Southwest Detroit gets first historical marker honoring area's culture, legacy

DETROIT (FOX 2) - While there are 1,800 historical markers that dot the state of Michigan, never has one been planted in Southwest Detroit - until today.

In honor of Hispanic and Latino Heritage Month, one of the green and gold-colored signs celebrating the vibrancy of its culture and the unique legacy that Texas-Mexican migrants brought to the state has been planted. 

You'll find it at Bagley and 21st Street in Mexicantown.

"This is the first one that’s dedicated specifically to a Mexican community and it’s very fitting that it’s in this corner in Southwest Detroit," Richard Cruz Davila of the Julian Samora Research Institute said. "Really historically the heart of the Hispanic community in Detroit."

The sign is six years in the making, says Frank Solis. Among the themes it hopes to highlight is Tehano music, which is a blend of Mexican culture and sounds as well as a pop of American influences.

"The music comes from the immigrations in Burnsville Texas with the German and Polish populations with their polkas. The musicians of the early days they changed the reads on them and they created their own sound and they started writing songs," said Solis.

The music electrified audiences with bass amplifiers. From its humble beginnings, it's now a multi-billion dollar industry.

One iconic reference to the music is from the movie Selena, a biographical film about Selena Quintanilla. She won a Grammy for Tejano music and her songs are still relevant today. 

"We’re very excited for the community that we’re being recognized and that this style of music is finally being recognized," said Solis.

But when it comes to honoring the music in Detroit, the legacy can't be fully understood without talking about some of the musicians with roots in the city. 

That includes Martin Solis Jr., whose name is officially marked on the historical sign. He and his cousin formed the group Conjunto Los Primos, which made history as one of the first groups in the Midwest to master the music genre and play it for the masses. Their music included a Bajo Sexto - a 12-string Mexican guitar and the accordion.

"He would be excited I mean we’re still - it’s really unbelievable," Solis said. "We’ve been working on this for six years. Two years of Covid set us back, but it's all really starting to soak Into my family now,"

The music of Los Primos didn't just unite Southwest Detroit with other neighborhoods - but with the world. And even after Solis passed in 2019 at the age of 90, his music still lives on. Both in The Tejano Hall of Fame and now in Southwest Detroit.