Tish Hinojosa - Biography
By J Poet
Tish Hinojosa is a Mexican-American singer songwriter from Texas, the youngest of 13 children born to immigrant parents. She grew up in a home full of music; her siblings were into the 60s folk revival and rock’n’roll, her parents loved traditional and popular Mexican music. Her mother bought her a guitar and she started singing in local San Antonio clubs and coffee houses while still in high school. Her music blended country, folk, Tejano, conjunto, Tex-Mex, rock, blues and bluegrass into her own unique cross cultural style.
After high school she made a few singles for small Tejano labels, sang on Spanish commercials, and traveled the folk circuit, slowly building an audience. After moving to Nashville, she got a job singing on demos at Mel Tillis’s publishing company. After years of struggle, she moved back to San Antonio in 1987, started her own label, and put out her first album Taos to Tennessee, Watermelon put it on CD in 1996. The album showed her trademark fusion of styles already in place.
Hinojosa married, had children, and moved to Austin, where she was inspired by the city’s wide open music scene. She was signed by A&M and cut the bi-lingual collection Homeland (1989 A&M). During the sessions for the album she met guitarist Marvin Dykhuis, who became a friend and long time collaborator. The album went platinum in Korea. After her first Asian tour she made Memorabilia Navidena (1990 Hinojosa) a four song cassette that she gave to friends for Christmas.
A&M didn’t know how to market Hinojosa’s eclectic music and they dropped her shortly after completing her second album. She was picked up by Austin’s then new Watermelon logo. Aquella Noche (1991 Watermelon) captured her live, singing some of the traditional Mexican songs she grew up with. They also put out an expanded edition of Memorabilia Navidena (1991 Watermelon). Culture Swing (1992 Rounder) was the second album A&M had refused, re-cut with a more down home, folky feel. The buzz on Hinojosa started growing, and she stayed on the road for a year to support it.
Destiny’s Gate (1994 Warner) had a bit of major label polish, but retained Hinojosa’s blend of traditional Mexican and Nashville country. Frontejas (1995 Rounder) a Spanish language album, was promoted by both Rounder and Warner, and featured arrangements that spanned the entire Latin continuum from Chile to Spain. A bi-lingual children’s folk/rock record Cada Niño/Every Child (1996 Rounder) followed.
Dreaming of the Labyrinth/Soñar del Laberinto (1996 Warner) is a quiet introspective album, released in both bi-lingual and all Spanish versions, but disappointing sales led to her exit from the label. She also lost her long time manager and her marriage broke up. Sign of Truth (2000 Rounder) dealt with her inner turmoil with a smooth folk rock sound that belies the wrenching lyrics of songs like “Taste of Dying Summer” and the title track.
A Heart Wide Open (2005Valley) collected older songs Hinojosa had never recorded. The album is one of her most musically diverse with Latin, jazz, country and even reggae rhythms and a huge Austin guest list including Flaco Jiminez and Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson. Our Little Planet (2008 CRS) drops a bit of bluegrass into the Tex-Mex blend and features duets with Rosie Flores, Dale Watson, and Carrie Rodriguez. A biographical DVD of her career is currently in production. Hinojosa works closely with National Association for Bilingual Education and the National Latino Children’s Agenda and is busy in other humanitarian causes as well. She sang at Texas Governor Ann Richard’s inauguration in 1991, Clinton’s first inaugural ball in1993, and won First Prize for New Folk Songwriter at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 1979. Culture Swing was NAIRD’s Folk Album of the Year in 1992.
