Carmen y Laura were a Mexican-American sister musical act who were considered a

Tejano Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in the ...

version of the

Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

. - Limited access They were the first artists to record for

Ideal Records Ideal Records was a record label from Texas specializing in Tejano music. It became the most important record label of the genre in the 1940s and 1950s, recording tejano's most prominent artists. It declined in the early 1960s, but not before le ...

History

Carmen was the wife of

founder Armando Marroquín. Carmen Hernandez (1921–2010) was born in

Kingsville, Texas Kingsville is a city in the southern region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Kleberg County. Located on the U.S. Route 77 corridor between Corpus Christi and Harlingen, Kingsville is the principal city of the Kingsville Micropo ...

. Laura Hernandez Cantú (1926–2004) was also born in Kingsville, and would attend school in Mexico. Carmen and Laura learned to harmonize while doing chores at home. They would often be working in separate rooms when singing together, and as a result they learned to listen to each other carefully. Their style was highly influenced by the Mexican

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

. Carmen married record producer Armando Marroquín, who later founded

, on November 20, 1936. Carmen had no plans to become a professional musician until her husband decided to make his own records to supply substantial

juke box A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

operations. Their first hit and most popular recording was "Se Me Fue Mi Amor", which appeared on

4 Star Records 4 Star Records was a record label that recorded many well-known country music acts in the 1950s. The label, founded after World War II, was home to singers such as Hank Locklin, Maddox Brothers and Rose, Rose Maddox, Webb Pierce, Cousin Ford Le ...

. Carmen y Laura's first recordings for Ideal were made with Narciso Martínez as accompanist. Recorded in the Marroquín's living room with blankets arranged on the walls for acoustic properties, this record had a press run of 200 copies, which quickly sold out and helped establish Ideal Records. Although primarily Spanish-language artists, they also recorded in English as well, the first of which was a version of " Who's Sorry Now?". The duo went on to record hundreds of songs for Ideal. They were most popular in the American Southwest, Illinois, Kansas, and also

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

. This duet was a pioneer in introducing swing and blues influences into Tejano music, as well as being among the first to advance a female perspective in that genre. On these tours, their performances would last for up to four hours when singing for dances. Carmen y Laura toured and recorded into the 1970s. Carmen was the more outgoing of the two, as Laura would generally avoid interviews and direct attention to her sister. Both Carmen and Laura lived in

Alice, Texas Alice is a city in, and the county seat of, Jim Wells County, Texas, United States, in the South Texas region of the state. The population was 19,104 at the 2010 census. Alice was established in 1888. First it was called "Bandana", then "Kleberg ...

for most of their adult lives. Both sisters died in that town, and are buried there.

Style and influence

Carmen y Laura were often backed by orchestras instead of accordion-based conjuntos, as their music was aimed at the Tejano middle class and not the migrant working class. These orchestras included those of

Paulino Bernal Paulino Bernal (June 22, 1939 – September 10, 2022) was an American accordion player and Christians, Christian Evangelism, evangelist. He was a member of the Texano Tex-Mex group Conjunto Bernal. In 1972, Paulino converted from the apostolic s ...

, Pedro Bugarin and

Beto Villa Beto Villa (Falfurrias, Texas, October 26, 1915 – 1986) was a Texan saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all singl ...

. Additionally their music was popular in Mexico, making them among the few Tejano women duos earning that distinction. The group was highly influential in the Texas Chicano music scene, not only introducing the female duet to Tejano music, but causing it to become "fashionable". Carmen y Laura have been honored by the Tejano Cunjunto Hall of Fame in San Antonio, Texas Music Hall of Fame in Austin, the Tejano R.O.O.T.S. Hall of Fame in Alice, and by Smithsonian's

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...

. Their music is heard in the 1996 film '' Lone Star.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmen y Laura People from Kingsville, Texas Tejano music groups Musical groups from Texas Sibling musical duos People from Alice, Texas