Handbook of Texas Online - DAVILA, MANUEL GONZALES, SR.

DAVILA, MANUEL GONZALES, SR. (1918–1997). Manuel Gonzales Davila Sr., Tejano radio pioneer, was born in San Antonio on May 22, 1918, the son of José Luis and María Davila. As a young man Davila enjoyed boxing. He became involved in radio^qv at the age of eighteen and continued that involvement for the remainder of his life.

He and his brother, José, began broadcasting in 1935 by buying one-hour slots on English-language stations; there were no Spanish stations in San Antonio at the time. Davila found bias against Mexican-American broadcasters from Anglos, but also from Hispanics who believed that one should be from Mexico in order to broadcast in Spanish.

In 1961, after losing his job when the station at which he worked throughout the 1950s was sold, Davila decided to buy his own station. On March 17, 1966, after a five-year legal fight, he began broadcasting Tex-Mex music on his newly purchased station, KEDA–AM, nicknamed "Radio Jalapeño." The station's competitors called it the "cantina station" because of its accordion-driven South Texas music, although Davila insisted that the station was "all about familia and respect and giving newcomers a break." The local nature of the radio station raised skepticism at first, but the major labels that originally bypassed it eventually started calling.

About his career path Davila said, "All I ever wanted to do was play country music,^qv but I wanted to play it in Spanish. I had to show everybody… that a Mexican-American could run a station successfully playing Mexican-American music." Emphasizing local bands, KEDA aired Texas musicians Santiago Jiménez Sr. and Narciso Martínez^qqv and later Tejano newcomers Selena,^qv Emilio, and Los Aguilares. Davila's "Jalapeño Network" came to include KCCT–AM, KBSO–FM, and KFLZ–FM in Corpus Christi. As Davila's broadcasting range expanded, so did the variety of musical styles performed on his radio stations. KCCT is a Spanish Christian station, KBSO plays classic rock, and KFLZ plays international Spanish music. Most of Davila's immediate family has been involved with the radio operations.

In 2008 KEDA was the longest-running and last remaining family-owned independent radio station in the San Antonio market; along with playing music, it maintained a connection to its roots through community-service programming. These efforts included the reading of obituaries on the air, as well as fundraisers for those who could not afford to bury their dead children.

In October 1943 Davila married Madeline Peña. They had seven children: Manuel, Richard, Marcella, Roy, Joseph, Albert, and Madeline. Davila died of natural causes in San Antonio on July 12, 1997, and is buried in San Fernando Cemetery No. 2. In 1997 he was inducted into the Tejano Music Hall of Fame for special achievements and received a lifetime achievement award from the Tejano Conjunto Festival Hall of Fame. In 1998 Davila was honored posthumously with a Radio Pioneer Award from Pura Vida Music Awards, Inc.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Tony R. DeMars, "Buying Time to Start Spanish-Language Radio in San Antonio: Manuel Davila and the Beginning of Tejano Programming," Journal of Radio Studies 12 (May 2005). San Antonio Express-News, March 15, 1991, July 15, 1997. Texas Talent Musicians Association: Tejano Hall of Fame website (http://www.tejanomusicawards.com/fame.html), accessed February 4, 2003.

Lois Smith

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