SAN ANTONIO \u2013 For more than five decades, Tejano music legend Little Joe has built a career that has helped shape the genre and inspire generations of fans.<\/p>\n
Now, at 85, the musician known as the \u201cKing of the Brown Sound\u201d is focused not only on celebrating his career but also on creating opportunities for future generations.<\/p>\n
Little Joe officially announced an upcoming legacy show that will celebrate his decades-long music career, along with the launch of the Little Joe and Cris Hernandez Legacy Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to support students pursuing higher education.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had people suggest that I start a foundation, and I\u2019m talking 20, 25 years,\u201d Little Joe said. \u201cBut I was not ready. I didn\u2019t feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea gained momentum last year after a conversation with a friend and foundation development leader, Lupita Gutierrez.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you think Little Joe, you think big words \u2014 legendary icon, a trailblazer for the industry,\u201d Gutierrez said. \u201cMy role in this is as head of development, just to put everything together, create the foundation, and make partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n
The foundation is named in honor of Little Joe\u2019s late wife, Cris Hernandez, who died almost two years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe passed away in October of 2024, and it\u2019s been real hard and difficult without her,\u201d Little Joe said. \u201cBut when the foundation really became a reality, I knew that I wanted to have her name on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization will provide scholarships to students pursuing careers in medicine, law, education and the arts.<\/p>\n
According to organizers, the first scholarships will be awarded next year to students from San Antonio\u2019s West Side and Little Joe\u2019s hometown of Temple. The program is expected to expand nationwide in future years.<\/p>\n
As part of the foundation\u2019s launch, organizers also announced the Tejanitos Got Talent competition, scheduled for July. The winner will perform during Little Joe\u2019s Legacy Show on Aug. 1 at Woodlawn Theatre.<\/p>\n
The event will feature Little Joe alongside several guest performers and artists celebrating his contributions to Tejano music.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m calling it the show of the year of 2026,\u201d Gutierrez said. \u201cNot only are we honoring this icon right here, but the whole experience. I want people to walk in and be like, \u2018Little Joe everywhere.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
While preparing for the milestone event, Little Joe said he has found himself reflecting on his life and career, including the meaning behind one of his best-known songs, \u201cLas Nubes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe said he hopes his legacy extends beyond music as he looks toward the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat even in death, I continue to help kids get ahead because I know the importance of an education,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 For more than five decades, Tejano music legend Little Joe has built a career that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349209,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[163,6527,278,82,84,83,26536],"class_list":["post-349208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-education","tag-ksatkids","tag-music","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-tejano"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}