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: Esteban Jordan discusses his career as a Chicano musician, his experiences in the recording industry and the origins of his unique sound. Jordan talks about the creative constraints he has experienced in the recording industry, where producers have been unwilling to take chances on innovative sounds and instead have pressured him to keep playing polkas. He then describes how he started playing the guitar when he was seven and working in the fields with his family. He later picked up the accordion and dropped out of school at age ten to form his own band. His early experiences with migrant life has inspired his music and his commitment to the Chicano community and to farm workers. He then discusses his participation in the farm workers' march from San Juan, Texas to Washington D.C. Jordan believes his music is not political. He explains that he sings about the realities facing the community and what is happening so as to inform people and encourage them to organize themselves. Jordan describes his music as eclectic: he uses different techniques and styles to re-interpret traditional music. He then talks a little bit about his band and how it has changed over the years. Jordan's eldest son is also a musician and he plays with his father. Host Linda Fregoso interviews him briefly about his father's music and plans for the future. Jordan concludes that his music tries to blend American and Chicano sounds. Keywords: Accordion, Bolero, Cantinas, Chicano Markets, Chicano Music, Children, Conjunto, Corridos, Country Music, Disco, Esteban Jordan, Esteban Jordan Jr., Farm Workers, Harlingen, Texas, Huapanga, Jazz, Migrant children, Migrant Labor, Migrant Life, Music, Narciso Rodriguez, Polka, Popular Culture, Por Una Mujer Casada, Radio, Ranchera Music, Recording industry, Salsa, San Juan, Texas, Tejano Music, Texas Farm Workers Union, Tony Jordan, Valerio Longoria, Washington, D.C., Working Class, Youth Culture. Broadcast date: 1981-04-24.
Creator/Contributor:
Longhorn Radio Network (creator), Fregoso, Rosa Linda. (host), and Jordan, Steve, 1939-2010 (interviewee)
Date Created/Date Issued:
4/18/1981
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, 33 seconds
Rights - Use and Reproduction:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Language:
English
Place of Publication:
Austin (Tex.)
Topic:
Demonstrations, Migrant agricultural laborers, Mexican American musicians, Conjunto music, Música norteña, Trabajadores agrícolas migratorios, and Sound recording industry