1. "El Lavaplatos"/ "The Diswasher" by Hermanos Banuelos. 1929. Recorded in Los Angeles, California.

Example of an urban corrido.

During the 1920s, Mexican communities in Los Angeles, California listened to Mariachis from state of Jalisco, canciones nortenas (northern songs) from the state of Chihuahua, troubadors from the Yucatan region , banda jarochas from the Veracruz region, and marimba groups from Chiapas and Oaxaca.

Yet, of the all the styles that stood out in popularity in L.A. in the 1920s, it was the CORRIDO or border ballad genre.

The Corrido had a long history in Mexico, especially along the U.S./Mexico border regions, but it reached its "Golden Era" during and after the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The genre narrated heroic battles of the revolution.

The corrido ensemble was generally comprised of two guitarists and two or three vocalists.

The song "Los Lavaplatos" is considerd to be a modern and urban corrido as it was the first recorded corrido and it was a corrido about the everyday working person instead of an heroic leader.

"El Lavaplatos"/"The Diswasher" is also an example of why Mexican migrant musicians can be understood as "organic intellectuals." These working class intellectuals use music to express the frustrations and hopes of their social group and challenges the story that the mainstream tells about their migrant lives.

Notice the sound of the "slide guitar" technique.

2. "Corrido Pensilvanio"/ "Pennsylvanian Corrido" by Pedro Rocha and Lupe Martinez. 1930s. Recorded in Los Angeles, California.

Example of modern, urban corrido.

Corrido about the mid-west labor routes via Texas of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. "Corrido Pensilvanio"/ "Pennsylvanian Corrido" is an example of the way Mexican labor has been vital to U.S. culture. One the one hand, it describes the way Mexican labor has been integrated into the American economy and on the other, it shows how the work of these Mexican immigrants was made invisible in U.S. culture. "Corrido Pensilvanio"/ "Pennsylvanian Corrido" is also an example of why Mexican migrant musicians can be understood as "organic intellectuals." These working class intellectuals use music to expresses the frustrations and hopes of their social group and challenges the story that the mainstream tells about their migrant lives.

3. "Pachuco Boogie" (Don Tosti's Pachuco Boogie Boys, rec.1948)

Don Tosti (Edmundo Martinez Tostado) was born in El Paso, Texas and later moved to Los Angeles, CA. In 1948, Don Tosti recorded this song on the spot after being hired to accompany popular balladeer, Ruben Reyes who never showed up for the session. Tosti took advantage of this opportunity to incorporate elements of his experience growing up in a Mexican barrio. With his experience in the swing bands of Jack Teagarden, Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Dorsey and Les Brown. Like early African American R&B, this song has a rebellious spirit rooted in the street life of young pachucos/pachucas or "zoot suiters," otherwise known as Pachucos. The use of caló slang of the Pachucos, together with the raw sounds of African American jump blues and boogie woogie, are examples of Chicano innovation and participation in U.S. popular music.

4. "Los Chucos Suaves" (Lalo Guerrero, rec.1949)

Lalo Guerrero wrote diverse dance music, ballads, and many humorous songs reflecting the bicultural experience of Chicanos. Stylistically this song could be broadly described as a guaracha, but the references to Los Angeles Pachuco culture and their caló dialect give it a distinctively local flavor. Music like this, as well as more conventional swing band and afro-Cuban dance music, was a favorite of Pachuco dancers.

1. "La Bamba." Ritchie Valens. 1958.

"La Bamba" is one of the most widely interpreted song from the son jarocho genre. In the U.S. during the 1950s, Ritchie Valen's popularized a rock and roll version of "La Bamba." In the 1980s, Los Lobos re-popularized the song via their performance in the Hollywood version of Ritchie Valens' life in the film titled La Bamba.

Scholars use Ritchie Valen's version of "La Bamba" and his song "Donna" as an example of the way Mexican American youth helped to shape the sound of rock and roll in the U.S. Valens's introduced many Mexican musical elements into the sound of what we have come to understand as the early rock and roll sound.

Son Jarocho is a traditional musical style of Veracruz, Mexico. It reflects the population that evolved in the region from Spanish colonial times. It represents a fusion of indigenous (Mexican Indian), Spanish, and African musical elements. Often humorous, the lyrics focuses on love, nature, sailors, and cattle breeding. These themes reflected life in colonial and 19th century Mexico. Verses are often shared with the wider Mexican and Caribbean repertoire.

Son Jarocho ensemble generally includes: jarana guitars, requinto jarocho, harp and percussion such as pandero, Cajón and quijada (an instrument made of a donkey or horse jawbone).

