Civil Rights

In the time of Freddy Fenders rise to fame, many things were happening throughout the America. For instance, the civil rights movement was the main thing happening, at this time the civil rights act passed in the US. In America at the time it was looked down upon to be Hispanic almost as much as it was being black, as a result the civil rights movement and the uprising led to people being more accepting of Hispanics too. As time progressed, people did become more accepting, this allowed Freddy Fender's rise to fame. And although at the beginning of his career, Fender's songs were mostly popular in Mexico, and South America, the translation of many of Elvis Presley's songs into Spanish allowed him to become even more popular and known.

The San Benito Way of Life (1970)

Since the moment San Benito was founded, not under its current name but as "Bessie," its been a primarily agricultural area. In the early 1950's San Benito was a major shipper of citrus fruits and vegetables, however by the early 60's the industry began to diminish. Anyway, before the industry hit the recession, much of the jobs that were available were in the fields, picking vegetables or growing different things, as a result, Fender's family was employed by said industries. His parents were migrant workers, resulting in Fender following their footsteps and working in the fields at an early age. At the same time, he began composing and at an early age won a singing contest of the towns local radio station,

San Benito Phenomena of the 70's

In the early 70's one of the things that was affecting the community of the small town of San benito where the sightings of a strange creature. This abnormal creature was described by the citizens of the town as "a strange large bird with red blood eyes." As I was reading through the online report, i came across one of the witnesses who bore my last name, which is very interesting because my father has told me that much of our family has at one point lived here in San Benito. ANYWAY, the rumor of this abnormal bird's excistence eventually led to the press offering a large sum of money for its capture, and its it's sightings continued the rumor made it to the famous "Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show." 

Check out the full article at americanmonsters.com/site/2010/10/big-bird-texas-usa/

Freddy Fender's Performance at the Texas Prison Rodeo, Ca, mid 1970's.

picture: courtesy of the Texas state library and Archives commission  

Published by the San Benito Newspaper on February 20, 2015 is this picture of Freddy fender (in the middle) surrounded by Buddy Good (on the left,) and James Marvell (on the right.)



Accessed online. Check out the article at sbnewspaper.com/2015/02/20/musician-recalls-days-with-freddy-fender/

Freddy Fender Obituary: The Obituary and Death Notice of Freddy Fender | Legacy.com

Freddy Fender Obituary: The Obituary and Death Notice of Freddy Fender | Legacy.com



As it is known that Freddy Fender was a well known celebrity of the time, his death was very much public, in the link provided you will find the details which were provided in the newspaper  to announce to the public his death.

Personal life: 
Baldemar Garza, better known as Freddy Fender was married to Evangelina Muniz, who gave him only one daughter, Marla Huerta Garcia. Fender, in his life as a celebrity came against many obstacles one of which was his divorce, in 1993. Having been married for about 36 years, their marriage came to a momentary end, for they remarried in 1995. Marla Garcia is the only recognized child of the 50's celebrity, however it is known that Fender is survived by three other children outside his marriage.