Wisconsin's Popular Tejano Singer Little Tina (Tina Ruiz) In The Mid 1970's, Later Becoming A Hair Stylist In San Antonio Behind Selena's Barrel Curl Updo Hairstyle In 1993

Little Tina, popular Tejano style singer in the late 1960's to mid 1970's in Wisconsin recorded 3 albums in her short career as a female vocalist along with her young sister Mary who played the drums with the band Little Tina y Sus Cardenales from Delavan, Wisconsin. Ruiz later retired from performing as a singer and became a popular hair stylist in San Antonio, Texas.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

October 3, 2024

Delavan, Wisconsin - in the late 1960's to mid 1970's, one of the popular female Tejano style bands was Little Tina y Sus Cardenales, a five member group from Delavan. Little Tina was the stage name for Tina Ruiz who recorded 3 albums at ages 13, 15 and 17 with Freddie Records in Texas.

Little Tina and her band performed in Milwaukee at Tony de Rosa bar and dance venue, Salon Mexico in the Southside of Milwaukee operated by Juan Reyes known as "El  Chicle", and at the Southside Division High School Prom dance celebrating the Hispanic Graduation Class of 1972 at the Sheraton-Schoeder Hotel, now known as the Hilton Milwaukee Center at 509 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Milwaukee.

Mary who was a vocalist with Little Tina also played drums with another popular Tejano band led by Beto Salinas who was a popular vocalist and played the accordion conjunto style in Milwaukee and Texas. 

After moving to San Antonio, Tina opened the House of Styles & Spa, which became popular in downtown San Antonio. In 1993, Selena Quintanilla was attending the 13th Annual Tejano Music Awards and she wanted to have a unique hairstyle for the special day where she would be nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year and Orquesta Album of the Year at the 13th Annual Tejano Music Awards in 1993. Selena won both awards.

Selena contacted Tina and Mario Iturralde who also worked at the House of Styles with Tina. Both Tina and Iturralde went to Selena's dressing room at the Henry B. González Center where the Tejano Music Awards were taking place and created the famous Barrel Curl Updo hairstyle for Selena hours before she would make her presentation at the awards event, according to Michael Quintanilla's Facebook post dated March 31, 2020. Selena won two nominations in 1993 and her hairstyle became iconic, which in 1997, Jennifer López played Selena in a movie about her life and the Curl Updo hairstyle by Tina and Iturralde was also featured.

In April 2024, Tina recreated the famous Selena Barrel Curl Updo for Jackleen Rios who was performing on April 16, at the Pearl Bidi Bidi Party in San Antonio, according to KENS5.

The Little Tina y Sus Cardenales albums were recorded and released in 1970, album " Little Tina y Sus Cardenales", the second in 1972, "Gracias Paloma", and the third in 1974, "Little Tina & Mary en Corpus". Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) searched the internet for any of the Little Tina's songs or albums recorded and uploaded in YouTube and in multiple social media sources and found none.

Tina, according to her personal Facebook account posted that in February 1995, she became the owner/master designer at House of Styles.

Wisconsin Needs Radical Refom And Oversight In Courts, Especially At The MAGA Controlled Waukesha County Family Court, Which Judges Committed Errors And Their Failure To Follow Domestic Abuse Protection Laws

Unfortunately, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (D), Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez (D), Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) and the majority of the Wisconsin State Supreme Court who are Democrats as well have failed to apply State laws and oversight of the MAGA/Republican controlled Waukesha County family court, which judges repeatedly committed errors, and won't follow the State's domestic abuse protection laws and have Illegally taken 4 children from their mother in the Julie Valadez vs. Ricardo Valadez divorce case # 2018FA000296.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

October 1, 2024

Waukesha, Wisconsin - The Waukesha County family court has been known to be the most corrupt court system in Wisconsin, after it became known that multiple Judges Michael J. Aprahamian and Ralph M.  Ramirez engaged in illegal acts that led to multiple errors and who failed to follow State domestic abuse protection laws in the infamous Julie Valadez vs. Ricardo Valadez divorce case. The Julie divorce case dilemma was first published by Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) who broke the story on August 2021. (http://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/08/temporary-stay-granted-in-finding-of.html)

Both Judges Aprahamian and Ramirez were removed after the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled that they committed multiple errors in Julie's divorce case, that resulted in the illegal placement of her 4 children with the known abusive father, Ricardo Valadez, instead with Julie. (http://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2024/06/waukesha-county-family-court-judge.html)

Today, Waukesha County family court Judge Jennifer R. Dorow has been assigned to Julie's divorce case. After the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled that multiple errors have occurred in her case, Judge Dorow will now hold an evidentiary hearing on November 1, 2024, which will be the third evidentiary hearing in Julie's case. Judges Aprahamian and Ramirez previously held their own evidentiary hearings and yet, they continued to ignore to apply State domestic abuse protection laws in Julie's case, which led to having her 4 children taken away and placed with the abusive father, without even holding any court proceedings to see, if Julie was an unfit mother, in otherwords, Julie wasn't given due process of the law and she continues to fight today the Waukesha County family court corrupt system hoping that her children will be allowed to see their mother.

What's ironic in this case, is that Ricardo Valadez never petition the court to have full custody of the 4 children. Ricardo and Julie had agreed to have joint custody, but Judge Aprahamian decided to place the 4 children with the abusive father without just cause and Judge Ramirez followed his decision after the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled twice that they both committed errors in Julie's case and were forced to recuse themselves from the case.

On October 1, 2024, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District 2 ordered for the respondent (Judge Dorow) to file a response to the petition of Writ Mandamus (to comply with the law) no later than November 1, 2024. (Case: Julie Valadez vs Jennifer Dorow #2024AP001945-W)

On September 24, 2024, Julie Valadez posted on her Facebook (FB) account, "Right here in Wisconsin I have been unlawfully ordered to jail 5 times with 5 appellate reversals and a custody and placement reversal by the appellate court that the Waukesha court still refuses to comply with and they continue to threaten me with jail all related to the unlawful custody and placement orders they continue in defiance of the law and appellate orders." 

(https://www.facebook.com/share/p/yuqxhb5wpeu7M3Xd/)

Julie now resides in Canada and has sought refugee asylum. 

Julie's divorce case also exposed the widespread corruption in both Waukesha and Walworth Counties, involving the Delavan Police Department, where Delavan Police Detective Trevor G. Hinman made a false police report allegedly accusing Julie of kidnap minor to sexually assault, regarding Julie's 15-year-old son who ran away on January 10, 2023 from his abusive father and crossed into Canada to be with his mother. Julie was criminally charged on February 3, 2023 with two felony counts for interfere with child custody-other parent including party to a crime, and interfere with custody-after custody order including party to a crime. (http://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2023/06/julie-valadez-ordered-released-from.html)

Julie had reached out to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul about her case, but none have acted to hold the Waukesha County family court system accountable for not following State laws regarding domestic abuse protection laws for abused spouses and their children.

HNNUSA spoke with Kaul on September 17, 2024 at a Southside Milwaukee non-profit organization's event about Julie's case, and Kaul confirmed to HNNUSA that he didn't known about her case. Julie wrote a letter in July 2021 to Wisconsin Attorney General Kaul seeking help in her case, but Kaul never received her letter from his administrative staff at the Wisconsin Department of Justice. (http://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2024/09/wi-doj-attorney-general-josh-kaul-d.html)

Justice for Julie Valadez and her children!