Mexican Stepgrandfather and Marco Antonio Cervantes, Ph.D. are a study in contrasts since they are one and the same. But what each does is different and worlds apart.
Simply known by the shorter version, Mex Step was selected “Best Hip Hop Artist” during the 2009-2010 San Antonio Current Music Awards poll by popular vote. In the same contest, his compact disc, “Stand for Something 2012” on the Hip Hop Grew Up label, came in as the “Number 2 Album of the Year” of all combined music genres. As Mexican Stepgrandfather, Cervantes professes the complexities of Mexican American culture and identity in national and international concerts. Therefore, there are his academic standing and his standing as a hip hop artist.
That’s quite a stretch for the once little kid who was first influenced by the music of Fito Olivares and Rigo Tovar, especially his version of “El Pipiripau” – all music that came out of his grandmother’s (Anita Garza De La Rosa) radio and record player, plus some disco and country, which his parents (Louis and Esmeralda Cervantes), listened to.
