On November 12, Texas Monthly is releasing a new podcast all about Tejano music called Viva Tejano.

In this 10-part series, host J.B. Sauceda (who is also the host of Texas Country Reporter on KVUE) interviews Tejano fans and legendary artists like Los Texmaniacs' Max Baca and Grammy-nominated artist, El Dusty, to celebrate and explore Tejano music, past and present.

Latin music is currently the fastest growing genre in the U.S., and in this podcast listeners can learn how Tejano music, which originated in Texas and northern Mexico in the mid 19th century, informs some of today's biggest names like Bad Bunny and Peso Pluma.

When Sauceda was a kid in the 80s, Tejano music was everywhere — a sort of consistent background noise at family and social gatherings for Texas Mexicans. The 80s and 90s represented a sort of golden age of Tejano music for many; its rise in popularity was largely thanks to the belovedJohnny Canales Show, a musical variety show that aired on Univision and Televisa from 1988 to 1996.

But in the mid- to late-90s, several things happened that led to a sort of muffling of Tejano music. First was the death of Selena in 1995.

"Her death was a huge kick in the gut,: Sauceda says. "After talking to several artists, a lot of people felt that way. There was this belief that [this music] could win; but her death was so devastating, it really demoralized people in the industry."

Quickly after, radio stations became deregulated — meaning, a lot of the local Tejano music playing on Texas radio stations was replaced with more regional Mexican music. And almost immediately after that, the Johnny Canales Show stopped airing on Univision and Televisa.

So, a big part of Sauceda's goal in this podcast is to answer the question: "What happened to Tejano music?"

The polka-style, orquesta beat is one reason Sauceda says Tejano music is currently making a comeback; it lends itself well to other hugely popular genres like hip hop.

The sound is not exactly the same as it used to be, since in the 80s and 90s, the horns were replaced with electronic keyboards as technology, trends, and practical needs shifted. But always, the subject matter of Tejano music remains love and loss.

Paradoxically, Sauceda says, "It's the party music of the Baby Boomer generation of Mexican Americans that grew up in Texas; it's upbeat and fun to dance to."

As any evolving genre, it's not always easy to nail down what fits and what doesn't, nor to assign language to it. Sauceda points out that the artists he interviews fit the bill culturally, if not strictly musically. "Many of the artists [I interviewed] would probably refer to themselves as Tejano as people; but they probably wouldn't call their music 'Tejano music,'" he says.

J.B. Sauceda with Phanie Diaz and Jenn Alva, band members of Girl in a Coma and Fea. Photo courtesy of Texas Monthly

For example, in one episode, Sauceda visits San Antonio to interview Phanie Diaz and Jenn Alva of the bands Girl in a Coma and Fea. Girl in a Coma sounds a bit like soulful ska and Fea sounds more like Chicana punk, but both bands have roots in Tejano music. In the episode, Sauceda, Diaz, and Alva discuss growing up in Spanish-speaking households—but being dissuaded from learning how to speak Spanish by their parents, as at the time it was "looked down upon."

The three also wax nostalgic on the role Tejano music played in their childhoods. Even though this was their parents' music more than their own, Tejano music has influenced what Diaz and Alva have created all these years later. They've taken it and made it into its own, more punk rock thing, singing about queer and Chicana pride, race, and immigration in their all-female bands.

Aside from discussing music in this podcast, Sauceda says he and his guests get into what's currently happening in America, and Latin culture in general.

"After the election yesterday and how much discussion there has been about the population in the Rio Grande Valley...this podcast is actually going to touch on that in a lot of ways," he says, referring to many people's surprise that voters in the area largely voted for Donald Trump, a substantial flip from the last election. "It helps kind of enlighten people of the complexities and differences in Latinos."

Viva Tejano launches today, November 12 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the Texas Monthly website.