundo Sin Guitarras” which soon revolved the group’s LP to gold, then platinum status.

La Diferenzia’s quick success took them by storm, conquering venues across the country and landing the progressive Tejano super group onto several popular Hispanic TV shows such as “Sabado Gigante,” “Onda Max,” “Despierta America” and “Primer Impacto,” as well as garnering Grammy and Premio Lo Nuestro nominations.

Since then, Castillón’s musical journey traveled through a few curves in the road, from changing lanes onto a successful solo career in 1999 to veering off into a five-year hiatus. During that time, Castillón developed an interesting blend of riffs and melodies, mixing sounds of cumbia, country, Latin pop, mariachi and reggaeton, for his 2007 comeback solo CD, Nueva Fusion.

Two years down the road and after reintroducing himself to old and new fans alike, Castillón has recently released another CD entitled, Siempre En Mi Mente.

“Siempre En Mi Mente is exactly that—a collection of hit songs from some of the most admired songwriters/artists that have influenced my career,” said Castillón. “The concept behind this CD has been lingering in my mind for some time, and I decided this was the right time to record these songs with my own interpretation.”

Released in August 2009 on Pueblo Entertainment Records, Siempre En Mi Mente contains songs that once topped International Billboard charts in the 1970s and although younger La Diferenzia fans might not remember some of the tunes, they are all “Tejano to the core” with a contemporary twist added by Castillón.

Call it another comeback, or chalk it up as another stroke of genius from one of Tejano’s progressive masterminds in music. Either way, Ricardo Castillón is sure to make many more waves with Siempre En Mi Mente, sweeping his fans off their feet and onto the airwaves and dance floors across the country once again.

MUSIC SCHEDULE

Friday, February 27, 2015

Tita’s Stage (Commercial)

12:00 – 4:15 p.m. CD Music
4:15 – 4:45 p.m. La Feria High School Ballet Folklorico
4:45 – 4:50 p.m. Welcome – Mayor
4:50 – 5:00 p.m. Invocation – Pastor Daily
5:00 – 5:05 p.m. National Anthem & Flag Raising
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Mercy Town
6:45 – 8:15 p.m. Whiskey D.
8:30 – 10:00 p.m. La Sombra

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Tita’s Stage (Commercial)

10:00 – 10:15 a.m. CD Music
10:15 – 10:20 a.m. Welcome – Mayor
10:20 – 10:25 a.m. Invocation – Father Franco
10:30 – 10:40 a.m. Proclamation – Rep. Oscar Longoria
10:55 – 11:00 a.m. National Anthem & Flag Raising
11:00 – 11:30 a.m. El Mariachi Mundial
11:30 – 12:00 p.m. La Feria HS Ballet Folklorico
12:15 – 1:15 p.m. Native American Performance
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Route 66
2:45 – 3:45 p.m. Highway 100
4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Los Angeles del Sur
6:15 – 7:15 p.m. Gilberto Perez
7:30 – 9:00 p.m. ZZ Nott
9:30 – 11:00 p.m. Ricardo Castillon y La Differencia