children religion birth_date spouse residence article_title name occupation
rosie mezouari and rene elvis vega april 2011 roman catholic april 2011 8 october 1935 teresa vega april 2011 los april 2011 fresnos , cameron county , texas , usa simon vega
 simon h. vega retired educator ; businessman april 2011
simon vega

simon h. vega -lrb- born october 8 , 1935 -rrb- is a retired high school teacher who became a personal friend of singer elvis presley while the two served together in the united states army in germany from 1958 -- 1960 .
in 1993 , vega turned his house into a museum called `` little graceland '' located in his native los fresnos in cameron county north of brownsville , texas .
`` little graceland '' is loosely patterned on presley 's mansion , graceland , in memphis , tennessee .
vega was one of three children born in los fresnos to pablo vega -lrb- 1895 -- 1969 -rrb- and the former estefana hinojosa -lrb- 1900 -- 2003 -rrb- , she a native of san luis potosí , mexico .
his sister is matea v. garcia of chicago ; his brother now deceased , jose isabel vega of los fresnos .
he and his wife , teresa vega , named a son , rene elvis vega , after presley .
in 1978 , a year after presley 's early death , vega composed a song , `` the ballad of elvis presley '' .
he produced three thousand copies and has five remaining ones for his personal collection .
little graceland is a home converted into a shrine to the man dubbed `` the king '' of rock and roll music .
the museum contains many pictures of presley , some with vega , which the museum owner considers among his most prized possessions .
vega , with assistance from the los fresnos area chamber of commerce and the city of los fresnos -lrb- meaning `` ash trees '' -rrb- , holds two elvis festivals annually in january and august , the months of presley 's birth and death .
the festivities include live music , food and beverages , a lookalike contest , a sing-alike competition , automobile shows , trivia questions , and museum tours .
the highlight of the festivities is the impersonators that come from far and wide to perform the elvis hits on stage .
on february 6 , 1958 , vega was inducted into the army at fort carson , colorado , and was sent to fort hood near killeen , texas , for his four-week basic training .
during that same period of time , presley arrived at fort hood from fort chaffee near fort smith , arkansas .
at fort hood , vega introduced his wife teresa to presley for a photograph .
teresa recalls that elvis was nervous while he placed his arm around her for the picture .
after the picture was taken , elvis responded , `` gracias '' .
the photo of elvis and teresa is among those in little graceland .
although vega had met elvis at fort hood , the two did not become friends until they reached the barracks in august 1958 at freiburg in baden-württemberg , germany .
they were assigned to company d spearhead 3rd army division .
while awaiting a meal , vega reintroduced himself to presley , and the two became `` army buddies '' who often shared guard duty .
vega recalls fondly that presley wanted equal treatment from the other soldiers , not favoritism because of his celebrity status .
when presley died , vega says that he was so personally devastated that he began collecting anything with a connection to his friend .
vega 's countless pieces of memorabilia are displayed in glass cases or line the walls of the museum .
he has a bottle of `` love me tender '' shampoo , the same name as a presley song and film .
there are key chains , playing cards , dolls , pocketknives , neckties , watches , and a complete set of presley collector plates .
word of little graceland spread nationally , as vacationers and winter residents heading to south padre island on the gulf of mexico stopped to view the replica of the gates of graceland in front of vega 's house .
vega has also constructed a doghouse-size replica of presley 's boyhood home in tupelo , mississippi .
vega considers presley the unequaled entertainer of the 20th century who exuded charisma through his records and personal appearances .
`` once you got to know him , elvis was a really good guy , but he was never an ordinary guy .
elvis liked to see people happy .
that 's part of why he sang and entertained the people , '' says vega .
despite heart and hip problems , vega hosts some fifty visitors to his museum each week .
`` little graceland '' museum hours are thursday , friday , saturday and sunday 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm .
otherwise call : -lrb-956-rrb- 233-5482 for groups or private showings .
