CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) - In the eyes of rest of the world, El Dusty is earning Grammy Award nominations, headlining performances across the U.S. and Mexico and producing music for internationally recognized artists.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports he’s been able to reach success and land a record deal with Universal Music Latin.
And he’s done it all without leaving his hometown.
For years, Horacio “Dusty” Oliveira has been writing and producing music out of his studio in the heart of Corpus Christi. Living downtown has allowed the electro-cumbia DJ to see the city’s ups and downs firsthand, he said.
“I love Corpus, I love this city. This is home and I want to make something happen here that is fun and that I can enjoy, also,” Oliveira said. “A lot of people say that there’s not a lot going on here but you gotta kind of get creative and do your own thing.
“I just want see cool stuff happen here, whether I’m part of it or not.”
And now he’s making moves to contribute to Corpus Christi’s development. He’s also giving aspiring artists the space and resources they need to create and gain momentum.
But it will take hard work, he said.
The 37-year-old, who grew up in Calallen, said it took years before he was selling out concert venues locally and in cities, like Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Mexico City.
Years of listening to his parents’ Tejano, norteño, cumbia and classic rock records at home in an attempt to steer him away from hip-hop.
Years of working several jobs and even getting fired. And years of experimenting with different music genres with different bands and failing.
“I know nothing lasts forever and I’ve been fortunate enough to have had something back to back,” Oliveira said. “But I mean, dude, I’ve worked a lot. I’ve been here making songs until 4 a.m. And it’s like a never ending process.”
The hard work is paying off.
In 2015, Oliveira was featured in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 10 New Artists You Need to Know. In 2016, he was nominated for a Latin Grammy for his single, “Cumbia Anthem” featuring Happy Colors.
The following year, Oliveira signed a deal with Spirit Music Latino. That deal has allowed his cumbia sounds to reach a broader audience in the country and internationally.
His 2012 hit “K Le Pasa” was also featured in a 2018 Acura TLX car commercial, which aired during soccer games on ESPN.
And locally, Dusty’s brainchild Tropicoso, a bi-monthly cumbia party featuring Latin American artists and DJs at House of Rock, has grown in popularity. It often sells out.
The first Tropicoso of 2018 was last month and featured DJ All Day Ray, Karen Sandoval, Jefferson D’Lion and A Tribe Called Red.
“He’s one of the most hardworking musicians I’ve known,” said Casey Lain, owner of House of Rock. He has partnered with Oliveira to develop Tropicoso for about a year.
Lain said Oliveira’s pride in his hometown is contagious.
And it shows when fans come to his shows sporting T-shirts and hats Dusty designed with “Corpus” and “Cumbia” emblazoned on them.
“We grow up here and tend to have self-esteem issues. We compare (ourselves) to all of these other cities around us, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston,” Lain said. “But we have potential here. We have a rich history of music here, we have Selena, Freddy Fender and so many others and now Dusty is becoming part of that, too.”
This year, Dusty is also spearheading Corpus Christi’s first taco festival, Que Bueno Taco Fest, slated for September, alongside Corpus Christi PATCH. Proceeds will go to Dusty’s artist nurturing program and renovations and preservation of The Ritz Theatre on Chaparral Street.
Monica McLeod Sawyer, Que Bueno Taco fest committee chairwoman and president of Corpus Christi PATCH, said Oliveira truly believes in Corpus Christi’s potential.
“He wants to bring out the best of Corpus Christi and reveal to the masses how much creativity there is here,” Sawyer said. “With the artists nurturing program he wants to figure out a way to keep artists here, so that they can make a living here. That’s what we love about him. You can feel his loyalty to the community.”
In April, Oliveira will lead the Silent Disco for a third time at Fiesta de La Flor, the music festival honoring the life and legacy of Selena.
Jennifer Gracia attended Tropicoso. She first saw him perform at Dia de Los Muertos Corpus Christi Street Festival a few years ago.
Gracia, 40, said she loved the way Dusty mixes music she’s familiar with, like that of Ramon Ayala and Fito Olivares.
“(Listening to the music) is nostalgic, too. It reminds me of growing up here and Sunday barbecues with my father. It’s music we know,” Gracia said. “I also love the energy he brings. And my favorite part is the old school music with the new sounds.”
Oliveira has produced music for Paula DeAnda and most recently, DJ Kane. Performer and producer Hype Turner was among the musicians helping Dusty produce Kane’s latest songs in February.
Hype Turner, of Miami, first met Dusty during a studio session in 2016, he said.
“Our chemistry in the studio is so dope. He believes in me and our movement,” he said. “(El Dusty) inspired me to approach music with more of a business mindset, to be myself, make music I genuinely like and to embrace my culture and hometown.”
For now, though Dusty’s musical impact has spread around the world, most of his music will continue to flow out of his studio on Peoples Street in downtown Corpus Christi.
Staying close to family, his wife, mother and father - who both struggled with health issues - were other reasons Dusty decided to remain in town.
However, he knows he’ll eventually make the move most artists make earlier in their career.
“The music business is in LA, and that’s where my label is and I’m over there already two to three weeks at a time,” Oliveira said.
Oliveira’s mother died in 2013 and his father died in November.
“I tried to make the best out of every situation and my dad always told me to go,” he said. “But I wanted to stay here for them and my brothers are here, too. But now I feel like if I go to LA I’ll leave a movement behind here in Corpus.”
“At least by then I’ll know I’m not leaving to try to make it, you know? I’ve made it here, now I’m going there to keep it going,” he said.
Oliveira’s latest album “Cumbia City” is expected to be released in April. He’s also expected to tour several locations on the West and East coasts this year.
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Information from: Corpus Christi Caller-Times, http://www.caller.com
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