Ritchie Valens's 1950s interpretation included Caribbean musical accents from the cha, cha, cha, and mambo that were popular at the time.

"La Bamba", is usually played in a duple meter which enabled it to be transformed into a rock and roll song more easily than most other sones jarochos, which have a meter in six that juxtaposes duple and triple meters (meaning it can be divided into duple, or triple meter).

More recently, instruments and rhythms from son jarocho have been used by rock groups such as Café Tacuba, Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine, and Ozomatli.

2. "Angel Baby" by Rosie and the Originals. 1959.

In 1959, 14 year-old mexican american Rosie Mendez-Hamlin wrote the melody for "Angel baby." the song became a national hit in 1961.

This song is an example of the way young Mexican American women expressed their attitude in a variety of pop styles that both reflected and shaped the spirit of the times. Rosie Mendez-Hamlin was was barely in high school when this sorprano-voiced teenager wrote and recorded "Angel Baby." In San Diego, Her aunt Socorro taught her four chord progressions, Honky Tonk, Boogie and Blues on a piano her mother bought her.

This early Chicano sock-hop classic continues to define the Chicano "oldies" sound from the greater L.A. area and is sampled in today's Chicano hip hop. The song "Angel Baby" also represents the give and take Chicanas and Chicanos have had with musics associated with African Amerian communities. Rosie Mendez-Hamlin's strikingly high voice combined with the echoing effect of the makeshift airplane hanger recording studio makes the song stand out among other standard doo wop tunes popular in the mid-1950s through the 1960s. While her crystalline voice reveals her love, the haunting sax presages the coming heartbreak. The song demonstrates the ways Chicana singers have influenced pop music. Even though it took years for rosie to get full songwriting credit for "Angel Baby, " this song influenced a generation of girl groups that would come after her.

John Lennon named Rosie one of his favorite singers, and he recorded a version of "Angel Baby" in the mid-1970s.

3. "Ooh Poo Pa Do." The Sisters. 1965.

With their high bouffant hairdos and rich vocal harmonies, the Arvizu sisters (Ersi, Mary, Rosella), daughters of Mexican vocalists who settled in East L.A., where the premier eastside 1960s girl group. As children, the sisters sang the traditional Mexican music of their parents who where musical performers who went by the name Dueto Arvizu. The sisters adored their parents music: rancheras, boleros, and mariachis.

In "Ooh Poo Pa Do" youngest sister Ersi Arvizu incorporates the Mexican huapango falsetto "yodel" that "breaks" the note. The mix of mexican genres and african american vocalizing, as demonstrated in this song is the trademark of the eastside singing sound.

4. "Whittier Blvd." by Thee Midniters. 1965.

In the early 1960s, hopes ran high in the Mexican American community of East Los Angeles. Many teenage bands dreamt that they would become as famous as Ritchie Valens. Scores of sharply dressed young musicians in matching suits jammed out to rock and roll at church, high school, and union hall dances.

Part human mixing boards, part alchemists, Eastside bands would make gold out of R&B, mariachi, jazz, conjunto, and Afro-Caribbean elements.

Thee Midniter's 1965 song "Whittier Blvd.," has the free and rowdy Eastside sound made by funky bass lines, growling chants, tambourines, shakers, and beefed-up horns. Hammond or Vox organs and electric guitars create that Eastside signature feel.

Thee Midniters are considered the most musically talented of all the early Eastside rock and roll bands. The band's stylistic versatility is a prime of example of how local audiences demand bands to be proficient in vastly different styles. They had to play everything to keep their patrons moving. And because Mexican Americans have been so eclectic in their musical taste, the band had to play many diverse genres.


5. "Farmer John" by the Premiers. 1964.


The song "Farmer John" added lyrics to the Romancer's tune "Slauson Shuffle" and was the first breakthrough Billboard hit for the Eastside sound in 1964. Both tunes inspired countless Mexican Americans teenagers to play the "Eastside sound."


Not be denied, the girl fans of the Chevelle's car club made their presence known. The sound of the girls screaming and clapping became another instrument that created the Eastside sound.

6. "La, La, La, La, La" by The Blendells. 1964.

The Blendells's 1964 soulful rendition of "La, La, La, La" (an obscure Little Stevie Wonder tune) rocketed the eastside sound once again to national charts. The song features R&B mute trumpet and the high and bright mariachi horn sound. Note call and response between brass and vocal. And, once again, we hear the girl's claps and screams as instruments in the groove.


7. "Land of 1000 Dances" by Cannibal and the Headhunters. 1965.

Who could forget the words to "Land of 1000 Dances?" Frankie Garcia did. Frankie, as the lead singer of east L.A.'s most famous vocal group, