Memorial to Freddy Fender unveiled in Grammy winner's hometown

SAN BENITO — "Every time I come to San Benito, I get a surge of fullness. Freddy is here - he's always been here."

That's what Vangie Huerta said about her late husband, Grammy-winning musician Freddy Fender, during a graveside dedication Saturday at the new San Benito Memorial Park cemetery.

"I am very emotional - at times I cry but I am happy to see all the people here for Freddy," Huerta said. "It amazes me what people here in San Benito feel for Freddy."

Fender was 69 when he died of lung cancer Oct. 14, 2006, at his home in Corpus Christi. Though he lived and died in that city, his final resting place is here in San Benito, where he was born Baldemar Huerta in the barrio of El Jardin.

"I'm glad we brought him here because that's what he wanted," Huerta said. "He wanted to be buried here."

More than 200 people, including family, friends, admirers and local politicians, gathered Saturday for the unveiling of Fender's memorial, two days after what would have been his 72nd birthday.

The memorial features a large tombstone surrounded by six monuments that commemorate Fender's accomplishments and features a replica of Fender's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The San Benito Economic Development Corp. paid for the $250,000 memorial project, Mayor Joe Hernandez said. The new cemetery will have room for 300 graves.

Fellow musician and Grammy winner Rick Treviño attended the dedication and gave a special performance of Fender's hit "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights."

The Mariachi Universitario of the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine also sang some of Fender's hits, such as "Before the Next Teardrop Falls."

A special recording of Fender's good-bye message before his death was also played during the ceremony.

"Don't take life too seriously," the artist said. "Enjoy your days, one day at a time."

Tammy Huerta-Mallini, Fender's daughter, told the gathered crowd that because of her father she is "no longer afraid to die, nor (is she) afraid to live."

Huerta-Mallini also shared memories of her father, such as riding in a convertible and about growing up in San Benito. She said he heeded the words of people from the Rio Grande Valley: "Balde, don't ever forget your roots."

Huerta-Mallini is working on a book that examines Fender's life "from the beginning at the resaca and back to the resaca," she said. She hopes to complete it by the end of this year.

Eddie Teichmann traveled from San Antonio to visit his friend's new memorial. The two met and became friends in Los Angeles, he said.

"In every interview he did, he never failed to mention he was from San Benito," Teichmann said.

Teichmann also said he admired Fender because the musician never put up a front and was always a kind person.

"He never really realized how great he was," Teichmann said. "He was just trying to be Freddy. I didn't have to guess with him. He was for real."

In life, Fender's voice and way with a song carried him out of the poverty he was born into and took him around the world several times, performing before presidents and millions of music fans.

Fender was nominated for five Grammys and won three during what amounted to three careers in music. He had hits in the 1950s, '70s and '90s, the latter with supergroup the Texas Tornados.

Fender continued playing almost to the end. His music appeared on countless albums - more than 20 in 2001 alone.

He performed for three U.S. presidents and acted in several movies, including The Milagro Beanfield War, directed by Robert Redford.

The Texas Tornados took home a Grammy in 1990. And in 1999, Fender won another as part of Los Super Seven project, singing "Piensa en Mi," a song he first heard on the radio in El Jardin.

In 2002, Fender won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop with "La Musica de Baldemar Huerta."

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Daisy Martinez is a reporter for the Valley Morning Star.