{"id":716713,"date":"2026-04-09T22:31:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T22:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/716713\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T22:31:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T22:31:19","slug":"in-south-texas-quinceanera-dig-becomes-campaign-fuel-for-tejano-musician-bobby-pulido","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/716713\/","title":{"rendered":"In South Texas, quincea\u00f1era dig becomes campaign fuel for Tejano musician Bobby Pulido"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AimeeAimee L\u00f3pez, 15, left, holds hands with her mother, Amanda Cano, as Bobby Pulido, a Latin Grammy winner who is now running for Congress in Texas\u2019 15th Congressional District, sings during her quincea\u00f1era celebration in Mission on March 27, 2026. Credit: Texas Tribune \/ Gabriel V. C\u00e1rdenas<\/p>\n

Jimena S\u00e1enz\u2019s glittery blue quincea\u00f1era gown caught the light and sparkled as she swayed to the Tejano music flowing through the Edinburg event center last month.<\/p>\n

Her friends and family formed a circle around her, some mouthing lyrics as they filmed on their phones and danced to the live performance from Bobby Pulido, the Tejano music star who is running for Congress in South Texas.<\/p>\n

It was one of a dozen quincea\u00f1eras the Democrat and first-time political candidate has gone to since mid-March, an effort aimed at spinning a dig from his opponent \u2014 who said the election \u201cisn\u2019t about who you want performing at your niece\u2019s quincea\u00f1era\u201d \u2014 into an offbeat way of reaching new voters.<\/p>\n

At S\u00e1enz\u2019s quincea\u00f1era, Pulido started the evening singing \u201cHermoso Cari\u00f1o\u201d by Mexican singer Vicente Fern\u00e1ndez and later performed \u201cDesvelado,\u201d the title track of his 1995 album that propelled him to fame and reached the top 10 on Billboard\u2019s chart of top Latin albums.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a favorite for Jimena S\u00e1enz\u2019s sisters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it\u2019s basic, but \u2018Desvelado\u2019 is definitely just one of those bangers that you cannot get rid of this family at all,\u201d said Janie S\u00e1enz, Jimena\u2019s 20-year-old sister.<\/p>\n

Pulido\u2019s quincea\u00f1era circuit was inspired by a March 4 video posted on social media by his Republican opponent, incumbent U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, in which she referred to Pulido as a \u201cscandal-plagued celebrity\u201d and questioned his fitness for office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis election isn\u2019t about who you want performing at your niece\u2019s quincea\u00f1era,\u201d said De La Cruz, R-Edinburg. \u201cIt\u2019s about who you trust with your family\u2019s future. After years of neglect, South Texas finally has a seat at the table, and we\u2019re not going to jeopardize that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulido fired back, saying the celebration \u2014 which celebrates a girl\u2019s 15th birthday and transition into womanhood \u2014 is a rite of passage in South Texas that brings the community together.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuinceaneras are a part of our culture here,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cShe tried to make it an insult, and I take it as a badge of honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulido put out an open call for invitations to perform at quincea\u00f1eras across Texas\u2019 15th Congressional District, which stretches from east of San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley and is Democrats\u2019 top target in Texas. His campaign received more than 1,000 requests in the first 24 hours, and in the weeks since, people have also been asking Pulido to perform at birthday parties, bar mitzvahs and graduations, he said, noting that the requests now number more than 2,700.<\/p>\n

Amy S\u00e1enz, Jimena S\u00e1enz\u2019s 18-year-old sister who filled out the form inviting Pulido, said she heard about his performances from her high school coaches and classmates and filled out the form after encouragement from her mom. She said her family planned Pulido\u2019s appearance as a surprise for the roughly 250 guests they expected.<\/p>\n

At the quincea\u00f1era, Pulido gave Jimena S\u00e1enz a pink hat labeled \u201cMake Quincea\u00f1eras Great Again\u201d and autographed by the Tejano singer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided to invite Bobby Pulido to not only showcase what a quincea\u00f1era is, but to also have the memory of him being able to come,\u201d said Amy, who is a senior in high school. She said her family is politically engaged and already held a positive opinion of the singer before his performance.<\/p>\n

But \u00c1lvaro Corral, a political science assistant professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, said Pulido\u2019s strategy is not just about appealing to people attending the quincea\u00f1eras, but also those seeing the videos and photos from the events that have been shared across social media \u2014 a relatively low-cost way to reach more voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a way to reach a lot of people \u2026 a lot of folks who may not necessarily be super plugged into politics, especially in a midterm election,\u201d he said, adding that it also helps Pulido capitalize further on his positive image as a famous musician and present himself as a political outsider rather than a \u201cpolitician.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackie Bastard, executive director of Jolt Initiative, a Texas-based nonprofit that aims to increase civic participation among Latinos, said quincea\u00f1eras are a sacred cultural milestone in the Latino community that represent a young woman stepping into leadership and responsibility. Pulido\u2019s strategy puts him in touch with voters where they are and introduces him to their communities and the issues they face, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more than just singing,\u201d said Bastard, whose group runs a program that registers people to vote at quincea\u00f1eras. \u201c[When] celebrities or even politicians use that power to visit people \u2026 they tend to talk to these individuals a lot closer and and really tell them the issues that are impacting them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Jimena S\u00e1enz\u2019s guests film and dance along as Pulido sings during the quincea\u00f1era celebration in Edinburg. Credit: Jaime Monzon<\/p>\n

