José and Virginia Gallardo "Señor José Orchestra" Photographs

José Gallardo and his orchestra were known by several different names during the time they performed throughout South Texas. Besides “Señor José Orchestra,” the group was known as “Señor José 12 Piece All Spanish Orchestra,” the “Laredo Syncopators,” and the “Laredo Serenadors.” José Gallardo married Virginia L. Gallardo and the couple had a son, Jose Gallardo, who became a famous Latin jazz composer and musician and a daughter Dolores G. Caceres. In Corpus Christi, he spent many of his later years teaching piano in the Hispanic community. He and his sister Miss Felicita Gallardo would hold piano and dance recitals from the 1940s-1970s.