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Lerma’s Nite Club, San Antonio, Texas

Side profile of blue building with red accent marks and a black and white tile border along the bottom of building
Lerma's Nite Club (after rehabilitation of exterior)

Kayla Padilla//Texas Public Radio

What kind of place was Lerma’s Nite Club?

Lerma’s Nite Club was a music venue in San Antonio, Texas that specialized in conjunto music, a genre of Texan-Mexican folk music. Over the course of its almost sixty years as a music venue, the club became influential in the development of the genre and the local community more broadly. Lerma’s was housed in the largest portion of a multiuse building initially constructed around 1942. Originally called El Sombrero, the venue opened in 1948 and played a wide variety of music that came from working class Mexican traditions. In 1951 Pablo H. Lerma took over the lease, changed the name and focused on conjunto music. The club remained a community center until it was closed in 2010 due to code violations. Today the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The community organization Esperanza Peace and Justice Center and community members have rehabilitated the building to be used by the public once again and continue the building’s legacy as a community hub and cultural center. Lerma's bay is utilized by the Conjunto Heritage Taller and offers free accordion and bajo sexto classes for future Conjunto musicians to learn. The two northernmost bays will be a part of the Bexar County BiblioTech starting in December 2024.

Woman sitting down leaning on a guitar. She wears a dress and the photo is in black and white
Portrait of singer Lydia Mendoza, photograph, Date Unknown

University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rose Marine Theatre.

What is conjunto music?

Just like blues and bluegrass, conjunto (pronounced con-HOON-toh) is folk music that tells the story of every day working class people, specifically of Tejanos (descendants of people who settled in Texas before it was the United States. It is also used to describe Texans of Mexican Descent) from the late 1800s to today. Conjunto music originated along the Texas-Mexico border. It's deeply tied to Mexican folk music like Norteño and Tejano. While all three share similar sounds, conjunto often features a smaller ensemble with button accordion and bajo sexto, a 12 string bass guitar, as central instruments, creating a more deconstructed sound. In addition to the bajo sexto and accordion, it also involves instruments like bass and drums. Conjunto music blends polka rhythms, influenced by German, Czech, and Polish immigration, with Mexican folk melodies, incorporating elements such as waltzes, redobas, schottisches, boleros, cumbias, and doble paso (two-step). This genre is rooted not only in German sounds but also reflects the contributions of other cultures that settled in the region and utalized the button accordion. Conjunto emerged as a form of working-class expression born in the fields of German, Czech, and Polish ranches and farms, where indigenous Mexicans labored. Weekend dances on these farms and ranches served as pivotal gatherings, allowing the Tejano community to foster connections and plan for the future after a hard week’s worth of labor. The lyrics typically illustrate stories of love, cultural pride, rural life, and social issues, reflecting the experiences of Tejanos throughout different time periods in US history. Conjunto’s sounds and popularity evolved through distinct eras, from its early roots in the late 1800s to the post WWII commercialization boom, to its rebirth and popularization in the early 2000s.

Conjunto in the community

Conjunto celebrations or dances were held frequently as a way to get together after long days of work. Gatherings were typically promoted through word of mouth, unlike other venues that promoted their music through flyers and newspapers. The sounds of the button accordion had a limited reach until the advent of radio programming, major record label releases, and the emergence of a new generation of musicians in the 1920s and 1930s. These elements collectively contributed to the post-WWII boom of conjunto music along the Texas-Mexico border. Conjunto played in living rooms, dance halls, and cantinas. Today, the music is celebrated both in tradition and through institutions and events such as the annual Tejano Conjunto Festival in San Antonio, TX, Tejano R.O.O.T.S Hall of Fame Museum in Alice, TX and the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum in San Benito, TX. Musicians like Narciso Martinez, Santiago Jimenez, Sr., Valerio Longoria, Lydia Mendoza, Pualino Bernal, Roberto Pulido, Ruben Vela, Leonardo (Flaco) Jimenez, Emilio Navaira, and many more included in the Conjunto Hall of Fame have helped conjunto music thrive. Modern conjunto today continues to innovate while honoring its traditional foundations.

Side view of blue building with orange accents
Lerma's Nite Club 2012

Wikimedia Commons

What’s up with the windows?

Lerma’s is a good example of late Art Moderne design, an American offshoot of Art Deco style. The octagonal windows and rounded corners are a distinctive architectural feature of Art Deco style buildings. Art Deco is a decorative art style that originated in Paris, France that is defined by bold geometric shapes and strong colors. The floor level windows and the upper windows are different in both size and shape. Black and white tile detailing along the bottom half of the building was painted over for many years but has recently been uncovered. The cinder block building consists of five separate sections, the largest of which housed Lerma’s. All these features are demonstrations of Art Deco and Art Moderne design.

Three musicians on stage playing conjunto music
Flaco Jimenez and Henry Zimmerle.

Courtesy of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

Who’s Who?

The Wu Family: A Chinese American family who are the original owners of the building that housed Lerma’s. Theodore Hong Wu was a prominent businessman in the area, and he purchased the building for $8,000. Wu leased out each of the five sections of the building to different members of the community.