\"\"Aimee L\u00f3pez\u2019s guests react as Pulido sings at the quincea\u00f1era celebration in Mission. Credit: Jaime Monzon<\/p>\n

\"\"Aimee L\u00f3pez, 15, holds a cap gifted to her by Pulido that reads \u201cMake Quincea\u00f1eras Great Again,\u201d on March 27, 2026. Credit: Jaime Monzon<\/p>\n

\"\"Pulido, a Latin Grammy winner who is now running for Congress in District 15, received more than 1,000 requests in the first 24 hours to perform at quincea\u00f1eras, birthday parties, bar mitzvahs and graduations. Credit: Jaime Monzon<\/p>\n

National Democrats are bullish on Pulido\u2019s chances of reclaiming the 15th Congressional District, which covers a massive geographic area but has most of its population in Hidalgo County, a border community that includes McAllen. De La Cruz has held the seat since she flipped it in 2022, marking the first time in history a Republican won the district.<\/p>\n

Democrats are gunning for the seat this election cycle, hoping to win back Latino voters amid growing dissatisfaction with the Trump administration over the economy and immigration. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put De La Cruz\u2019s seat \u2014 where about three-quarters of registered voters are Hispanic \u2014 on a list of 35 Republican-held districts they\u2019re targeting across the country as they try to win control of the U.S. House this fall.<\/p>\n

But Pulido\u2019s congressional run has also attracted criticism as a growing number of his old social media posts have resurfaced and been used as fodder by De La Cruz and Republican allies to argue the musician is unfit for Congress. They have also pointed to reports that Pulido performed<\/a> with a bandmate who is a registered sex offender. Pulido\u2019s campaign has said he was unaware of the bandmate\u2019s criminal history, which includes a conviction for indecent contact with an 8-year-old girl.<\/p>\n

Pulido\u2019s unearthed posts, meanwhile, include ones with misogynistic jokes and links to pornographic websites. His political foes have also circulated a music video from 2010 in which he played the role of a pervert. Pulido defended the video, saying it was satirical and \u201cbased on a real singer that was caught in a lewd act.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a March 22 video posted on X, Pulido called the criticism \u201ccheap tabloid attacks\u201d and said they stem from translating posts from Spanish to English, which doesn\u2019t properly convey the original humor.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for De La Cruz\u2019s campaign noted in a statement that Pulido also shared<\/a> an explicit photo of a woman unintentionally exposing herself at his concert in a 2023 post.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile he\u2019s busy explaining his predatory behavior,\u201d the spokesperson said, \u201cCongresswoman De La Cruz is focused on delivering for working-class families in South Texas, because she\u2019s actually one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of Wednesday evening, Pulido also had yet to file<\/a> a financial disclosure with the House Clerk providing details about his income, assets and other financial information. The report was due within 30 days of the start of Pulido\u2019s campaign; candidates may request extensions before that initial deadline, though Pulido did not do so.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pulido signs back at a girl during Jimena S\u00e1enz\u2019s quincea\u00f1era celebration in Edinburg. Credit: Jaime Monzon<\/p>\n

Pulido\u2019s campaign said they were working as quickly as possible to finalize the report and would file it soon, adding that the candidate\u2019s background as a musician makes financial disclosures more complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the jokes, I wish I could take back,\u201d Pulido said in an interview. \u201cI\u2019m not going to apologize for acting in a music video. I\u2019m an actor, I\u2019m a singer, I\u2019m part of the entertainment industry, and I think that they\u2019re just grasping at straws.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before he launched his campaign for Texas, Pulido became a household name in Tejano music, which is a fusion of Mexican and American sounds that originated in Texas. He\u2019s gotten five Latin Grammy nominations and has more than 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify.<\/p>\n

Janie S\u00e1enz said Tejano music has impacted her and her family\u2019s lives, adding that quincea\u00f1eras are important to her family as a marker of both the start of adulthood and a celebration of the childhood that is ending.<\/p>\n

\u201cBobby Pulido\u2019s music has been a major part of our family growing up,\u201d Janie S\u00e1enz said. \u201cWe\u2019re very proud, not only of our last name, but everything we\u2019ve inherited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disclosure: University of Texas \u2013 Rio Grande Valley has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune\u2019s journalism. Find a complete\u00a0list of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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