Nacho Daddy's Joe King Carrasco's Passion for Music Matched Only By His Love of Dogs Courtney Harrell - Westword
go to original September 21, 2014

"Nacho Daddy" - Joe King Carrasco y El Molino - (Joe King Carrasco)

Joe King Carrasco has traded his crown and cape for a cowboy hat and sparkly Lady of Guadalupe shirt, but he is still just as eccentric and entertaining as he was decades ago, when a particularly wild performance got him banned from Saturday Night Live.

Carrasco, who grew up in west Texas and fell deeply in love with Mexico and its music, is known as "the king of Tex-Mex rock and roll." He has been a charismatic bandleader for over 35 years, first with Joe King Carrasco & El Molino (which featured several future Tejano music legends), then Joe King Carrasco & the Crowns, with whom he recorded his most well-known song, "Party Weekend."

...Carrasco now spends part of his time living in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with his three Jack Russell terriers - Peanut, PeeWee (a blind diabetic) and Anna. He visited the city in 2006 for a show and decided not to leave. He owns a club there called Nacho Daddy ("where it's always a party-party weekend," he says knowingly), and he tests out new music there when he's not on tour.

His passion for music is matched only by his love of dogs - when he hits the road, his terriers come along. He started a non-profit in Puerto Vallarta called Viva Perros, which raises money to help homeless and abused dogs around the world.

Carrasco has had dogs his whole life, though he says he never went out of his way to get them. He's had Anna for eighteen years - he says she's "his everything ... when you get a dog, it's like a marriage. 'Til death do we part."

So Carrasco's commitment to his non-profit is deeply personal. He recorded an album for the cause, called Concierto Para Los Perros, the proceeds from which all go to Viva Perros. So do the profits from another of his bizarre ventures - selling Mexican bags.

Read the rest at Westword

Joe King Carrasco Press Conference (Joe King Carrasco)