Bobby Pulido, a Grammy-winning Tejano musician running for Congress in Texas, performed at a 2018 middle school benefit concert alongside accordionist Frankie Caballero, who was a registered sex offender at the time, according to records and videos reviewed by multiple outlets.
The May 24, 2018 benefit for Harwell Middle School in Edinburg, Texas, drew children to the audience at Richard R Flores Stadium. Caballero had completed a four-year prison sentence roughly a year before the performance, following his 2014 conviction for indecent sexual contact with an 8-year-old girl.
Pulido's campaign initially insisted he was unaware of Caballero's status as a registered sex offender until reporters informed him in April of this year. A spokesperson told the New York Post that Pulido was "never made aware" of the registration. The campaign later dismissed the connection as a politically motivated "nothing story," arguing that Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz, Pulido's opponent in the Texas 15th district race, was attempting to damage him as his poll numbers improved.
Yet public statements Pulido made over the years create tension with that account. During a 2019 podcast interview, Pulido recalled bailing Caballero out of jail earlier in his career without specifying when or why. In a 2024 interview, while Caballero was facing new criminal charges, Pulido remarked that Caballero "just can't stay out of trouble."
Most directly, a November 2018 concert recording captured Pulido making an odd joke onstage in Tucson, Arizona. Referencing Caballero's birthplace in South Bend, Indiana, Pulido said the accordionist "worked at Penn State," a comment that drew laughs before Pulido quickly added "I'm just kidding, don't worry." Caballero did not work for Penn State. Pulido then noted that Caballero played for Grupo Mazz years ago, saying he had originally thought of him as a "bad man" before recruiting him to his own band.
Pulido has emphasized his close, decades-long professional relationship with Caballero, publicly stating that he brought the accordionist into his group in the 1990s and that Caballero helped launch his career. The two resumed touring together within months of Caballero's prison release in mid-2017 and continued performing together through at least June 2021, according to photos and videos. Court documents from January and February 2021 listed Pulido as Caballero's employer.
Caballero's criminal history stretches back to at least 1992. In 1994, he faced sexual assault charges that were later dismissed in 2000. Most recently, in October 2021, he was incarcerated following charges related to impeding his daughter's breathing, to which he pleaded guilty.
A musician who has worked with Pulido told reporters that Caballero's criminal history is widely known in the Tejano music community. "The Tejano community is a very small, tight-knit community," the musician said. "Bobby knows exactly who we got." The same source described Pulido and Caballero as close friends and praised Caballero's accordion skills.
Pulido's campaign did not respond to requests for clarification about his "bad man" and "Penn State" comments or his statements about bailing Caballero out of jail. Caballero declined to comment. The Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, which operates Harwell Middle School, also declined to comment.
At the time of the benefit concert, Pulido said in a local television interview that his decision to participate stemmed from his personal commitment to education in the Rio Grande Valley, where he had attended school.
Author James Rodriguez: "Pulido's implausible claim of ignorance about Caballero's status contradicts a pattern of public remarks and continued collaboration that speaks volumes about what he actually knew."
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