2024 saw two more wins for Martin H. Solis Jr., a bajo sexto player and vocalist who, outside of the Tex-Mex music scene of Southeast Michigan, received little recognition for his talents until the last years of his life. In July 2024, Solis was inducted into the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame in San Benito, Texas, and in August, a street in his longtime home of Melvindale, Michigan, was renamed in his honor.

Born in San Antonio in 1929, Solis moved to Michigan in 1942 when his family joined the stream of migrant laborers heading north to work in seasonal agriculture. The family soon settled in Detroit. After serving in the U.S. Army for two years at Fort Rucker in Alabama and a brief stint with a vocal trio, in the early-1950s Solis formed his first conjunto, Conjunto Los Primos, alongside his cousin Willy Huron. Theirs was among the first conjuntos based in Detroit. In 1961, Solis and Huron moved to Oklahoma City for work, continuing to play music on the side. In 1964, Solis moved his family back to Detroit, while Huron stayed behind in Oklahoma City. Solis fell right back into the music scene in Detroit, playing with many local musicians over the years, especially accordionist Manuel “El Lobo” Rivera. He later sang for the conjunto of his eldest son, Martin S. Solis Jr., also a bajo sexto player.

In all the decades of Solis’ musical career, he never released his music on record. Fearing that his father’s importance to the musical history of Detroit’s Mexican community would therefore fade into obscurity, his youngest son, Frank, began a campaign in the 2010s to cement his father’s legacy. The accolades began in 2017 with his induction into the Tejano R.O.O.T.S. Hall of Fame in Alice, Texas, followed by a declaration in 2018 of Martin Huron Solis Jr. Day in Melvindale, and receipt of the Michigan Heritage Award in 2019 from the Michigan Traditional Arts Program at Michigan State University. Though Solis passed away in 2019, the honors continued. In 2020, Jack White’s Third Man Records released an album of rehearsal tapes discovered in Solis’ attic, some dating back to the 1950s—Solis was at least able to hear a test pressing of the album before he passed. In 2023, Martin was honored on an official State of Michigan Historical Marker commemorating Mexican and Mexican American migration to Detroit and the emergence of the Tex-Mex music scene.

On the afternoon of Saturday, August 17, 2024, less than a month after his induction into the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame, a crowd of around 30 gathered to celebrate the renaming of B Street, a one-block stretch that joins Roger Street and Stanley Avenue, just north of West Outer Drive. This location was chosen for its proximity to the home on Stanley Avenue, bought in 1964, where Solis and his wife, Anna, raised their three sons, Martin, Pete, and Frank, and where they continued to live until his passing.

During the unveiling ceremony, Solis’ life was celebrated by Wayne County Commissioner Cara Clemente, as well as supporters of the Solis family and fixtures at Tejano dances in Southeast Michigan, José and Laura Chapa. Frank Solis then reflected on the journey from Solis’ initial induction into the Tejano R.O.O.T.S. Hall of Fame to the renaming of a Melvindale Street in his honor. “I’m so honored that my dad is part of [the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame],” he said. “He’s up there with the legends, but then I think now, he is [one]. He deserves to be there.” The ceremony concluded with the unveiling of a new street sign marking the intersection of Martin H. Solis Jr. Street and Stanley Avenue. Afterward, attendees danced in the street to songs from Solis’ album.

Joe and Silvia Salvidar (sister of Martin Solis Jr.) dance in front of the new sign.

Festivities continued throughout the weekend. On Saturday evening, a celebratory dance took place at the Prestige Banquet Hall in Allen Park, Michigan, with live music from Juaquin Chavez y Los Conjunto Boys of Sarita, Texas. On Sunday, the inaugural Martin H. Solis Jr. Tejano Festival took place outside of Parts & Labor Bar in Melvindale with live music from local group, Grupo Vicio.

Silvia Saldivar shares memories of her brother as Frank Solis (foreground) looks on.

Commenting on the significance of the weekend’s events, Wayne County Commissioner Clemente said, “Having this street naming in Melvindale was very important to the family to honor their father, Martin Solis.” She continued, “Their hope is that more people in the community will learn about his legacy and Tejano music.”

A version of this article was previously published on September 5, 2024, in El Central under the title, “Street Renamed in Honor of Michigan Conjunto Pioneer Martin H. Solis, Jr.”