Tejano

American  

[tay-hah-noh, tuh-] / teɪˈhɑ noʊ, tə- /

noun

1. a Texas native or resident of Mexican or Mexican American birth or descent.

   The author’s newest short stories focus on a network of relationships between Tejanos and Anglos in a fictional Texas town.

2. (often lowercase) a style of Mexican American popular music that features the accordion and blends the polka with various forms of traditional Mexican music, now often including synthesizers and rock music.

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Etymology

Origin of Tejano

From Spanish (Mexico, Texas): literally, “Texan,” from Tejas Texas ( def. ) + masculine adjective suffix -ano ( see -an ( def. )); Tejano def. 1 was first recorded in 1925–30; Tejano def. 2 was first recorded in 1975–80

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Tejano

But he was famous way before politics—Pulido is a Tejano star, a 1990s teen idol, a Tejano Backstreet Boy before there were the Backstreet Boys.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

Guest: Bobby Pulido, congressional candidate for Texas’s 15th district, Tejano singer-songwriter.

From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026

This isn’t bro country; it’s songs for aching hearts, for dreamers, for the lovelorn, steeped in pop, rock, Tejano and Mariachi.

From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2025

With multiple albums under her belt, Selena was then able to dominate the Tejano Music Awards; she won the title of Female Vocalist of the Year in 1987.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2025

She’d cleaned out his bank account before she left him, taking with her every penny he’d ever saved from his years as a quasi-famous Tejano singer.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

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