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Created page with "{{Infobox person |name=Simon Hinojosa Vega |image=Simon Vega of TX.jpg (Texas educator who promoted the music of Elvis Presley) | birth_date=October 8, 1935 | birth_place=Los..."
{{Infobox person
|name=Simon Hinojosa Vega
|image=Simon Vega of TX.jpg
(Texas educator who promoted the music of Elvis Presley)
| birth_date=October 8, 1935
| birth_place=Los Fresnos, Cameron County, [[Texas]], USA
| death_date=May 12, 2017 (aged 81)<br>
|death_place=Los Fresnos, Texas<br>
'''Resting place''':<br>
Cuates Cemetery in Los Fresnos
|spouse=Teresa Lopez Vega (married c. 1958-2017, his death)
'''Children''':<br>
Rosalva Vega Mezouari<br>
Rene Elvis Vega<br>
'''Parents''':<br>
Pablo and Estefana Hinojosa Vega
| branch=[[United States Army]] (3rd Division)<br>
(Stationed in [[Germany]] during the [[Cold War]])
|service years=1958-1960}}
'''Simon inojosa Vega''' (October 8, 1935 – May 12, 2017) was a high school [[educator]] who became a friend of [[singer]] [[Elvis Presley]] while the two served together from 1958 to 1960 in the [[United States Army]] in the former [[Germany|West Germany]] In 1993, Vega turned his house into a museum called "Little Graceland" located in his native Los Fresno in Cameron County north of [[Brownsville]], [[Texas]]. Little Graceland is loosely patterned on Presley's former mansion, Graceland, in [[Memphis]], [[Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite web|author=John Kelso|year=2006 |title=Texas Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff |edition=3rd |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=978-0-7627-4109-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/texascuriosities0000kels/page/255 255–256] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/texascuriosities0000kels/page/255 }}</ref>
Vega, who was also a barber and instructor of driver's education, was one of three childrceased, Jose Isabel Vega of Los Fresnos. He and his wife, the former Teresa Lopez, named a son, Rene Elvis Vega, after Presley. They also had a daughter, Rosalva Vega Mezouar.<ref name=losfrnews>Remembering the Man Who Remembered the King – Los Fresnos News, May 26, 2017, accessed April 17, 2021.</ref>
In 1978, a year after Presley's early death, Vega composed a song, "The Ballad of Elvis Presley." He produced three thousand copies. Little Graceland is a home converted into a shrine to the man dubbed "The King" of rock and roll music. The museum contains many pictures of Presley, some with Vega, which the museum owner considered among his most prized possessions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.texascountryreporter.com/show08.htm|title=Texas Country Reporter 2008 Episode Guide: Weekend of June 14th 2008|last=Phillips|first=Bob|website=Texas County Reporter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204201002/http://www.texascountryreporter.com/show08.htm|archive-date=February 4, 2010|url-status=}}</ref>
Vega, with assistance from the Los Fresnos Area [[Chamber of Commerce]] and the City of Los Fresnos (meaning "ash trees"), held two Elvis festivals annually in January and August, the months of Presley's birth and death. The festivities have included live music, food and beverages, a lookalike contest, a sing-alike competition, automobile shows, trivia questions, and museum tours. The highlight of the festivities was the impersonators that come from far and wide to perform the Elvis hits on stage.<ref>''Texas State Travel Guide, 2008'', p. 59.</ref>
On February 6, 1958, Vega was inducted into the Army at Fort Carson [[Colorado]], and was sent to [[Fort Hood]] near [[Killeen, Texas|Killeen]], Texas, for his four-week basic training. During that same period of time, Presley arrived at Fort Hood from Fort Chaffee near [[Fort Smith, Arkansas|Fort Smith]], [[Arkansas]]. At Fort Hood, Vega introduced his wife Teresa to Presley for a photograph. Teresa recalls that Elvis was nervous while he placed his arm around her for the picture. After the picture was taken, Elvis responded, ''Gracias." The photo of Elvis and Teresa is among those in Little Graceland. Although Vega had met Elvis at Fort Hood, the two did not become friends until they reached the barracks in August 1958 at Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. They were assigned to Company D Spearhead 3rd Army Division. While awaiting a meal, Vega reintroduced himself to Presley, and the two became "army buddies" who often shared guard duty. Vega recalled that Presley wanted equal treatment from the other soldiers, not favoritism because of his celebrity status.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913235116/http://governor.state.tx.us/music/events/tmec.main/|title=January – Texas Music Events Calendar 2008|website=Texas Music Office|accessdate=May 17, 2017}}</ref>
