Tejano legend Shelly Lares has recorded a song about presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris to encourage Latino voters to turn out to support her.
Lares is a winner of several Tejano Music Awards, including last year's Lifetime Achievement Award. She is semi-retired.
And while she says she usually keeps music and politics separate, she wanted to show her support for Harris.
"But I think for this, you know, I'm really hoping for change and ... a lot of good things to come," she told TPR. "So ... I didn't think twice about it at all."
Lares, who is off the road these days and provides music therapy to hospice patients, hopes the song is used as part of the soundtrack at this week's Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
"I really hope they do, and, you know, we're getting a lot of response because now it's on all streaming platforms, so her supporters can definitely post their own videos and use the audio for it," she said.
The idea for such a song originated with UTSA's Professor Emerita Dr. Ellen Riojas Clark and record executive José Rosario, who wrote the lyrics.
Bexar County Democratic Chair Monica Alcantara said she has been a fan of Lares since her teenage years and has helped promote the song though social media.
"We're all trying to pull out the Latino vote in Bexar County and throughout the country," Alcantara said. "And she wanted to provide a song for Kamala and to get everybody just kind of singing along and engaged and getting out the vote."
An event based around the song called "La Gran Kamalada Tamalada," to show support for Harris, is planned on Oct. 26th.
Tamaladas are traditional gatherings in Latino households to make tamales around Christmas time.
