Music and politics: the quinceañera campaign in Texas
Many decades ago, I received an advanced degree in media and politics and taught that subject as a university professor; for me, “Media” included music, and I have always kept my eyes on music when it enters politics. After leaving academia and moving to Mexico to start that nation’s only bilingual newspaper, I refocused this column on cross-border music. Music is culture, and culture affects politics.
Recently I saw a congressional race in southern Texas that is a clear case of music and politics: a two-time Latin Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated Tejano music star running against an incumbent Congresswoman in a campaign of music for quinceañeras (Mexican coming-of-age birthday party for 15-year-old girls).
The star is Bobby Pulido, a Tejano star from Edinburg, Texas, running in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, who has made quinceañeras the centerpiece of his campaign to unseat Rep. Monica De La Cruz.
The idea actually came from his opponent. De La Cruz told voters in a video, “This election isn’t about who you want performing at your niece’s quinceañera. It’s about who you trust with your family’s future”. Pulido responded, “Quinceañeras are a part of our culture here,” and his campaign put out an open call for invitations to sing at quinceañeras. He got more than 1,000 requests in the first 24 hours. The total later topped 2,700, including birthday parties, graduations and bar mitzvahs.
Pulido now spends his weekends driving across the Rio Grande Valley, sometimes stopping at four celebrations in one night, walking down a flower-decked staircase and singing Vicente Fernández’s “Hermoso Cariño,” and his own 1995 hit “Desvelado.” He leads the birthday girl around the dance floor and gives her an autographed pink cap that reads “Make Quinceañeras Great Again.” And of course, photos with everyone while his campaign volunteers collect email addresses.
The strategy seems to be working- some polls have him leading. Of course, in the 15th District, he is a household name. He is the son of Tejano pioneer Roberto Pulido and has performed for 30 years in the United States and Mexico. Across Texas, he is one of the best-known names in Tejano music. He won Latin Grammys for best Tejano album in 2022 and 2025 and earned a Grammy nomination in 2026. He also has more than 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify and, who knows how many thousands of shared selfies from quinceañeras.
Despite representing the district for over four years, De La Cruz can’t match that kind of name recognition. Which may be why some polls show Pulido ahead by 5 points. His campaign policy positions focus on what is important to the district – cost of living, immigration, healthcare, water, border security- no hot-button culture issues. And of course, quinceañeras.
Fifteen-year-old girls can’t vote. But their 18-year-old brothers and sisters and cousins and friends can, not to mention their mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles and grandparents. They may not be convinced to vote for Pulido because he danced with the girls and women in their basement or local evento. But they will surely remember his name fondly when they see it on the ballot. As a political scientist, I can tell you that emotion powers more votes than information. I also know from experiments that music can affect how people vote. He’s got both.
I have not mentioned his party – to me, it is not relevant, and you can look it up if you want to. Pulido is running on the power of music. That is enough for me.
Patrick O’Heffernan
Banner: Illustration by Patrick O’Heffernan. Source photos from Pulidofortexas.instagram
