The Mexican American Experience, a radio program produced by the Longhorn Radio Network, includes interviews, music, and informational programs related to the Mexican American community and their concerns. Program summary: Host Linda Fregoso speaks with famed Chicano musician, Beto Villa, and his wife about his music, and later interviews Manuel Peña about Villa's legacy. This program examines and highlights the career of Beto Villa, prominent Chicano orchestra leader the 1940's and 50's. Villa, often called "the Mexican Guy Lombardo", popularized the use of the accordion in orchestral music and created a style appealing to all classes of mexicanos throughout the years. Linda Fregoso discusses this career with Beto Villa, his wife and Manuel Peña. Villa got his start in Falfurrias, Texas and began playing for local dances and Anglo audiences. It was there that he developed his unique orchestral sound and started adding the accordion to his music. He attracted the attention of Armando Marroquín who had just started his own recording company, and Marroquín recorded Villa's music and distributed it throughout the United States. Throughout his career, Villa played with several musicians who then went on to join famous big bands. Villa's band was also the first Chicano orchestra to tour the nation, and Villa's wife describes these early tours. Fregoso then speaks with Manuel Peña who describes Villa as a trailblazer. Peña explains that Villa was the first to seek an alternative musical style to the conjuntos that were then very popular. Peña says that conjunto music was largely the music of poor and rural Chicanos but, after World War II, a new Mexican-American middle class began to emerge and the orquesta style of music appealed to them. However, because they were never a large market, artists like Villa tried to broaden their appeal by adapting their music. For Villa, this meant adopting the accordion. Peña believes that the combination of orchestra and accordion represents the union of two musical styles and it inspired many of the most successful Chicano musicians who came after Villa. Keywords: Accordion, Alice, Tx, Arhoolie Brothers, Arizona, Armando Marroquin, Arturo Villa, Rosia Vals, Beto Villa, Bruno Villareal, Buddy Miles Band, Carmen y Laura, Chelo Silva, Chicano Composers, Chicano Music, Chicano Owned Business, Class, Conjunto, Dario Perez, Discos Ideal, Eugenio Gutierrez, Falcon Records, Falfurrias, Tx, Folk Music, Freer, Tx, Henry Cuestas, Henry Diaz, Isidro Lopez, Juan Colorado, Juanita Garcia, La Onda Chicana, Lalo Cavazos, Las Hermanitas Cantu, Lawrence Welk, Little Joe, Los Campeones, Luis Alcaraz, Luis Casas, Manuel Peña, Maria Victoria, Mexican American Middle Class, Mexican Music, Narciso Martinez, New Mexico, North Texas, Orchestra, Ornelas Rene, Orquesta Falcon, Orquesta Tejana, Paco Rodriguez, Perez Prado, Radio, Ranchera music, RCA records, Recording industry, Rio Grande Valley, San Benito, Tx, Saxophone, South Texas, Stan Getz, Stan Getz, Sunny Ozuna, Tejano Music, Tony de la Rosa, World War Two. Broadcast date: 1980-07-21.
Creator/Contributor:
Longhorn Radio Network (creator), Fregoso, Rosa Linda. (host), Villa, Beto (interviewee), Peña, Manuel (interviewee), and Villa, Rafaela (interviewee)
Date Created/Date Issued:
1980-05
Owning Repository:
Benson Latin American Collection, LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, The University of Texas at Austin
sound recordings, grabaciones sonoras, radio programs, programas de radio, and Audio
Extent:
24 minutes, 17 seconds
Rights - Use and Reproduction:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Language:
English and Spanish
Place of Publication:
Austin (Tex.)
Topic:
Tejano music, Música tejana, Mexican Americans--Social life and customs, Mexicano americanos--Vida social y costumbres, Orchestral music, Saxophonists, and Middle class Mexican Americans