Excerpt from The Monitor, McAllen, Texas, March 9, 2010 - HARLINGEN — Conjunto legend Ruben Vela’s career stretched from his boyhood in dusty South Texas dance halls to the days of the powermix and the music video. The accordion mastery that kept people dancing for more than half a century has been forever silenced. Vela, 72, died Tuesday evening at Valley Baptist Medical Center. Known as the "King of the Dance Hall Sound," Vela started recording in the 1950s but scored his biggest success at an age when most people start considering retirement.

Read more about Ruben Vela on Last.fm.


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