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Community > Cultural Heritage > The Museums of San Benito The Museums of San BenitoThe Museums of San Benito Brochure The Museums of San Benito are located in the San Benito Community Building, 210 E. Heywood (Corner of North Reagan & East Heywood), and are open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., or by special group arrangements by calling (956)399-9991, (956)399-6032, (956)245-1666 or (956)276-9588. Admission is $3.00 Adults and $1.50 Children Under 12. The Museums include the San Benito History Museum, the Freddy Fender Museum and the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
San Benito History MuseumStep back in time and see how San Benito came to be. From the natural formation of the resaca (an old course of the Rio Grande River) where Indians and Spanish land grant ranches flourished to the arrival of the railroad and diverse ethnic pioneers hungry for cheap and fertile land, a small community grew and prospered. San Benito grew into a social and commercial center in the tropical Magic Valley of Texas. Pioneers built schools and churches, formed clubs and held dances and even put on a "Hog Waddle." Over 100 hundred years have past since San Benito’ founding and naming by Col. Sam Robertson and his business colleagues. Walk through our small tale in United States history and as the words of a popular song echo, "Reminisce about the days of yore..." Freddy Fender Museum
Texas Folklife Resources calls "Freddy Fender an icon and the most significant Mexican-American singer, writer and musician in musical history." The Freddy Fender Museum gives those who love Freddy Fender’s music a rare glimpse at his roots and what made him such a significant entertainer to so many. Freddy Fender’s music career was ignited in the late 1950s when he recorded Spanish-language versions of Don’t Be Cruel and Jamiaca Fairwell, which were chart-topping hits in Mexico and South America. He first recorded and had regional success with Wasted Days and Wasted Nights in the 1960s, but in the 1970s the song, along with his signature, Before the Next Teardrop Falls, propelled Freddy to International stardom. In 1975, he won the Academy of Country Music’s Best New Artist award. This was the first of many major awards that Freddy would receive throughout his life. In more recent years, he co-founded the Texas Tornados with Flaco Jimenez, Augie Meyers and Doug Sahm, toured as a solo artist, and as part of Tejano super group, Los Super Seven. A multi-Grammy Award winner, Mr. Fender performed for US presidents, governors and sold-out audiences worldwide. With music awards in 4 decades, numerous movie and TV credits, he continued to perform to sell out audiences from Vegas to Amsterdam until 2005. Freddy was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999 for his contribution to music. Now you can enjoy Freddy’s story in his own words of his humble beginnings to the height of fame as an international recording star. See his Grammy awards, his Harley Davidson and costumes worn in various performances. The legend, and the spirit, of Freddy lives on in San Benito, Texas. Texas Conjunto Music
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