Annotations for People: Burleson-dee

Major record companies like Capitol, EMI, Sony, and Warner Brothers have noticed that Tejano music's enormous market potential. They've signed on artists who previously recorded for small regional labels. Now their sales have escalated. This year, the 13th annual Tejano Music Awards were broadcast live for the first time via satellite to 32 markets, many of them outside of Texas. Another sign that Tejano music is reaching out beyond traditional borders is that this year the band which was recognized as the most promising in Tejano music is fronted by an African-American. Dee Burleson, lead singer of a group called Culturas, believes that this boom in Tejano music has only just begun.

It used to be like almost a mom-and-pop operation. Dad would go out and promote son and daughter for their band or whatever. Now they've got big sponsors and they've got huge industry behind them, and it's a great thing. It's a great, it's a building process and right now it's reaching all around the world. It's a rave thing in Germany right now, and Great Britain. So, Tejano music is finally getting the recognition it deserves.