El Ciego Melquiades, also known as "the blind fiddler," was the name used on recordings by Melquiades Rodriguez. He recorded both vocal and instrumental numbers in the late 1930s in San Antonio, playing in the fiddle-dominated style that was already falling out of fashion with Mexican-American audiences in south Texas. He also did some recording after World War II for other Texas labels. Instrumental polkas, two-steps, and waltzes on which he was accompanied by guitar, violoncello, and string bass, mostly from the second half of the 1930s, were reissued by Arhoolie on the San Antonio House Party CD. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi