Museum to celebrate Fender’s legacy

By ARABELLA SERRATA
editor@sbnewspaper.com

The San Benito Cultural Arts Department [CAD] is set to debut a new exhibit at the San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum on Sept. 26, officially named “Freddy Fender: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Baldemar Huerta.”

An event listing from the official CAD Facebook account promises, “exclusive memorabilia, photographs, and artifacts from his personal life and career” will be featured as for attendees to view. Valley Music Historian and award-winning Tejano artist Veronique Medrano and CAD Director Aleida Garcia are curating the exhibit, which is free to the public.

The exhibit strives to show the modern public “Fender’s remarkable journey from San Benito to international stardom,” and will commence with a three-hour-long reception to celebrate the exhibit.

The exhibit will be open to the public Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and on Fridays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tours and in-person access will be available during business hours. Virtual programming such as video presentations, interviews, and virtual tours, will be available through the museum’s social media platforms for those unable to attend in person.

Jose Carlos, Administrative Assistant at the Cultural Museum, said many items in the exhibit are on loan from Fender’s estate and will be returned after the exhibit ends in November.

The exhibit has been in the works since March of this year, with some conversations starting much earlier. Carlos said the museum’s constant influx of visitors asking about the former Freddy Fender Museum pushed the cultural museum to see the opportunity to try a similar concept.

“We wanted another chance to showcase our hometown hero,” said Carlos.

The original museum closed during the 2020 pandemic after a lack of volunteers.
The three-hour opening reception of the exhibit will feature food and general refreshments on Sept. 26, from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

“So far, it looks like it will be our biggest one to date,” said Carlos.

An official press release on the event included statements from Evangelina Huerta and Maria Huerta, Fender’s wife and daughter respectively. “It’s been such an emotional but celebratory process over these years. He did so much for music, but also for everyone around him. On top of that, he endured so much in terms of what it took to become the first Mexican-American artist to break through across so many genres. I can’t say enough about how these artifacts of Freddy’s career have been cataloged, researched, and cared for– even going as far as to have missing artifacts returned to us, that his fans will now get to enjoy, “ stated Evangelina Huerta.

Maria Huerta continued the sentiment: “Dad was an icon, and I’m thankful that we, as a family, can launch this one-of-a-kind exhibit here, in the town he loved! It has meant the world to us that Dad is being honored in such a thorough, yet heartfelt way.”

“We know the importance of getting this right for them, to preserve his legacy and share the decades of impact surrounding the man people know as Freddy Fender,” stated Medrano.

According to its website, the CAD works to “strengthen the quality of life in San Benito by promoting a family-friendly cultural district that gives residents and visitors the chance to experience history, culture, music and art authentically through a variety of cultural activities.” The CAD welcomes volunteers and interested to contact them at (956) 361-3804, Ext. 418.

The San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum is located at 250 E. Heywood, San Benito, and is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Entry fees and brochures are available on the museum page of the City website. A petition to induct Freddy Fender to the Country Hall of Fame is also available for signatures on the website.
For more information, contact the museum at (956) 281-0810 or follow its official Facebook page for updates.