She's appeared in six of her brother Robert Rodriguez' movies, but Patricia Vonne has forsaken acting to bring her tex-mex music to the world, she tells Tony Clayton-Lea

CLOSE to six feet in height, as thin as a cheroot and as distinctive looking a singer as you'll see this or any other year (part equine, part graphic book heroine) Patricia Vonne is a woman whose name you possibly won't recognize, yet whose face you've certainly seen before. Or at least you have if you're a fan of the movies of Robert Rodriguez, who just happens to be Patricia's brother. Patricia has appeared in six of Robert's movies, including From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, his segment of Four Rooms and Sin City (where she played Zorro Girl/Dallas).

"He always knew he would be a director," says Vonne, "and listening to him speak with such assuredness made me decide what I wanted to do with my life."

The dichotomy of her brother's films (from nice Spy Kids to explicit Sin City), she says, stems from their childhood watching movies as diverse as Hitchcock thrillers and fluffy musicals.

"We'd always go to a movie theatre every weekend to be entertained; we would pack up picnics and watch The Sound of Music. And our mum would know the back story to the movies - all about the stars and the director, so for us it was more than just watching a movie, it was a cultural lesson. One of our later favourites was Rocky, and she pointed out that not only was Sylvester Stallone the star, but he also wrote and directed it. I think Robert was paying attention to that!"

Vonne has latterly forsaken a burgeoning acting career to promote her music, particularly her second album, Guitars and Castanets, the kind of record that gives roots music a good name. It's evocative of time and place, and indicative of the personal background of the Rodriguez family - mother (a psychiatric nurse), father (a travelling salesman) and 10 kids. Vonne's ancestry is Spanish and Mexican, and she says her music reflects that heritage - as well as the rough and tumble of family life, for which the phrase "never a dull moment" was surely coined.

"My memories are fond," she says. "There was always music in the house. My dad was a drummer when he was in college, and when he had us kids he became a salesman, but there was always a drum kit in the house. My mother loved playing the Spanish guitar, the music of the mariachis. So I grew up listening to that music, and roadhouse rock music, too. And I listened to albums my older brothers had, music from The Cruzados, Johnny Reno, Lone Justice."

Home was San Antonio, but as soon as Vonne was old enough she headed to New York. A good decision? "The best. My parents trusted me to go, and from that I knew I had to make good. What being there did was teach me how to be professional, aggressive and assertive, and how to survive. I found and formed my band in NYC, with other Texan artists. Transplanted Texans, we called ourselves. We were close - I even married my guitar player!"

Living in New York allowed Vonne to see if she would succeed or fail, but she quickly discovered that regularly gigging was not an option. "You could really only play one gig a month, whereas in Texas you can play anywhere, anytime - it's accepted and encouraged. I finally moved back to Texas after several years, and I'm glad I've brought the music back home."

San Antonio is where Vonne's heart is; while some people leave behind their past without any need or wish to revisit it, she discovered that the pull of heritage and background was too strong to resist.

"The question I asked myself quite early on in my career was, if I wanted to write a song, what style would it be in? So I looked into my past - a young girl from San Antonio, one of 10 kids, from a Spanish-Mexican family. My mother sang to us in Spanish and instilled into us that language. She told us that if you don't use it you lose it. To this day, it's incredibly important to utilise the Spanish language in my music and on my records. It's a reflection of who I am, and it's also important to my parents.

"When my mother was growing up in America, at school she was not allowed to speak Spanish; the Spanish-Mexican kids were almost borderline abused if they did. For myself, musically speaking, my music is drifting back to those memories.

"Love of Spanish runs in our family - my sister is a flamenco dancer in Seville, and my brother Robert reflects the language in many of his films."

If her music had a blueprint, Vonne says it would be Tex-Mex outfits The Cruzados and Tito & Tarantula (the house band in From Dusk Till Dawn). If there's something that makes her stage show stand out, it's her castanets - "They're not maracas, for goodness sake! Why does everyone call them maracas?"

We'll see Patricia Vonne's guitars and castanets in early 2006 when she makes her debut appearance in Ireland. There might be one problem: will the venue area be high enough? "I'm 5'10" without boots and a Stetson. Actually, I had height trouble before - I played a place in Austin, Texas, and I had to take off my hat because I couldn't fit on stage!"

It's a tall tale, but we believe her.

Guitars and Castanets is on release through Measured Records. Patricia Vonne plays Whelan's, Dublin early next year