Post by the Scribe on Jul 18, 2021 8:46:20 GMT
For several years Linda Ronstadt was the San Jose Mariachi and Mexican Heritage Festival Artistic Director. She appeared in many Mariachi festivals over the years bringing a notoriety and a revival of sorts to this genre of music, so much so it has become a symbol of pride for Mexican Americans. This thread contains several flashbacks from those and other festivals around the United States, in no particular order. (hey, it's a flashback)
2009/San Jose: Lila Downs on the left, Aida Cuevas in the center and Linda Ronstadt on the right.
The M.C. is Jose Ronstadt, Linda’s cousin and anchor for Telemundo.
Based on Linda's popular Canciones de mi Padre album the following award winning video takes the music to new heights.
LINDA RONSTADT - "CANCIONES DE MI PADRE" {{H.D.}} (COMPLETE), 1989
Dia Reinhardt
This video is the complete version. The opening first 5 minutes shows Linda talking and riding a horse through the countryside and also she is shown with her father. She talks about her childhood and love of the Mexican culture. In this show she celebrates the music of her Hispanic-American heritage - songs she calls "a living memory of heart felt experience", taped in San Francisco. This 'Great Performances' presentation is also called "A Romantic Evening in Old Mexico". Her singing partner is Daniel Valdez.
I have come across a music review by Ralph Novak (in an old "People" magazine dated Jan. 11, 1988) of the album Linda made of "Canciones De Mi Padre". It reads as follows: "Lovingly conceived and delightfully executed, this all-Spanish album is Ronstadt's tribute to her father, Gilbert, now in his 70's (since deceased). All 13 songs on the LP (the title means Songs of My Father) originated in his native Mexico, and Ronstadt and her co-producers, Peter Asher and Ruben Fuentes, enlisted a corps of Mexican mariachi musicians to play backup. If the songs inevitably lose a little in transition for non-Spanish speakers, there is plenty of fire and romance left over, and the lyrics are translated on the album sleeve. Ronstadt sounds in high spirits, her voice soaring and dancing through this melodically rich music.
The warm mood is enhanced by the fact that her backup singers include her brothers Pete (the Tucson, Ariz., chief of police) and Mike (who runs the family hardware store in Tucson) and her 17 year old niece Mindy. Another notable contribution comes from Mexican singer Pedro Rey, whose vocal harmony helps make Tu Solo Tu ("You Only You") a particularly touching track. La Charreada, a festive tune about a kind of cowboy dressage competition, is another highlight. This whole album is a cause for celebration; it is not often that a record provides such a bounty of rare good feelings. (Electra/Asylum) - Ralph Novak." In this review there is also a photograph of Linda and her singing partner that says "Linda Ronstadt, La senorita herself, with Mexican-American collaborator Daniel Valdez." Dia Reinhardt, 8-17-2017
