Paco Betancourt (January 15, 1903 – September 5, 1971) was an American businessperson, record producer and mayor of San Benito, Texas.
The Rio Grande Music Co. was primarily a coin-operated vending company that owned and serviced jukeboxes and pinball machines.
The local nightclubs, ballrooms, and bars clamored to capitalize on the popularity of the music as well as the singers, musicians, and orchestras of the day.
Some of the engineering chores were by a gifted young local singer and musician recording for the label named Baldemar Huerta, who would soon be known to the music world as Freddy Fender.
Throughout his career of 50 years, Freddy—or Balde, as he was known locally—was always public about his humble beginnings and his early history in the small South Texas town of San Benito.