Tejano (Spanish for "Texan") or Tex-Mex music is the various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-descended Tejanos of Central and South Texas. In recent years artists such as Selena Quintanilla, Michael Gonzales, and Selena's brother A.B. Quintanilla's band, Los Kumbia Kings have transformed Tejano music from primarily a local, ethnic form of music to a genre with wide appeal in North America, Latin America, Europe, and beyond.

Usually, Tex-Mex refers to more the traditional styles such as its most popular sub-genre by far, norteno music. Tejano is usually more modern and is heavily influenced by rock, cumbia, and blues.

Central to the evolution of early Tejano music was the blend of traditional Mexican forms such as the corrido, and Continental European styles introduced by German and Czech settlers in the late 19th century. In particular, the accordion was adopted by Tejano folk musicians at the turn of the 20th century, and it became a popular instrument for amateur musicians in Texas and Northern Mexico. Small bands known as orquestas, featuring amateur musicians, became a staple at community dances.

Narciso Martinez (1911-1992) gave the accordion playing a new virtuosity in the 1930s, when he adopted the two button row accordion. At the same time, he formed a group with Santiago Almeida, a bajo sexto (twelve string bass guitar) player. Their new musical style, known as conjunto, soon became the popular music of the working class Tejano. Flaco Jimenez (1939-), the son of an accordionist and grandson of a man who had learned the instrument from a German immigrant, carried on Martinez's tradition of accordion virtuosity and became a fixture on the international World Music scene by the 1980s.

In the 1950s and 1960s, rock and roll and country music made inroads, and electric guitars and drums were added to conjunto combos. Also, performers such as Little Joe added both nuances of jazz and R&B, and a Chicano political consciousness.

In the 1980s, electronic instruments and synthesizers increasingly dominated the sound, and Tejano music increasingly appealed to bilingual country and rock fans in the Southwest. In the early 1990s, Selena Quintanilla Perez (1971-1995) and her band Los Dinos infused pop and cumbia (a lilting Colombian dance rhythm) into Tejano music, making the genre popular with non-Mexican Latinos and Latin Americans. In the wake of her murder, Selena's music received attention from a mainstream American audience as well.

Tejano music is an American invention, born in Texas. Although it has influences from Mexico and other Latin American countries, the main influences are American. Contemporary classic Tejano artists such as Jay Perez exhibit influence from Rock, Jazz, Blues, Funk and, Country. The sound is not a mish-mash of the genres but rather an amalgam thats create a definitive and unique style.

It is important to understand that the Tex-Mex/Tejano music has various categories of music and bands. Three major categories are: Conjunto, Orchestra and Modern. A Conjunto band is comprised of an accordion, a bajo sexto, a bass, and a drum. An Orchestra consists of a bass, drum, electric guitar, synthesizer and, a brass section which it relies heavily on for its sound. It can also have an accordion in the band at times. A Modern Tejano band consists of synthesizers, drums, electric guitar, bass and at times an accordion. It relies heavily on the synthesizer for its sound. Examples of Conjunto Bands are The Hometown Boys and Jaime de Anda y Los Chamacos. An example of an Orchestra is Ruben Ramos and the Texas Revolution. Modern Bands are Jay Perez and Jimmy Gonzalez and his group Mazz. Other categories consist of Progressive, Pop and Urban Tejano music. All of these categories are classified as Tejano, and one category is never seen as superior to the other.

At the turn of the 21st century, today's Tejano music, while far more pop-oriented than in its Depression era roots, is one of the most vital regional musical styles in the United States.

The term Tex-Mex is also used in American rock and roll for Tejano-influenced performers such as the Sir Douglas Quintet; Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs; The Mars Volta; Louie and the Lovers; The Champs with "Tequila"; the Texas Tornados, featuring Flaco Jimenez, Freddy Fender, Augie Meyers, and Doug Sahm; and Los Lonely Boys. (From Wikipedia)