La Villita Dance Hall
Considered by many to be the birthplace of Conjunto music, there's no question that La Villita Dance Hall was for decades, at the very least, the cultural epicenter of conjunto music in South Texas. The father of Texas-Mexican Conjunto, Narciso Martinez, orquestas (orchestras) such as Beto Villa, the Father of Musica Orquestal Tejana, and other famed musicians like Tony De La Rosa, Valerio Longoria, and Freddy Fender all performed on the stage at La Villita during its heyday in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.
Many of the performers who took the stage at La Villita were associated with bands on Alice’s Ideal Records, which recorded notable acts after small labels closed during World War II to conserve shellac and other record related materials.
Today, the venue, which was restored in 2017, is still host to occasional events and live performances.