9. LYDIA MENDOZA

Armed with a hefty 12-string guitar and an arresting voice uniquely capable of conveying raw emotion, Lydia Mendoza was the first Queen of Tejano. She was born in Houston to parents who fled Mexico during the revolution. They struggled to make ends meet, so she sang for change and food with her family in San Antonio and through the lower Rio Grande Valley. Mendoza recorded “Mal Hombre” in 1934 for RCA’s Bluebird label, at which point her career found its groove. True to its title, the song is a lament about being done wrong by a bad dude. The songs she sang — many passed down

by her mother and grand-

mother — were grandly theatrical stories about life and love, often from the point of view of an outsider looking in on some unattainable desire. Not surprisingly, her music resonated deeply with immigrants crossing from Mexico, earning her the nickname La Alondra de la Frontera, the Lark of the Border. The Songstress of the Poor was another of her many nicknames. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a corrido, a waltz, a bolero, a polka or whatever,” she said, “When I sing that song, I live that song.”

Most Texas musical moment:

Likely recorded in the late 1940s, “El Mundo Engañoso” translates “Deceptive World” and captures an immigrant’s feeling of alienation. It remains resonant and relevant.