Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Quintanilla's Kumbia Kings to give free school concert

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Wednesday, December 13, 2000

Quintanilla's Kumbia Kings to give free school concert
Martin Middle School's honor roll students to hear group in person
By Venessa Santos-Garza
Caller-Times

Caller-Times file

The Kumbia Kings will perform today at Martin Middle School for students on the school’s honor rolls to emphasize the importance of education.

Richard Nava couldn't believe his luck as he waited to get his car cleaned last month at a car wash on Saratoga. There, waiting alongside Nava, was Tejano music star A.B. Quintanilla.
   As a police officer for the Corpus Christi Independent School District, Nava is always looking for new ways to keep students at Martin Middle School motivated. So he didn't hesitate when he saw an opportunity to approach Quintanilla.
   "I just walked over and introduced myself to him," Nava said. "I told him who I was and explained what I might want to do for the kids. He said yes right away, no questions asked."
   Nava said the artist even offered to go one step further and perform for the kids. A.B. Quintanilla and the Kumbia Kings will give Martin Middle School honor roll students a live concert in the school gym at 2:15 p.m. today.
   The group swept the 20th annual Tejano Music Awards in March taking Group Album of the Year for "Amor, Familia y Respeto," Showband of the Year, best crossover song for "Azucar," and Most Promising Band.
   "We wanted to give back to the kids that have been supporting us," said Cruz Martinez, keyboard player and co-producer for the Kumbia Kings. "We also wanted to tell them how important it is to get an education."
   Martinez said as a student, he thought classes like Spanish and computers were useless. Now, he knows the skills are invaluable to his career.
   "The Spanish part is obvious, but a lot of music is written on computer. In order for me to program it onto a computer, I need to know a lot about the system," Martinez said. "I came to realize they were two of the most important things I could have learned because of the business I am in. You never know in the long run when those classes are going to help you out."
   Principal Rheba Jones said she is happy the band had the time to visit the campus. She only wishes she had room to accommodate more students.
   "We do not have a facility large enough to fit all students at once and they could only do one performance," Jones said. "We had to figure out which students would be allowed to attend."
   About 375 students who made A or A-B honor roll for the second six weeks will get to listen to the band speak about staying in school, see them perform songs from their first album and get autographs and pictures with band members.
   "We wanted to reward our students with high academic achievement," Jones said. "And hopefully give the other students some incentive to keep their grades up."


Staff writer Venessa Santos-Garza can be reached at 886-3752 or by e-mail at santosv@caller.com

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