Courtesy of Chaz Records
Renowned Tejano artist Rick Balderrama has premiered the official music video for his deeply emotional new single, “Hermanito Mio,” dedicated to his brother Richie Balderrama. This touching tribute comes after Richie bravely faced significant health challenges, culminating in a successful liver transplant operation earlier this year.
In an exclusive interview with Tejano Nation Radio host Romeo, Rick shared the journey behind the song and his brother’s recovery. “We’re doing great, man. We are both doing great. He’s doing very good. I gave him 70% of my liver. His color changed already,” Rick recounted. “He still goes to the hospital once a week just to make sure his levels are right and everything like that. But for the most part, he’s feeling good and doing good. Not like it was for almost nine years he had been going through this, you know. He needed a full liver.”
Rick’s determination to help his brother was unwavering. “I would always tell him, ask your doctor if he qualifies for partial. So finally, they told him, you’ve been taking care of yourself. You qualify for partial. So when he told me that, man, I said, yeah, of course. He’s my brother. We’re a very close-knit family. So I stepped up,” Rick explained. “It took me six months. I lost 33 pounds. You know, eating well, getting sick, periodically. And thank God, I was able to qualify to give him 70% of my liver.”
The song “Hermanito Mio” is a heartfelt expression of Rick’s love and gratitude towards his brother, sons of late Tejano legend Henry Balderrama. “I had this thing in my head that I wanted to do a song for my brother, just to let him know how I felt about him. It’s not a sad song. It’s just how I feel about him. And the way my dad brought us up, you always take care of your brother,” Rick shared.
The song was co-written with Joe Revelez and recorded at Slackmonster Studios with Tejano ROOTS Hall of Famer Sevy Contreras, who Rick describes as “a brother and a half.” Rick said of the music video, “I’m very, very thrilled and happy with it. Shout out to my very good friend of mine, Lawrence (Casarez). He did a great job with the video, putting it together, and the storyboard. And, you know, it’s a great little team, man.”
Rick’s dedication to his brother and his music is evident in every aspect of this project. As Richie continues to recover and regain his strength, the Balderrama brothers are looking forward to performing together again. “We put a little, I call it a show. We want to call it a show. You know, of course, all the new material. And of course, a lot of people ask for my dad’s, you know, all oldies but goodies, right? We got to throw that in there as well,” Rick mentioned.
The release of “Hermanito Mio” marks the beginning of a new chapter for Rick Balderrama, both personally and professionally. With his brother by his side, Rick is ready to share his music and their story with the world.
Rick Balderrama — Hermanito Mio Official Video
Subscribe to Tejano Nation on YouTube
Follow Tejano Nation on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with everything Tejano. Listen to new Tejano music first with our Spotify playlists and iHeartRadio podcast.