Siempre Tejanos is a working man’s band connected through shared histories in the Texas border country of their youth and the remnants of the labor camps and produce fields that brought and kept their families in the fertile farmland of far western Idaho. Plain and simple, the motivation for this band of friends in Idaho’s Snake River Valley is to “keep the Tejano culture alive” and keep the crowds dancing.        
Steven Hatcher: ​Idaho State Folklorist

 Santos Cruz, his brother Joel, and pal Ramón Gutierrez have been playing in various Blackfoot-Idaho Falls bands for several decades. Though none are currently involved with bands, their identities are still shaped by the music they play at informal gatherings and at church. As musicians and as members of their community, either in bands, in a church choir, or in their backyards, the three thrive on breaking the barriers between the artist, the art, and the audience. As Santos says, “we do it because we want a bit of ourselves to be present here in our community, a bit of our traditions, of our music, of our culture.”

​Steven Hatcher: Idaho State Folklorist