Fans who include many of Tejano music’s top stars will bid farewell today to conjunto legend Ruben Vela before his burial Friday, a family member said Wednesday.

"We want people to have their last goodbye," his daughter and recording artist Marlissa Vela said. "I want him to be in people’s memory and his music to be known."

Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. today at Faith Pleases God Church, 4501 W. Expressway 83 in Harlingen, where a service will be held at 7 p.m.

Visitation will continue at 8:30 a.m. Friday before an 11:30 a.m. funeral service at the church.

Burial will follow at Restlawn Memorial Cemetery, 14166 E. Business 83, La Feria.

Vela, 72, died Tuesday of liver disease at Valley Baptist Medical Center, said Santa Rosa Mayor America Gonzales, who is a friend of the Vela family, said.

"We’ve gotten calls from way deep in Mexico to Chicago and California," Gonzales said.

Radio stations will bus fans from Laredo and Del Rio, and Tejano stars will honor the master accordionist who helped launch their careers, Gonzales said.

"Everybody knows my dad as the most humble person," Marlissa Vela said. "He’s the most thoughtful person I ever met. If someone was starting off and had a dream he’d give them a chance to play. He shared his stage and his name with everyone."

Known as the King of the Dancehall Sound, Vela’s accordion mastery sparked a career that spanned half a century, from his earliest recordings in the 1950s to international hits such as "El Coco Rayado" and "La Papaya" in the late 1990s.

Trinity Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.