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Q+A: Norma Valles

preston Hollow resident Norma Valles will sing the national anthem for thousands of baseball fans at the rangers game on Sept. 15, which also marks the start of Hispanic Heritage month. Valles is a recording artist, a wife and mother of three, as well as a co-owner of the tex-mex restaurant Nueva Casita, near Northwest Highway and Greenville. every Saturday night from 7-10 p.m., Valles performs mariachi music at her restaurant. the Advocate had lunch with Valles, to talk about how her family business and singing career began.

When did you first start singing?

When I was little, my grandpa would sit me on his lap and play his three-stringed guitar and sing songs at family get-togethers. He won my heart.

How did you get started singing professionally?

Back in the late 1990s I had a friend who entered me into a singing contest without me knowing about it.

Were you upset?

I was nervous, but I sang in the contest anyways and ended up winning the mariachi category of the competition. Backstage I was so overwhelmed that I missed the announcer call my name as the overall winner. I beat out over 40 other performing bands. The overall cash prize was $200, and I was so excited.

Did winning the contest help your career?

Yes. For the next several years, I performed at different restaurants and was asked to do voice-overs, record music and sing the national anthem for both the Dallas Mavericks and the Texas Rangers. I also performed with the Tejano group Grupo Cariño.

Was it hard for you as a woman to break into the typically maledominated world of Tejano and mariachi music?

It was easier with mariachi. The Tejano band wanted me to dress like a man and not wear my dress. I had to stand in the back during our performances. In the end I left the group and stayed with mariachi. I can sing and I am friendly, so I think that’s what helps me get along well with other mariachi performers.

Earlier this year, there was some backlash against 11-year-old Sebastien De La Cruz when he sang the national anthem in his mariachi outfit during the NBA finals. Some people accused him of being unAmerican. Was that hard to watch?

I didn’t understand it. When I sing the national anthem at the Rangers stadium, they ask me to wear my mariachi outfit. It’s an