Special to the Parade
Benny Layton
The Sixth Annual Pre-Posada Dance to benefit the seminarians at the San Pedro House of Studies, Dioceses of Brownsville will be held on Friday, Dec. 9 from 8 p.m. till 12 midnight at the Knights of Columbus (KC) Hall in San Benito on 826 E. Stenger St.
Music at the dance, sponsored by the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court Bishop Enrique San Pedro, No. 2390 will be provided by Los Hermanos Layton. Tickets are $15 per person, proceeds go toward the aforementioned seminarians.
Some of the band’s early recordings in the 1960’s were on the Ideal label in San Benito which included “Mujer Infiel”. Other recordings were on Bego Records in McAllen. The band achieved more widespread prominence in the 70’s when they joined the CRC label which recorded their hit “Sientate A Mi Mesa”. During the 80’s, the group signed with Hacienda Records of Corpus Christi where they recorded several popular albums which included such hits as “Vente Chatita”, “Ya Me Voy” and others.
Currently, Los Hermanos Layton record on its own label, Layton Records, at their studio in Elsa, TX. Recent releases have included a 40-year retrospective CD and a 50-year anniversary CD.
Los Hermanos Layton have toured across the United States and some of its most memorable performances occurred at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, when the group was still young and which shortly afterwards burned, the National Mall in Washington D.C. in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute, El Chamizal National Park in El Paso, before the Governor of the State of Texas and at countless dance halls across Texas.
Los Hermanos Layton have been enshrined by the city of Edinburg at the Tejano Music Walk of Fame and by the City of Hidalgo at the Borderfest Walk of Fame.
Benny Layton Sr. is included in the Conjunto Hall of Fame in San Benito for his many years as a music instructor and his efforts to preserve conjunto music and culture. Benny taught elementary school for the Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District in the Rio Grande Valley for 11 years. In 1981, he was approached about creating and teaching a conjunto music program as part of a new socio-cultural curriculum for students in the district, which he taught until his retirement in 2009.
For more information on the dance, call Delia Sanchez at (956) 778-6670 or Lidia Garcia at (956) 399-1659 for tickets. All table reservations must be paid in full by Dec. 1, 2011.
Comments