Jesus Quintana, Sr.

(1928-Feb. 25, 2005). Jesus “Jessie” Quintana Morales was born in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. He arrived in Texas in 1944 at the age of 16 and came to Indianapolis in 1945 to work for a housing contractor for three months. He then returned to Texas where he met his wife Maria Ochoa and married her on May 16, 1948, in Mercedes, Texas.  

In 1950, Quintana acquired the necessary work permits to stay and work in the United States and worked as a migrant worker in Texas before moving to Indianapolis (he sent for his wife and two sons in 1951).  While in Indianapolis, Quintana worked at the Pennsylvania Railroad (see Railroads) and then later for Wilbert Burial Vault Company.  On November 19, 1958, Jesse became a naturalized U.S. citizen. 

In Indianapolis, Quintana lived on Davidson Street; the western border of an area called El Barrio. The community derived its name from the large number of Hispanic inhabitants living in this small but ethnically diverse area. As the community grew so did their need for belonging and cultural cohesion. The Indianapolis Social Mexicano in Indiana Club was established in June 1958. The honorary Consul of Mexico Frank Martino officiated the organization’s first swearing in ceremony at Christamore House. Quintana’s neighbor and friend Feliciano “Felix” Espinoza opened El Nopal Market in El Barrio in the mid-1960s. It was one of the city’s first Mexican grocery stores. El Barrio was later demolished to make way for the new I-65 South interstate.  

Sometime in the mid-1960s Quintana decided to follow his passion for music as a career. He mostly performed solo and at times accompanied by a mariachi group. Quintana was one of the first Mexican musical performers in Indianapolis. His first music gigs were at the Mexican Village at 22^nd and Meridian Streets and Randy Galvin’s Cabaret Theater in Talbot Village.  Later he branched out, performing at Embers Lounge, La Pas Mexican Restaurant, Pepe’s, and the Cancun Mexican Restaurant in Carmel. Memorably, Quintana would serenade Joe Rangel at Acapulco Joe’s. One of Quintana’s favorite venues was at the Capri Lounge on North Keystone Avenue where he would perform alongside the in-house pianist Dave Lowe. Toward the end of Quintana’s musical career, he performed at local schools and in the greater Indianapolis area.   

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