Los Fabulosos Cuatro Drummer Juan Hinojosa Dies in Crash

Juan Hinojosa, a drummer and founding member of the Tejano band Los Fabulosos Cuatro, died along with his 28-year-old son in a traffic accident in Texas. Hinojosa, 51, died Friday at the scene of the accident in Nueces County. His son, Michael Hinojosa, died at a hospital three hours later.

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Department of Public Safety Trooper Gary Light said the men were driving in dense fog toward Corpus Christi on a rural road when their vehicle was hit by another vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle, Sally Hernandez, 50, suffered several fractures and was in stable condition yesterday (Nov. 25). She was expected to be cited for failure to stop at a stop sign, Light said. It was unclear if any criminal charges would be filed.

Hinojosa — who was inducted into the Tejano ROOTS (Remembering Our Own Tejano Stars) Hall of Fame in Alice, Texas, in August 2000 — and his son worked together as electrical engineers. Michael Hinojosa also played drums.

Los Fabulosos Cuatro influenced many of today’s Tejano stars, said Javier Villanueva, executive vice president of Tejano Roots and a former manager for Juan Hinojosa. “They were trendsetters in their time,” he said. “They liked to experiment. Their arrangements were so advanced that very few groups could imitate them.”

Los Fabulosos Cuatro started touring in the early ’60s as Carlos Guzman y su Conjunto, changing their name to Carlos Guzman y Los Fabulosos Cuatro soon after achieving their first hit, a song called “Vestida de Blanco.” Abelardo Jiménez, also known as “ChaCha,” joined in after Carlos Guzman decided to go on his own; he was later replaced by Eddie Pérez. When Armando and Juan Hinojosa became the only original members in the band, they called themselves Thus Black Jack. Nevertheless, their English-language name was just temporary, changing it to Los Fabulosos Cuatro after teaming up with Ernie Ruiz and Laura Canales.

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