{"id":8085,"date":"2024-09-29T18:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-29T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8085"},"modified":"2024-09-29T18:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-29T18:30:00","slug":"hispanic-heritage-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8085","title":{"rendered":"Hispanic Heritage Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2024-09-29T18:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

VA celebrates Hispanic Heritage month with the story of Vietnam Veteran Arnie Cardenas.<\/p>\n

Growing up in Uvalde, Texas, Army Veteran Cardenas and his eight siblings loved listening to the sounds of accordion maestro Tony de la Rosa and the Tex-Mex music flowing across nearby border towns like Laredo.<\/p>\n

As Cardenas grew older, his family got hooked on a new phenomenon sweeping the nation in the mid-1950s: Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stations in San Antonio, 80 miles away, crackled with hits like \u201cWhole Lotta Shakin\u2019 Going On,\u201d \u201cTutti Frutti\u201d and \u201cAll Shook Up.\u201d Cardenas\u2019 mother would capture rockers off the radio for her kids on tape recorders.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cardenas and his brothers Armando, Arnoldo and Arturo weren\u2019t content on just listening. They wanted to play. When Arnie was 14 years old, an uncle bought him an old Stella acoustic guitar and taught him a few chords. He kept practicing and learned to play by ear. With Arnie singing and playing guitar, Arturo on drums, Arnoldo on saxophone and Armando playing the accordion, the foursome started the Cardenas Brothers Band.<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I really your girlfriend?\u201d<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/a>
Cardenas brothers band<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

With the promise of stable factory work, the four brothers moved north to Rockford, Illinois, in 1963. The Cardenas Brothers Band continued performing around the Midwest. Playing a gig in Ohio proved fateful for young Arnie, where he met future wife Neomi.<\/p>\n

Neomi came to our show with a friend. \u201cI went down off the stage, tapped the guy on the shoulder and said, \u2018I\u2019m sorry buddy, but may I dance with her? She is my girlfriend.\u2019 She just looked at me. We started dancing and she asked, \u2018Am I really your girlfriend?\u2019 I said, \u2018I would sure like you to be.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple ended up getting married, raising five children and sharing life\u2019s ups and downs until Neomi died in 2014.<\/p>\n

In 1964, Arnie and his brothers were drafted into the military. Arnie and Arnoldo, the saxophonist, deployed to Vietnam in 1965, where Arnie was an Army field medic. Arnie was just two months from the end of his tour when he got devastating news. His youngest brother had been killed in action.<\/p>\n

Trio a bit more subdued<\/h2>\n

With Arnoldo in his thoughts, Arnie and Armando and Arturo reunited to form the Cardenas Trio after Arnie came home. A bit more subdued from their teenage years playing rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, the Cardenas Trio focused on boleros (slow waltzes and love songs) and cumbia (folk dance). He discovered his wife had a beautiful singing voice and Neomi became the band\u2019s lead vocalist until her death.<\/p>\n

Arnie goes to the VA Clinic in Rockford, Illinois, for yearly physicals, and occasional appointments at the William S. Middleton VA<\/a> in Madison, Wisconsin. He shared his story with his VA health care team through a conversation with Lauren Koshere of the \u201cMy Life, My Story\u201d project.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral years ago, they spotted a little cancer on my throat. They treated it with radiation for nine weeks and it disappeared. I had to go for follow-ups for the next five years and it never came back. I\u2019m clean,\u201d Arnie shared.<\/p>\n

As proof, he belted out a few lines from \u201cTutti Frutti.\u201d For a few moments, the air resounded with all the feeling of a young man singing along to the radio more than 60 years ago.<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vietnam Veteran Arnie Cardenas celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month. He and his brothers had crowds dancing in the street 60 years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHispanic Heritage Month - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vietnam Veteran Arnie Cardenas celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month. 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