UPDATE: It is now my sad duty to report that Norma Zenteno passed away Friday evening at the age of 60, according to updates on her Facebook page. She was surrounded by her family and her husband as she expired. The originally-scheduled benefit will continue in honor on Sunday afternoon.
This week Rocks Off got word that longtime local musician and guitarist Norma Zenteno has been fighting stage two breast cancer. According to Zydeco Dots leader Mike Vowell, she is very ill and currently in a local ICU with family surrounding her. The cancer apparently began to move very fast as of late.
Vowell spoke to Rocks Off via e-mail in a chain dedicated to a Zenteno benefit show scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at SRO Sports Bar in Northwest Mall, which will feature the Dots, David De La Garza and the Mitch Jacobs Band. A raffle and silent auction will also be a part of the event.
Vowell said that the benefit is still happening.
The Norma Zenteno Band has been a regular Thursday act at Sambuca off Texas Avenue downtown for some time. She only stopped playing around three weeks back when chemotherapy began to take a toll. Zenteno is a newlywed, marrying her longtime partner, Stephen Shaw, just at the end of January.
According to a post on her artists Facebook page, she went into cardiac arrest early this morning and she was resuscitated, with her condition extremely fragile. She has also been on dialysis for a few days after her kidneys began to fail.
This more recent post by her family earlier this afternoon was rather dire.
The prognosis is not good for Norma. The doctors have advised her family to be prepared for the worst and Father Sal will be visiting and blessing her today. There is always hope for a miracle and we continue to hope and pray for one.The Norma Zenteno Band which includes her brothers Javier, Bobby and Ernie have regular Thursday night gigs at Sambuca's on Main & Travis in downtown Houston. The band will be performing tonight in honor of Norma.
Please continue to keep Norma and her family in your hearts and prayers. We will provide you with more information as it becomes available.
Rocks Off will of course keep Norma, her family and her friends in our thoughts. We will update everyone on her condition as we hear word.
Cancer sucks.
