Detroit men make history in Mexicantown
(CBS DETROIT) - Ray Lozano, the executive director of Mexicantown, and Frank Solis, the son of a music pioneer, have been on a mission. Having grown up in Detroit's Mexicantown, they know all about the rich Hispanic music culture that started in Southwest Detroit.
But many people now living in the area don't know anything about Tejano music, a Tex-Mex style of music, or the pioneer behind its Detroit debut, Solis' father, Martin Solis.
"I think about it, and then sometimes I try not to because, in a way, I still think he's here because ever since he's passed, I have been seeing him and hearing his voices and tapes, recordings," said Frank Solis.
"As a kid growing up, we'd walk over to the side of the bar. We'd poke our heads in the side door there, and we'd listen to the music. The bar was totally off limits, but we certainly, you know, push the boundaries," said Lozano
Together, Solis and Lozano are spreading the message of the history of Hispanic music that was once played in Southwest Detroit.
Even as Solis stands in the very spot his father once played, the pride he feels in this moment will soon be felt all across the city. The next step is unveiling Michigan's first-ever historical marker directly related to the Hispanic heritage that will soon be housed in the heart of Mexicantown.
"It fits in with our mission of, you know, that we wanted to be a cultural destination with this campus," said Lozano. "There was a time when the culture was shunned, and now people seem to want to know more about it, so if they can begin here and expand their knowledge, learn more, we're grateful."
