Introduction
Kris Kristofferson delivered an intimate performance of his timeless ballad “Why Me” for a very special audience this week—just one person, but one filled with love and gratitude.
The country music icon was visiting Texas to join Willie Nelson’s annual Fourth of July picnic when he made a heartfelt detour to see Juanita Cantu, now 93, who cared for Kristofferson and his siblings in Brownsville after his own parents were often away.
In a 2012 interview with Texas Highways, Kristofferson spoke of Cantu as “like a second mother.” He recalled, “She began working for our family when she was about thirteen, and she essentially raised all of us—my brother, my sister, and me—because Mom and Dad were gone so much. She had the biggest heart.”
Just last month, Kristofferson marked his 80th birthday, and in March a star-studded tribute concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena honored his extraordinary career and enduring influence on country music.