Oscar Martinez: Tejano Music Pioneer and Artist (1934–2020)

Oscar Martinez, Tejano musician, radio personality, and visual artist, was born on January 3, 1934, in Corpus Christi, Texas. He was the son of Pedro Martinez and Eloisa (Galindo) Martinez. He grew up in Corpus Christi and at an early age displayed a talent for drawing as well as an interest in music. He initially attended Corpus Christi High School and then the new Roy Miller High School, where he played the tuba in the school band. He purchased a trumpet and taught himself to play the instrument. He also took part in the local music scene at a club called Ibarra’s, where he was mentored by veteran musicians, including Tony Ornelas, Beto Vasquez, Mike Cuesta, and others. Martinez graduated from Roy Miller High School in 1952. On May 29, 1955, he married Eduvina Perez. They later had four children. They divorced in 1985.

Martinez, while working part-time for Fred Collins, a local auto parts supplier, joined the orquesta of Isidro Lopez in 1956 but left the outfit in 1958 to establish his own group—Oscar Martinez y Su Orquesta. That same year, he recorded “Makes No Difference,” an English-language version of the Spanish song “Que mi puede ya importer” by Arturo Vazquez. The recording became a local hit on KEYS radio in Corpus Christi. Martinez himself began a radio career about 1959 with his own Spanish-radio program on KCCT in Corpus.

With his twelve-piece orchestra, Martinez toured Texas. The group suffered serious injuries in an automobile accident in 1963. After an eighteen-month convalescence, he recovered and purchased a large converted school bus that was painted red for travel with his orchestra. Martinez performed with his orchestra for forty years, and later he performed at select venues with other bands that would request him. Throughout his more than fifty-year career he recorded on a variety of record labels, including Ideal, Gapoca, Valmon, Sombrero, Chupaleta, El Zarape, and Freddie Records, as well as his own Impala label. His recordings included “La Comadre,” “El Gallo Copetón,” “Los Intocables,” “Triste Pensamiento,” “Secreto,” and “Las Chicanas” and also English-language songs, including his own compositions “Corpus Christi Rock,” “How About Those Cowboys?” and “Corpus Christi Rose.”

About 1995 Martinez began as host of his weekly program Las Orquestas de Tejas on Corpus Christi’s Majic Tejano 104.9 FM radio station. The program enjoyed a run of twenty-five years up to his death. He published the book Tejano Music Talk in 1998. Known by his fans as “El Gallo Copetón” and “El Tejano Enamorado,” he was inducted into the Tejano Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and Tejano R.O.O.T.S Hall of Fame in 2003.

Described as a music pioneer who was “humble” and a “Renaissance Man,” Martinez was also an accomplished artist whose paintings were displayed at various events. In 2012 the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin hosted Evening of Music and Art by Oscar Martinez. His exhibit, The Big Red Bus was held at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin in 2013. He was inducted into the South Texas Music Walk of Fame in Corpus Christi on June 8, 2013.

His musical legacy was also honored through events such as the Legends of Tejano Music exhibit at Texas State University and recognition during Hispanic Heritage Month by Citgo—both held in 2017. Martinez continued to compose and record songs through 2019, when he re-recorded (with his granddaughter) his song “El Tejano Enamorado” (a song he wrote in 1963 that was originally recorded by Isidro Lopez in 1965). He also recorded “Corpus Christi Rock” as a duet with his great-granddaughter and other tunes at Freddie Records in Corpus Christi.

Oscar Martinez died of pneumonia on July 15, 2020, in Corpus Christi. He was eighty-six. Martinez, a Catholic, was commemorated with a funeral Mass at Most Precious Blood Catholic Church. He was buried in a mausoleum at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Corpus Christi.