BajaNomad - Lalo Guerrero, the father of Chicano music

Lalo Guerrero, the father of Chicano music

BajaVida - 12-21-2004 at 08:36 PM

very nice article

his father was born in Baja

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive... :cool:

JESSE - 12-21-2004 at 09:30 PM

Chicano music??

chicano music, si

burritomama - 12-22-2004 at 12:14 AM

Lalo is great - check him out if you haven't already.

Chicano Music?

academicanarchist - 12-22-2004 at 07:28 AM

Corrido? Norteno? Mexican immigrants who came to the Southwest brought with them the music they knew in Mexico. If you go to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, you will hear a different version of who is the best Mexican-American artist. But it is all great music. Over in this part of the country you get a stronger influence of Norteno.

burritomama - 12-22-2004 at 12:31 PM

Point taken, AA.

Those broad generalizations (the father of this, the mother of that, etc) are problematic for so many reasons.

And so are such terms as "chicano"...

Just wanted to gvie a shout out for Lalo.

JESSE - 12-22-2004 at 01:30 PM

Chicano music, sounds like another farse to me, but hey, anybody can listen to whatever they want.

guess I offended some my paraphrasing the headline of the article itself

BajaVida - 12-22-2004 at 06:41 PM

Lalo plays music enjoyed on both sides of the border.

My father remembered him from Mexico and then in the US in the 40s.

I disovered him independently from my father in the 70s.

Lalo makes us both smile.

What is so evil about that I ask?

burritomama - 12-22-2004 at 09:58 PM

No offense here! I appreaciated the article too.

Gypsy Jan - 12-22-2004 at 10:58 PM

Humm, errh, (clear throat)

Why did negative comments shut this thread down?

I was interested in the subject.

Have you heard his music?

BajaVida - 12-23-2004 at 08:05 AM

The first song I heard of his was Pancho Lopez on Dr. Demento in the 70's. It took me probably 15 years to learn who the artist was.

He also does Las Ardillitas (the chipmunks) in Spanish.

and don't forget Tacos for Two, Pancho Claus, Elvis Perez (about a Mexican Elvis Presley)

you can find some of his music on Amazon, but I found a lot of his stuff at Down Home Music in El Cerrito (near Berkeley)

El Cerrito

academicanarchist - 12-23-2004 at 08:22 AM

El Cerrito, California, the hometown of John Fogerty.

elgatoloco - 12-23-2004 at 08:36 AM

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001XARGI/qid...

Listen to the samples then decide! :lol:

burritomama - 12-23-2004 at 10:09 AM

I like the one about running out of tortillas...

Braulio - 12-23-2004 at 10:19 AM

Thanks for reminding me of Lalo's music Bajavida - I don't see why anyone would have taken offense - I guess the term "Chicano" means different things to different people.

I heard Lalo (believe it or not) at the Keystone Berkeley probably 4 or 5 times back in the 70's - same stage as Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders, the Sons of Champlin - and the Tower of Power.
I think admission was about a buck back then.

I also caught him down on the Peninsula at the Circle Star - (as well as the "Inn of the Beginning" in Cotati).

It's funny - I never really associated him with the Chicano movement in those years - maybe more as kind of an older exPachuco-type or something - he just seemed like a talented, sometimes funny bilingual singer guy who knew what was happening on the street - a lot of plays on words and stuff.

In fact the whole Chicano thing to me back then seemed to be more of a bridge-building type deal - as opposed to what I perceive it to be today. Maybe I was naiive.

I lived on the border of Berkeley and El Cerrito for several years but don't recall Down Town music - I think I bought most of my music stuff at Tower on Telegraph.

I'm changing the topic here.

