By Brittanie Shey – HoustoniaMag.com – Image: Courtesy Of Houston Public Library.
Photo: Alonzo y sus Rancheros.
The Pan-America Ballroom was an essential social venue for Houston’s Mexican American community. On any given weekend, people from Magnolia Park, Northside, and the Sixth and Second Wards would meet at the dance hall, filling it to capacity. That legacy is just one of many aspects of the Bayou City’s Latinx musical history highlighted in a new exhibit at Houston, Texas, Public Library’s Julia Ideson Building. Titled ¡Musica! A History of Hispanic Sounds In Houston, it includes more than 60 items, taken from the Houston Metropolitan Research Center’s extensive collection of archive materials, including concert posters, photos, handwritten sheet music, and even records and cassette tapes.
