Fort Worth's Best Kept Secret..!
The Latin Express: A Journey of Music, Family, and Passion
My musical journey began in 1968, when I was just 12 years old. I started playing drums in my father’s band, Nicho Saenz y Los Alegres del Norte. My very first performance was on New Year’s Eve at the Bridgeport Ballroom in Dallas, Texas.
To be completely honest, I probably had no business being on that stage that night. But that afternoon, my dad looked at me and said, “Hey, the other jackass I have playing drums can’t play either!”
I guess, in my dad’s own way, that was a compliment. So I ran with it.
And 58 years later, I’m still running with it.
Music became much more than something I did—it became a way of life.
Growing up in 1968, the music that inspired me ranged from The Beatles and Motown to Sunny Ozuna. Then I heard a new artist named Carlos Santana. The first time I heard Santana play “Oye Como Va,” something clicked inside me. I was hooked. I knew right then that music would be a part of my life forever.
For the next six to eight years, I played Conjunto music with my dad. We played wherever we could—local clubs, halls, and dives throughout the area. I loved performing, but there was always another side of me that wanted to play the music I truly felt connected to.
Then, in the fall of 1974, my life took another important turn. I became involved in the Chicano movement and was elected Vice President of the Spanish Club at North Side High School.
We wanted to take our Spanish Club members to Six Flags the following spring, but there was one problem: we didn’t have the money.
Someone suggested having a taco bake sale. I remember thinking, “Do you know how many tacos we’re going to have to make and sell to raise enough money to take the club and the chaperones?”
A lot of tacos!
So I came up with another idea: a musical concert.
We charged 50 cents admission and held the concert in the school auditorium during second period. In January of 1975, I formed The Latin Express, and that first concert raised approximately $800 for our Spanish Club.
In 1975, $800 was a lot of dinero!
It was enough to pay for the Six Flags tickets, T-shirts, and food for everyone—and we still had money left over to donate to the following year’s Spanish Club.
What started as a way to raise money for a school club became the beginning of a musical journey that has lasted for decades.
In 1979, I added my younger brother Leo to the group. He was only 14 years old at the time and attending Trimble Tech High School.
I wanted The Latin Express to move beyond the local dives and have an opportunity to perform on bigger stages, but nobody seemed willing to give us that first chance.
Then Trimble Tech High School did.
They invited us to perform at their Sadie Hawkins Day Dance in the school gym. I said yes—and that opportunity changed everything.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Thank you, Trimble Tech Bulldogs, for believing in us when you did.
What began in a school auditorium in 1975 eventually grew into a lifelong career in the Tejano music industry. In 2026, The Latin Express celebrated 51 years in Tejano music, a milestone I never could have imagined when I first picked up those drumsticks at 12 years old.
In January 2001, The Latin Express had the incredible honor of performing at George W. Bush’s Presidential Inaugural Ball in Washington, D.C. It was a remarkable moment for our band and a memory we will always treasure.
Over the years, The Latin Express has also been honored with numerous awards and recognitions, including the Fort Worth Weekly Award, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Best of Tarrant Award (2003), the Dallas Morning News Observer Award, the Hispanic Heritage Award, the Hispanic Salute 2000 Award, and the Little Joe y La Familia Lifetime Achievement Award, among many others.
One of the most meaningful honors in our journey came on November 15, 2008, when The Latin Express was inducted into the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame Class of 2008 in Alice, Texas the birth place of Tejano Music.
To this day, we are proud to have been the first and only North Texas band inducted into the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame.
But when I look back over all these years, the awards and accomplishments are only part of the story.
The real story is the people.
Our family.
Our musicians.
Our friends.
And most importantly, our fans.
To all of our fans across the United States: thank you. Thank you for welcoming us into your communities, for dancing to our music, singing along with us, supporting us, and continuing to invite us back year after year. Every time we step onto a stage, we know that we are not there alone. You are a part of our story.
I also have to thank my father, who gave me my first opportunity to stand behind a drum set—even if his method of encouragement was, well… a little unconventional.
I think back to that 12-year-old kid playing drums on New Year’s Eve in 1968, and I sometimes wonder what he would think if he could see where that first performance would lead.
I certainly never imagined it.
What started with a borrowed opportunity became a lifetime of music. A school fundraiser became a band. A band became a family. And that family became a journey that continues to this day.
Last, but certainly not least, I give thanks to our Lord for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us throughout the years. We pray for peace in our world and for the safety of our service men and women serving around the globe and protecting our freedom.
May God bless them, bring them home safely, and continue to bless our families, our fans, and everyone who has been a part of this incredible journey.
After all these years, one thing remains unchanged:
“Passion Keeps The Music Real”
Carlos D. Saenz
The Latin Express Band
latinexpressmusic@gmail.com
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