Courtesy: Take It Away Films LLC

It’s been one year since the Tejano community lost one of its brightest stars: Johnny Canales. The beloved host of The Johnny Canales Show passed away on June 12, 2024, but his legacy continues to thrive through the new documentary Take It Away: The Rise and Fall of Tejano Hollywood, currently making waves on the film festival circuit.

Directed by Adrian Arredondo and Myrna Perez, Take It Away recently premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival and Cine Las Americas Film Festival in Austin. In a recent interview on NPR’s Latino USA podcast, the filmmakers shared their journey of bringing Johnny’s story to the screen—and why it still matters today.

“He really was ahead of his time and he is the American dream,” said Arredondo. “Johnny Canales started his life as a farm worker with his father out in the fields and he ended his life a star maker.”

Through his groundbreaking television show, Canales gave a platform to countless Musica Mexicana legends like Selena, Bobby Pulido, and Ramón Ayala, helping launch careers and unite fans across borders.

Arredondo reflected on the emotional process of completing the documentary, which took five years to make. “About three and a half years, we were fully with Johnny Canales,” he explained. “The latter half of the part, Johnny Canales passed away. So, there was a lot of unopened doors that sort of revealed themselves and opened up throughout his passing, as did when Selena passed away.”

The documentary captures the raw power of community that surrounded Canales, even at his funeral at the Selena Auditorium—a fitting venue for a man who had championed Selena and so many others. “Being there to film that, attracted so many of the same people and fans and audience members who were at Selena’s funeral as well,” Arredondo recalled. “The way that the community embraced both of these artists, I’m positive it’s something I would never experience in my life again.”

Perez added that despite a sense that Canales had faded from the public eye in recent years, she discovered a profound authenticity in him during their final interviews. “It did feel like Johnny was forgotten to a certain extent, but I think more than it being sad, there was something actually really beautiful about who he was at the end of his days,” she shared. “The person you see in the archival tapes is the same exact person that he was days before he passed away. He never changed who he was.”

Take It Away doesn’t shy away from the broader story either. Arredondo notes how Canales’ show weathered industry shifts, the loss of Selena, and changing technologies. “Our film really goes into that sort of 20-year black hole where Tejano was figuring itself out,” he explained. But today, with artists like Grupo Frontera and Peso Pluma topping the charts, the spirit of Canales’ platform lives on.

With rare footage and heartfelt interviews, Take It Away captures over 30 years of broadcast history—honoring not only the artists Johnny launched but also the countless fans who tuned in every Saturday morning. The documentary will continue its festival run at San Antonio’s CineFestival this July, offering fans another chance to rediscover the man once dubbed the “Mexican-American Dick Clark.”

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