Conjunto Bernal

Conjunto Bernal ranks among the most influential ensembles in the development of Conjunto or Tejano music, the buoyant style rooted in the Texas-Mexico border region. First called Los Hermanitos Bernal, the group served as a formative influence on later acts including Los Lobos and the Blazers.

The band embodied the combined work of bajo sexto player and vocalist Eloy Bernal alongside his younger sibling Paulino, who handled accordion and vocals. While still young, the brothers moved from one bar to the next, performing to support their sizable family. During the late 1960s the Bernals experienced a born-again Christian conversion and redirected their efforts toward gospel repertoire, after which Eloy emerged as one of the most prominent Spanish-language gospel vocalists.

In December 1998 Eloy perished when his bus overturned outside Corpus Christi, Texas; his son and daughter sustained injuries in the same crash. Paulino appeared as a guest vocalist at the funeral. Eagle Video issued the 1996 performance recording Golondrina featuring Conjunto Bernal.