Vega was so devastated at the death of Elvis that he began collecting anything with a connection to his friend. Vega's memorabilia are displayed in glass cases or line the walls of the museum. The items include a bottle of "Love Me Tender" shampoo, key chains, playing cards, dolls, pocketknives, neckties, watches, and a complete set of Presley collector plates. Word of Little Graceland spread nationally, as vacationers and winter residents heading to South Padre Island on the [[Gulf of Mexico]] stopped to view the replica of the gates of Graceland in front of Vega's house. Vega also constructed a doghouse-size replica of Presley's boyhood home in Tupelo, [[Mississippi]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2007-03-16/456241/|title=Simon Vega pays tribute to Elvis with his own Little Graceland|author=Gerald E. McLeod.|date=March 16, 2007|publisher=''The Austin Chronicle''|accessdate=May 17, 2017}}</ref>
Vega considered Presley the unequaled entertainer of the 20th century who exuded [[charisma]] through his records and personal appearances. He said, "Once you got to know him, Elvis was a really good guy, but he was never an ordinary guy. Elvis liked to see people happy. That's part of why he sang and entertained the people." Despite heart and hip problems, Vega hosted some fifty visitors to his museum each week.<ref name=":0" />
Simon Vega died on May 12, 2017. and was interred three days later at Los Cuates Cemetery in Los Fresnos.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thomaegarza.com/tribute/details/1951/Simon-Vega/obituary.html#tribute-start|title=Obituary of Simon Vega|publisher=Thomae-Garza Funeral Home|accessdate=May 17, 2017}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
*{{Citation |title=Elvis Presley Memorial Bash and Simon Vega's Little Graceland Museum |magazine=[[Texas Highways]] |date=August 2000 |page=54}}
*{{Citation |first=Wesley |last=Treat |first2=Heather |last2=Shades |first3=Rob |last3=Riggs |year=2009 |title=Weird Texas: Your Travel Guide to Texas's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets |publisher=[[Sterling Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4027-3280-5 |page=141}}
*{{Citation |first=Jerome |last=Pohlen |year=2006 |title=Oddball Texas: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places |publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]] |isbn=978-1-55652-583-4 |pages=298–299}}
*{{Citation |first=Alison |last=Gregor |date=August 16, 2001 |title=Graceland goes Southwest: An Army pal of the King builds his own tribute near the border |work=[[San Antonio Express-News]]}}
*{{Citation |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=January 2, 2003 |title=Hundreds to be in Los Fresnos Saturday for Elvis birthday |work=[[Associated Press Newswires]] |id={{Factiva|aprs000020030102dz1200pru}}}}
*{{Citation |first=David |last=Casstevens |date=August 16, 2007 |title=At Elvis shrine, memories never age |work=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]] |page=B3 Metro}}
*{{Citation |first=Victoria |last=Manning |date=June 11, 2007 |title=Hip-shakin' room: Elvis leaves Little Graceland for rodeo grounds |work=[[The Brownsville Herald]] |url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/festival-77242-vega-badeaux.html |accessdate=April 26, 2011}}
*{{Citation |first=Kevin |last=Sieff |date=January 8, 2008 |title=Elvis's birthday remember in Los Fresnos |work=[[The Brownsville Herald]] |url=http://www.themonitor.com/articles/birthday-7924-elvis-fresnos.html |accessdate=April 26, 2011}}
*{{Citation |first=Laura |last=Tillman |date=January 13, 2008 |title=The King still reigns at Los Fresnos Rodeo |work=[[The Brownsville Herald]] |url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/elvis-83451-elizondo-king.html |accessdate=April 26, 2011}}
*{{Citation |first=Laura |last=Tillman |date=August 17, 2008 |title=Fans adore legacy of Fender and Elvis in Los Fresnos |work=[[The Brownsville Herald]] |url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/fender-89196-elvis-freddie.html |accessdate=April 26, 2011}}
*{{Citation |first=Laura |last=Tillman |date=January 10, 2009 |title=The King is back in Los Fresnos |work=[[The Brownsville Herald]] |url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/car-93535-people-fresnos.html |accessdate=April 26, 2011}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vega, Simon}}
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Educators]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:Singers]]
|name=Simon Hinojosa Vega
|image=Simon Vega of TX.jpg
(Texas educator who promoted the music of Elvis Presley)
| birth_date=October 8, 1935
| birth_place=Los Fresnos, Cameron County, [[Texas]], USA
| death_date=May 12, 2017 (aged 81)<br>
|death_place=Los Fresnos, Texas<br>
'''Resting place''':<br>
Cuates Cemetery in Los Fresnos
|spouse=Teresa Lopez Vega (married c. 1958-2017, his death)
'''Children''':<br>
Rosalva Vega Mezouari<br>
Rene Elvis Vega<br>
'''Parents''':<br>
Pablo and Estefana Hinojosa Vega
| branch=[[United States Army]] (3rd Division)<br>
(Stationed in [[Germany]] during the [[Cold War]])
|service years=1958-1960}}
'''Simon inojosa Vega''' (October 8, 1935 – May 12, 2017) was a high school [[educator]] who became a friend of [[singer]] [[Elvis Presley]] while the two served together from 1958 to 1960 in the [[United States Army]] in the former [[Germany|West Germany]] In 1993, Vega turned his house into a museum called "Little Graceland" located in his native Los Fresno in Cameron County north of [[Brownsville]], [[Texas]]. Little Graceland is loosely patterned on Presley's former mansion, Graceland, in [[Memphis]], [[Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite web|author=John Kelso|year=2006 |title=Texas Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff |edition=3rd |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=978-0-7627-4109-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/texascuriosities0000kels/page/255 255–256] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/texascuriosities0000kels/page/255 }}</ref>
Vega, who was also a barber and instructor of driver's education, was one of three childrceased, Jose Isabel Vega of Los Fresnos. He and his wife, the former Teresa Lopez, named a son, Rene Elvis Vega, after Presley. They also had a daughter, Rosalva Vega Mezouar.<ref name=losfrnews>Remembering the Man Who Remembered the King – Los Fresnos News, May 26, 2017, accessed April 17, 2021.</ref>
In 1978, a year after Presley's early death, Vega composed a song, "The Ballad of Elvis Presley." He produced three thousand copies. Little Graceland is a home converted into a shrine to the man dubbed "The King" of rock and roll music. The museum contains many pictures of Presley, some with Vega, which the museum owner considered among his most prized possessions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.texascountryreporter.com/show08.htm|title=Texas Country Reporter 2008 Episode Guide: Weekend of June 14th 2008|last=Phillips|first=Bob|website=Texas County Reporter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204201002/http://www.texascountryreporter.com/show08.htm|archive-date=February 4, 2010|url-status=}}</ref>
Vega, with assistance from the Los Fresnos Area [[Chamber of Commerce]] and the City of Los Fresnos (meaning "ash trees"), held two Elvis festivals annually in January and August, the months of Presley's birth and death. The festivities have included live music, food and beverages, a lookalike contest, a sing-alike competition, automobile shows, trivia questions, and museum tours. The highlight of the festivities was the impersonators that come from far and wide to perform the Elvis hits on stage.<ref>''Texas State Travel Guide, 2008'', p. 59.</ref>
On February 6, 1958, Vega was inducted into the Army at Fort Carson [[Colorado]], and was sent to [[Fort Hood]] near [[Killeen, Texas|Killeen]], Texas, for his four-week basic training. During that same period of time, Presley arrived at Fort Hood from Fort Chaffee near [[Fort Smith, Arkansas|Fort Smith]], [[Arkansas]]. At Fort Hood, Vega introduced his wife Teresa to Presley for a photograph. Teresa recalls that Elvis was nervous while he placed his arm around her for the picture. After the picture was taken, Elvis responded, ''Gracias." The photo of Elvis and Teresa is among those in Little Graceland. Although Vega had met Elvis at Fort Hood, the two did not become friends until they reached the barracks in August 1958 at Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. They were assigned to Company D Spearhead 3rd Army Division. While awaiting a meal, Vega reintroduced himself to Presley, and the two became "army buddies" who often shared guard duty. Vega recalled that Presley wanted equal treatment from the other soldiers, not favoritism because of his celebrity status.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913235116/http://governor.state.tx.us/music/events/tmec.main/|title=January – Texas Music Events Calendar 2008|website=Texas Music Office|accessdate=May 17, 2017}}</ref>
Vega was so devastated at the death of Elvis that he began collecting anything with a connection to his friend. Vega's memorabilia are displayed in glass cases or line the walls of the museum. The items include a bottle of "Love Me Tender" shampoo, key chains, playing cards, dolls, pocketknives, neckties, watches, and a complete set of Presley collector plates. Word of Little Graceland spread nationally, as vacationers and winter residents heading to South Padre Island on the [[Gulf of Mexico]] stopped to view the replica of the gates of Graceland in front of Vega's house. Vega also constructed a doghouse-size replica of Presley's boyhood home in Tupelo, [[Mississippi]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2007-03-16/456241/|title=Simon Vega pays tribute to Elvis with his own Little Graceland|author=Gerald E. McLeod.|date=March 16, 2007|publisher=''The Austin Chronicle''|accessdate=May 17, 2017}}</ref>
Vega considered Presley the unequaled entertainer of the 20th century who exuded [[charisma]] through his records and personal appearances. He said, "Once you got to know him, Elvis was a really good guy, but he was never an ordinary guy. Elvis liked to see people happy. That's part of why he sang and entertained the people." Despite heart and hip problems, Vega hosted some fifty visitors to his museum each week.<ref name=":0" />
Simon Vega died on May 12, 2017. and was interred three days later at Los Cuates Cemetery in Los Fresnos.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thomaegarza.com/tribute/details/1951/Simon-Vega/obituary.html#tribute-start|title=Obituary of Simon Vega|publisher=Thomae-Garza Funeral Home|accessdate=May 17, 2017}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
*{{Citation |title=Elvis Presley Memorial Bash and Simon Vega's Little Graceland Museum |magazine=[[Texas Highways]] |date=August 2000 |page=54}}
*{{Citation |first=Wesley |last=Treat |first2=Heather |last2=Shades |first3=Rob |last3=Riggs |year=2009 |title=Weird Texas: Your Travel Guide to Texas's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets |publisher=[[Sterling Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4027-3280-5 |page=141}}
*{{Citation |first=Jerome |last=Pohlen |year=2006 |title=Oddball Texas: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places |publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]] |isbn=978-1-55652-583-4 |pages=298–299}}
*{{Citation |first=Alison |last=Gregor |date=August 16, 2001 |title=Graceland goes Southwest: An Army pal of the King builds his own tribute near the border |work=[[San Antonio Express-News]]}}
*{{Citation |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=January 2, 2003 |title=Hundreds to be in Los Fresnos Saturday for Elvis birthday |work=[[Associated Press Newswires]] |id={{Factiva|aprs000020030102dz1200pru}}}}
*{{Citation |first=David |last=Casstevens |date=August 16, 2007 |title=At Elvis shrine, memories never age |work=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]] |page=B3 Metro}}
*{{Citation |first=Victoria |last=Manning |date=June 11, 2007 |title=Hip-shakin' room: Elvis leaves Little Graceland for rodeo grounds |work=[[The Brownsville Herald]] |url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/festival-77242-vega-badeaux.html |accessdate=April 26, 2011}}
*{{Citation |first=Kevin |last=Sieff |date=January 8, 2008 |title=Elvis's birthday remember in Los Fresnos |work=[[The Brownsville Herald]] |url=http://www.themonitor.com/articles/birthday-7924-elvis-fresnos.html |accessdate=April 26, 2011}}
*{{Citation |first=Laura |last=Tillman |date=January 13, 2008 |title=The King still reigns at Los Fresnos Rodeo |work=[[The Brownsville Herald]] |url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/elvis-83451-elizondo-king.html |accessdate=April 26, 2011}}
*{{Citation |first=Laura |last=Tillman |date=August 17, 2008 |title=Fans adore legacy of Fender and Elvis in Los Fresnos |work=[[The Brownsville Herald]] |url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/fender-89196-elvis-freddie.html |accessdate=April 26, 2011}}
*{{Citation |first=Laura |last=Tillman |date=January 10, 2009 |title=The King is back in Los Fresnos |work=[[The Brownsville Herald]] |url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/car-93535-people-fresnos.html |accessdate=April 26, 2011}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vega, Simon}}
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Educators]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:Singers]]