Thanks again for jogging the memory BajaVida.

pappy - 12-23-2004 at 06:55 PM

the music is cool, but is the chipmunk voice for real, or is it a glich in my computer??(i can definitely see this on the old dr. demento show!) :bounce:

Dumping on another man's thread

thebajarunner - 12-23-2004 at 09:21 PM

is pretty pathetic, and practiced way too much on this board.
Baja Vida is a class act, one of the most honored men in our community, and yes, a descendant of those who came across the border.... if he calls it "Chicano" so be it, not like from a honkie like me.
And yes, on many, many long miles across the Baja I have listened to Baja Vida's many iterations of Chicano music, can't say I like it all, but I greatly appreciate his eclectic tastes, and his willingness to share good stuff out of his own tradition.
Right on, Hermano...

Baja Arriba!!

what do I owe you for the nice comment?

BajaVida - 12-28-2004 at 06:59 PM

how about a cerveza in Baja? :cool:

[Edited on 12-29-2004 by BajaVida]

Oso - 12-30-2004 at 08:32 AM

Maybe Jesse would be happier if you called it "Pocho music"? In Texas it's usually called Tejano or Tex-Mex. There are many variations. Music is an international language and fusion or crossover is an interesting dialect, i.e.; Baldemar Huerta/Freddy Fender, even Gloria Stefan & Miami Sound Machine.
I'm a huge Freddy fan, have LP's from way back when he was Baldemar, got Tee-shirts, have seen him twice here in Yuma. Loved the Texas Tornados-"?Hey Baby, que pas?? I thought I was your only vato.". Also big fan of Little Joe Hernandez. I'm also a Lalo fan, since "Pancho Lopez".

Chicano movement? I wasn't aware it was a movement. Not all Chicanos are Aztlan Separatists. Mexican-American, Californio, Tejano, Latino, Hispanic, Neoyorquino: What the hell difference does it make? A Rosa by any other name... Just watched "Selena" again. Olmos had some lines about the difficulties of being Mexican-American, here and in Mexico...(while he was driving the bus to her first concert in Monterrey)

Braulio - 12-30-2004 at 10:33 AM

The Chicano Movement certainly exists - but that's not to say that all Chicanos choose to be part of the movement - it's also a culture. See:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/~ljones/UFW/documents/gonzalez.h...

If you'd like to learn more about the Chicano Movement do a google.

I guess that's why use of the term "pocho" kind of irritates me - there can be some very general cultural aspects to being pocho but it's mostly just a label - you're really a pocho by virtue of things totally beyond your control. Fact is that every pocho I know really doesn't like to be called "pocho" by people they don't know and who don't even have a grasp on the meaning of the word. They'd rather be refered to as "American". And that doesn't seem to me to be too outlandish a request.

I think we've been here before vis-a-vis the labeling of people by folks who don't know really understand or don't give a rats rear about the force of the words they're using thing.

Oh well.

Happy etc. Oso.

Braulio - 12-30-2004 at 10:42 AM

Here's a better link for people interested in the Chicano movement:

http://www.chicano-art-life.com/movement.html

gotta love those pochos

BajaVida - 12-30-2004 at 01:37 PM

http://www.pocho.com

[Edited on 12-30-2004 by BajaVida]

[Edited on 12-30-2004 by BajaVida]

JESSE - 12-30-2004 at 02:29 PM

I personally don't care much about anything Chicano or Pocho or whatever they call themselves, i am sorry to say i have only had bad experiences with most of them.

Oso - 12-30-2004 at 05:32 PM

So, Jesse, why don't you go by "Chucho" or "Chuy"? "Jesse" is a Chicano nickname, an adaptation for blending into anglo society and avoiding the ridicule of anglo pendejos who think there's something funny about anyone being named "Jesus".

?P-nche hip?crita prejuicioso! :lol:

:moon:

[Edited on 12-31-2004 by Oso]

[Edited on 12-31-2004 by Oso]

Braulio - 12-30-2004 at 07:11 PM

(bab)Oso - Es prejuicioso decir que alguien es prejuicioso wey.

