b'Fender performed at the inaugurations of President George H. W. Bush in 1989, and at that of the man who beat him, Bill Clinton, four years later. His success as the Latin crooner and appealing, salt-of-the-earth personality made Fender an attractive figure in film. His first role was in the 1977 prison dra-ma, Short Eyes, which was filmed at New York Citys infamous jail known as The Tombs. Fender played a crooked small town mayor, Sammy Cantu, in 1988sMilagro Beanfield War, directed by Robert Redford, and he portrayed Pancho Villa in the 1979 film, She CametotheValley.Tammywasfamouslyphoto-graphed with her dad in costume, sitting in a movie lot trailer with a look of innocence and pure joy.Upon ones appreciation of the Texas Tornados will comeonesunderstandingofTex-Mexculture.Re-ferred to as a Tejano super-group, four South Texas musiclegendsformedthenow-iconicensemblein 1989, two Gringos of German descent, and two Chi-canos with roots in Mexicoall four masters of theirAbove: Fenders daughter, Tammy Lorraine Huerta Fender, wrote and self-published the story of his life and career, Wasted craft and superstars in their genres. Freddy FenderDays and Wasted NightsA Meteoric Rise to Stardom, in 2020. Top/Right: Fender with daughter Tammy on the set of a was joined by Flaco Jimenez, the San Antonio singer,movie in which he played Pancho Villa; Above/Right: The Texas TornadosFlaco Jimenez, Doug Sahm, Freddy Fender, songwriter,andaccordionistlegendwhosemusicaland Augie Meyers; Below: Freddy Fenders final concert was on New Years Eve 2005 in Los Angeles, California.pedigreeagedthreegenerationsandwhorecorded with Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. Back in the early 1960s, Jimenez had worked with Doug Sahm, a child prodigy musician and master of the steel guitar who grew up on San Antonios predominately-Black east side, where Blues influenced a fusion sound of Conjunto and Country.Sahms band mate in the Sir Douglas Quintet, Augie Meyers,completedtheTexasTornadosfoursome, whose many hits included (Hey Baby) Que Paso? declaredthenationalanthemofSanAntonio.Do yourself a favor, and find Texas Tornados Live in Aus-tin 1990 on YouTube to experience the musical quar-tet that defines South Texasyoull hear two masters of the accordion, a German Gringo named Augie and a Chicano named Flaco, two Texas guitar-playing greats, another German name of Doug and another Chicano called Freddy, all together singing in Spanglish and having the times of their lives in the company of thou-sands of adoring Texans. Freddy Fender won his first career Grammy as a member of the Texas Tornados for Best Mexican/American Performance, in 1990.Later in the 1990s, Fender was a founding member of anotherTex-Mexsuper-groupensemble,LosSuper 7,withtwomembersofLosLobos,DavidHidalgo and Cesar Rosas, his old buddy and band mate Flaco Jimenez, Tejano legend Ruben El Gato Negro Ramos, Texas Country Music legend Joe Ely, and an up-and-coming Country singer, Rick Trevino. Los Super 7 took the 1999 Grammy for Best Mexican/American Album, 96THECOASTALBENDMAGAZINE TheCoastalBend.com'