Pablo H. Lerma: In 1951 the lease for the music venue was taken over by Pablo H. Lerma, a local business owner who had previously owned a bar a few streets down. Upon taking over the lease Lerma changed the name of the club from El Sombrero to Lerma’s Nite Club and began featuring exclusively conjunto music.

Armando Lerma: Pablo’s son Armando took over the lease after Pablo retired. Armando ran the business until 1981 when after falling ill he decided to retire. He decided to offer the lease to some family friends on the condition they keep using the name Lerma’s Nite Club.

Mary and Gilbert Garcia: Mary and Gilbert Garcia were avid fans of conjunto music, so they agreed to taking over the lease when Armando retired. The Garcias eventually became the owners of the building that houses Lerma’s, which they kept open until 2010 when the building was closed by the city of San Antonio for code violations.

Esperanza Peace and Justice Center: A nonprofit organization who, recognizing the cultural importance of Lerma’s purchased the building from the Garcia’s and began work on restoring the building to be suitable for public use.

Musicians who frequented Lerma’s and are pivotal to the evolution of conjunto: Valerio Longoria, Tony de la Rosa, Lydia Mendoza, Ruben Naranjo, Esteban “El Parche” Jordan, Ruben Vela, Santiago Jiménez, Sr., and his sons, Flaco Jiménez and Santiago Jiménez, Jr., Luis Gonzáles (also González) y su Conjunto

Around two dozen people pose in three rows holding light blue heart cut outs
Community members pose holding "Save Lerma's" signs

Courtesy of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

Why is Lerma’s so important to the community?

Lerma’s Nite Club is one of the longest continually running conjunto dance halls in the US. It is situated on North Zarzamora Street, in San Antonio’s West Side community. Lerma’s stage was active for sixty years until it was forced to close down after a threat of demolition in 2010.

Lerma’s was most active during the post WWII peak of conjunto and acted as a space where working class people and their families could gather to form community and express their cultural traditions. Tardeadas or afternoon dances were broadcast live on the radio, building a larger network of Lerma’s fans. The black and white tiled floor of Lerma’s was a literal foundation for the many musical adaptations that revolutionized conjunto and was a frequent stage for artists who read like the line up for the Conjunto Hall of Fame.

Despite its popularity within the conjunto community, the larger San Antonio community often disregarded Lerma’s cultural heritage due to harmful stereotypes of the West Side. San Antonio Express News once wrote, “Unfortunately though many San Antonians will probably never know the charms of the 20-year-old establishment because it sees to fit the “West Side bar” stereotype” (San Antonio Express News, July 11, 1976.)

Lerma’s achievement in preserving both tangible and intangible heritage held significant symbolic value for the West Side community. Due to various factors, including disinvestment in public infrastructure, systemic racism and segregation, and insufficient representation in preservation efforts, numerous buildings with significant West Side history have been demolished. One notable example is La Gloria, a beloved music venue that was torn down in 2002, prompting a profound sense of mourning and loss of cultural heritage within the community. In response to the threats posed by demolition, community members and activists have tirelessly worked to protect landmarks like Lerma’s from similar fates.

Thanks to the power of preservation, the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center and community members from Save Lerma’s coalition saved Lerma’s from demolition. That same year, San Antonio’s city council approved a historic landmark designation. The following year, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally, Preservation Texas included Lerma’s on its list of Texas’s Most Endangered Places in 2014. Today, the community hopes to open its doors again as a cultural center where people can once again come together and enjoy conjunto.

Advertisement for Lerma's Nite Club in blue letters
Advertisement for Lerma's Nite Club

Courtesy of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

What is the process for nominating a site?

Preserving a site can be difficult if you don’t know where to start. Usually, nominating a site for the National Register of Historic Places involves thorough research into its historical, architectural, or cultural significance. You can start by gathering supporting documentation like historical records and photographs. Consider consulting with experts in relevant fields. Contact your State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) or Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) for guidance and obtain the official nomination form. Complete the form with detailed information about the site's history and physical characteristics (this is where the research and consultation come in handy.) Submit the nomination according to the SHPO’s instructions. The nomination typically is evaluated by a State Review Board and the National Park Service. If approved, the site will be listed on the National Register, helping to preserve its heritage now and for future generations.

Pave the way

Read more on the National Register of Historic Places site where you can find step by step information on listing a site

Click here!
Musician with an accordion in front of a green building with orange letters
Santos Sosa at the Lerma's Blessing 2012

Courtesy of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

How can you preserve history?

The National Park Service’s Underrepresented Communities Grant Program (URC) works towards diversifying the nominations submitted to the National Register of Historic Places. URC grants are funded by the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) and are administered by the NPS. Projects include surveys and inventories of historic properties associated with communities underrepresented in the National Register, as well as the development of nominations to the National Register for specific sites.

Ready to be the change?

Read more on the Historic Preservation Fund site where you can find step by step information on applying for a grant

Apply here!

This article was researched and written by Melissa Hurtado, Museum Curator, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park and Alyssa Eveland, Telling All Americans' Stories Fellow, American Conservation Experince

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Last updated: August 20, 2024