Music by the American Legacy Jazz Band

History of the Song & Story

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     We buried my beloved grandmother, Basiliza Gallegos, in San Antonio. As family gathered that week to share stories and talk about her legacy, I began to dream of a way to honor her and my Hispanic heritage. So as a musician, this started by writing a Christmas song about my grandmother’s city and a reindeer named Jose in a unique blend of Tejano, Jazz Band and a touch of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.

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     Originally, I wanted to make Jose related to another famous reindeer who saved Santa on a foggy night with his red nose. But when we reached out to the copyright owners for discussion, they wanted to own 100% of Jose! So I rewrote the story with no mention of the infamous reindeer.

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     Jose was born on Christmas day!   His mother Maria was related to a famous nephew named Comet.   That made Jose a "Primo" (cousin).

 

     The final task in making the story and song was to translate both to Spanish. You might wonder, “Is it easy to translate the song into another language?”, and the short answer is, “No way, Jose!” (Haha…get it?!)

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     Thankfully I am blessed to come from a musical family…my dad and his brothers played in a Tex-Mex gospel band, and that made the task much easier than it could have been. My mom and dad were happy to help translate the song into Spanish with words that not only matched the original meaning but were also poetic in the Spanish language! They truly are amazing.

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I hope you enjoy taking your family on an imaginary journey this holiday season!

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-Ernest