Sr. LowLife (Don't take offense man -I've always gotten a kick out of your nick) I've tried but I just don't see much originality in the pocho.com thing - it must be me - I think I'll pop another Sierra Nevada Ale and listen to some of the other Lalo.

Happy Holidays muchachos.

Y Viva la Raza.

[Edited on 12-31-2004 by Braulio]

Oso - 12-30-2004 at 07:30 PM

Sorry, "Talking P____", damned English spelling has a way of sticking in the brain. Pocho.com started out MUCH better than what's left of it today. I enjoyed it but they did rip me off for a magazine subscription that produced ONE issue and died.

BTW, PM me a stateside snailmail address. Got a regalito for you.

Braulio - 12-30-2004 at 07:49 PM

Done dude - have a good New Year's.

JESSE - 12-30-2004 at 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Oso
So, Jesse, why don't you go by "Chucho" or "Chuy"? "Jesse" is a Chicano nickname, an adaptation for blending into anglo society and avoiding the ridicule of anglo pendejos who think there's something funny about anyone being named "Jesus".

?P-nche hipocrita prejuicioso! :lol:

:moon:

[Edited on 12-31-2004 by Oso]

Actually you are very wrong, my family and friends call me Jesus or another nickname, i simply found out a long time ago while in Canada, that its somewhat awkard for english speaking people to call me Jesus, unfortunatelly my middle name i also very difficult to pronounce in spanish, so i go by Jesse in english speaking forums and with many english speaking people simply for simplicity.

Oso - 12-30-2004 at 09:18 PM

So you adapted to the acculturization process within the society in which you found yourself at the time? Exactly the same thing the people you are dissing have had to do to survive here. :light:

JESSE - 12-30-2004 at 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Oso
So you adapted to the acculturization process within the society in which you found yourself at the time? Exactly the same thing the people you are dissing have had to do to survive here. :light:

Oso you are way wrong, i don't care if they adapt or not, thats not my problem, i don't blame them for dressing or talking the way they do, thats fine, they are there and have adapted to their new reality, my beef with them is that in my many years working in the food and beverage industry here in Tijuana, Cabo, and Canada, its simply well known that Mexican american "tourists" are the worse customers out there. I am not alone on my views, just ask the Rosarito police who trashes and creates most of the problems during the summer? ask any waiter in Baja who are the worse customers?

Dave - 12-30-2004 at 09:51 PM

Wow, Chicanos AND Canadians? In the same restaurant? That's got to be a waiters nightmare. :biggrin:

Actually, I would trade a single Japanese tourist or a table of "budget" local gringos for a restaurant full of Chicanos. They've never given me ANY problems.

Oso, I'm wit you....Love Preddy (guitar) Pender and Tejano....Que Ritmo!

guess we got way off Lalo

BajaVida - 12-31-2004 at 05:59 AM

I think he turned 88 on Christmas Day

most people are good, so long as you don't have to say "P-nche" before you describe them

seems to be a lot of stereotyping on this thread

we have all met people from all cultures who are wonderful and others from the same cultures who we would refer to as "P-nche"

many of us have been stereotyped in our lives and there ain't nuttin' funny about it :cool:

I agree with Oso, pocho.com ain't what it used to be

[Edited on 12-31-2004 by BajaVida]

Oso - 12-31-2004 at 10:06 AM

When I lived on Cozumel, the locals hated the "turistas nacionales",i.e.; Chilangos and other mainland Mexicans, whom they considered cheap, demanding and argumentative. They found Americans to be the best tippers (Japanese tourists were rare back then), Europeans less so and "fellow" Mexicans to be the worst. The French in particular they found to be obnoxious, rude, and worse; unwashed. Their B.O. was very offensive to Mayan people, who typically bathe twice a day.

Prejudice is a natural human reaction. Our experiences, especially the first ones, with members of any previously unfamiliar group will color our impression of the group as a whole. But, just because it's natural doesn't mean it's right. To walk in harmony with the world around us, we need to conquer our prejudices. We have to work at it, actively seek out the good in others. I know I do. I grew up in a segregated society.

interesting book about Lalo

BajaVida - 1-4-2005 at 09:46 PM

http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/books/bid1410.htm

has anyone read it? :cool:

burritomama - 1-5-2005 at 08:30 AM

Any fans of El Vez, the Mexican Elvis? He lives and plays around LA.

He's got a numbers of CDs out - one of them has my own theme song: Soy un Pocho.

Ya, pocho.com was way better back in the day -- like many things.

:cool:

burritomama - 1-5-2005 at 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by grover

Quote:

Originally posted by burritomama...Location: aztlan...

I like your sense of humor.

Aztlan -- a state of mind.

http://www.elvez.net/

BajaVida - 1-5-2005 at 07:56 PM

and don't forget Dr. Loco's Rockin' Jalape?o Band

but my favorite is Los Lobos (but I like their acoustic music better than electric)

burritomama - 1-5-2005 at 09:37 PM

ah yes, the boys from East Los. They rule, as we used to say. I haven't seen them (or anyone else for that matter since I became a mama -- except a John Prine concert (excelente!)when the in-laws were willing) for so long but boy are they something live.

Lalo - RIP

burritomama - 3-18-2005 at 02:54 PM

From today's LA Times:

OBITUARIES
Lalo Guerrero, 88; Pioneering Barrio Singer

By Agustin Gurza, Times Staff Writer

Lalo Guerrero, the pioneering barrio troubadour whose bilingual repertoire spanned a vast variety of Mexican and American genres over seven decades and earned him worldwide accolades as the Father of Chicano Music, died Thursday. He was 88.

Guerrero, who was suffering from prostate cancer, increasing frailty and memory loss, died at a nursing home in Palm Springs, near his longtime residence. The exact cause of death was not immediately known, relatives said.

The son of blue-collar Mexican immigrants, Guerrero was a self-styled folk musician who made up for his lack of formal training with a witty knack for capturing the everyday joys, sorrows and absurdities of Mexican American life, largely ignored by mainstream pop music. His songs were so emblematic of the bicultural experience during World War II that they were prominently featured in 1977's "Zoot Suit," the groundbreaking stage and film musical that dramatized, to Guerrero's swing-time beat, the persecution and survival spirit of the so-called pachucos.

"The play would not have been possible without his music," said writer and director Luis Valdez, Guerrero's nephew. "So many focus on the negative side, but what Lalo captured was the joy of the pachuco experience, the playful vacilon [good times], which no one else had done. That was something that was always unfailing with his work ? his great sense of humor and love for life."

Eduardo "Lalo" Guerrero Jr. was born on Christmas Eve 1916 in the Barrio Viejo of Tucson, one of 24 siblings, only eight of whom survived to adulthood. His father worked on the railroads, and his mother taught him to sing and play guitar.

As a teenager, he wrote "Cancion Mexicana," the first of hundreds of songs recorded on various labels since the 1930s. His trademark was his versatility. He was able to compose and sing in an array of styles, including traditional boleros and corridos, as well as upbeat mambos and boogie-woogies. He also wrote protest songs, such as "Battle Hymn of the Chicano" (1989), and comic parodies, such as "Mexican Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Bus Boys" (1990) and "No Chicanos on TV" (1986).

Perhaps his best-known composition is the 1955 hit "Pancho Lopez," a parody of "Davy Crockett." The singer used his royalties to open an East Los Angeles nightclub, Lalo's, which became a popular venue for the best bands from Latin America for the next 15 years.

Like many other Chicanos, Guerrero felt caught between cultural identities. When he tried to perform in Mexico, he was rejected as a pocho, a disparaging term for an Americanized Mexican. But when he tried to cross over as Eddie Lopez in the U.S., he didn't get much further, despite his love for artists such as Al Jolson and Rudy Vallee.

