EXCLUSIVE: Dem Performed With Convicted Child Sex Offender At ‘Family Fiesta’

Texas Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Pulido performed alongside a registered sex offender and longtime bandmate at a 2018 “Family Fiesta” Cinco de Mayo festival promoted as a family event featuring activities for young children, The Daily Wire has learned.

Pulido, a Latin Grammy-winning Tejano musician running for Congress, has faced scrutiny over his decades-long professional relationship with accordionist Frankie Caballero, 63, who was convicted of indecent sexual contact with an 8-year-old girl and sentenced to four years in prison.

Caballero was sentenced in 2014 for the second-degree felony, but that did not stop Pulido from continuing to share the stage with the registered sex offender following his release. Pulido’s campaign said he was unaware of Caballero’s sex-offender status.

Frankie Caballero: Texas Department of Public Safety Sex Offender Registry

A preview of the May 2018 “Family Fiesta” in Kansas City, Missouri advertised free admission for children 12 and younger. The two-day celebration included a petting zoo, pony rides, inflatables, rides, and toys for children.

The flyer featured Pulido and identified Caballero in a biographical section about the singer’s band. Video from the Latin performance reviewed by The Daily Wire shows Pulido introducing the registered sex offender to the crowd as a young child sits onstage near the band, within several feet of Caballero.

Pulido also introduced Caballero to the crowd and described him as his first accordion player.

“And when I first came out with ‘Desvelado,’ and I first started my band, my first accordion player was this man right here, Frankie Caballero, who was actually the accordion player for Grupo Mazz. I just brought him,” Pulido said. 

In response to the revelations, a campaign spokesperson claimed Caballero was a “needs-based contractor” who Pulido hired during his music career.

“As said before, Bobby Pulido never knew about Caballero’s sex offense charges and found out like everyone else – from the New York Post,” the campaign said. The spokesperson then accused Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) of hypocrisy, pointing to allegations involving her former stepdaughter and the Epstein files.

The family festival took place roughly three weeks before Pulido and Caballero performed at a fundraiser benefiting a middle school in Texas, where the musician was introduced to students and a young girl was brought onto the stage to meet him, according to a June Axios report.

Pulido’s campaign previously said he did not know about Caballero’s criminal history at the time of the school fundraiser despite previously bragging about his efforts to get Caballero out of jail on a separate occasion. 

Pulido is running to unseat incumbent De La Cruz in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, which lies along the southern border. President Donald Trump carried the district by approximately 18 points in 2024, while The Cook Political Report currently rates the race “Lean Republican.”

Pulido also previously performed alongside a Mexican cartel operative, The Daily Wire previously reported.

The Democrat hopeful appeared at his concerts on numerous occasions before the U.S. government formally sanctioned Mexican singer Julión Álvarez for acting “as a front” person for a drug trafficker and his cartel, while holding “assets on their behalf.” Pulido performed on stage with Álvarez in October 2018 and shared the video on his Facebook page, where he called the sanctioned singer “mi amigo.”

In a statement, Pulido’s campaign manager Abel Prado claimed that “Álvarez was cleared,” adding that “Bobby and Álvarez are not friends, and this is just another case of Republicans not understanding our culture — ‘amigo’ is a common expression.”

“Republicans think all these attacks on Bobby are going to do something … but the fact of the matter is he is a beloved figure, and they’re going to find that out in November when he flips this seat.”