"He used to say that nobody was going to hire a 6-foot tall, Indian-looking Mexican to sing with Tommy Dorsey," recalls his son, entertainment producer Dan Guerrero. "So he did the next best thing and took swing to Spanish."

Guerrero turned the Chicano cultural conflict into a creative affirmation, embracing both identities through original music that mixed languages and styles. He converted the English-language concept of singing chipmunks, a 1950s novelty act, into his own popular series of children's recordings under the name "Las Ardillitas de Lalo Guerrero," or "Lalo's Little Squirrels."

In 1995, Los Lobos, the Chicano rock group that East L.A. spawned, invited Guerrero to join them on their bilingual children's album, "Papa's Dream," which earned a Grammy nomination.

Guerrero kept working, and receiving prestigious honors, almost to the end. In 1997, he became the first Chicano to receive the National Medal of Arts, awarded by President Clinton. And in 1998, Guerrero performed for the first time in Europe, at Paris' Cite de la Musique.

Despite the international kudos, Guerrero's heart remained in the barrio. He was in his 70s when he wrote "Barrio Viejo," a song lamenting the displacement of residents from his beloved Tucson neighborhood to make way for a convention center. His expression of loss and powerlessness in the face of societal forces proved such a universal barrio theme that musician Ry Cooder picked it for an upcoming album about the history of Chavez Ravine, the Los Angeles neighborhood torn down to build Dodger Stadium.

A television documentary about the late singer is being co-produced by his son Dan and filmmaker Nancy De Los Santos. Based on extensive interviews recorded six years ago, the project is titled "Lalo Guerrero: The Original Chicano."

"Lalo lived his life the way he wanted to live it ? through music," said De Los Santos. "And at the same time, he was able to bring our story, the story of Mexican Americans, to life."

Though exact dates have not been set, funeral plans include a memorial Mass in Palm Springs next week, followed by a Mass and burial in Tucson. The family announced plans to organize a future memorial concert in Los Angeles to celebrate Guerrero's life and achievements.

The musician is survived by his two sons, Dan and Mark, from his first marriage to Margaret Marmion of Tucson. He is also survived by his wife, Lidia Guerrero, and her two children, whom he adopted, Patricia Lowey and Jose Guerrero; his sisters Teresa Mallic, Mona Wood and Connie Abbot, all of Tucson; his brothers, Gene Guerrero of Moreno Valley and Ruben Guerrero of Phoenix; as well as by his granddaughter, Maya Guerrero.

[Edited on 3-19-2005 by burritomama]

What terrible news

BajaVida - 3-18-2005 at 05:21 PM

I am devistated

Guess I will need to listen to the 5 Lalo CDs I have tonight.

What a man, wonderful music.

Chicano music would never have existed without him. He opened the door to many Latino musicians.

I hereby proclaim Saturday, April 9 Lalo Guerrero day

BajaVida - 3-18-2005 at 09:13 PM

that is out first full day in BOLA and I will play non-stop Lalo music that day

if you will be in BOLA that day, please send me a U2U to let us know if you would like to visit that day

we will be north of La Gringa

[Edited on 3-19-2005 by BajaVida]

burritomama - 3-18-2005 at 09:42 PM

Well, I wish I could join you but I'll simply have to observe Lalo Guerrero day where I'll be...

NPR link

BajaVida - 3-19-2005 at 06:53 AM

All Things Considered from 3/18

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4541859 :cool:

interesting article by Lalo's son

BajaVida - 3-22-2005 at 10:18 PM

http://markguerrero.net/8.php

I accept

thebajarunner - 3-22-2005 at 11:43 PM

BV- I accept your invitation to "Dia del Lalo" at La Gringa....
Shoot, might as well spend the whole week while I am at it.
RIP Lalo..... you too BV

Baja Arriba!!

give 'em an inch and they take a mile

BajaVida - 3-24-2005 at 02:27 PM

I invite him for a day and he decides to spend a week...............oooppps--I forgot, he is my ride home :biggrin: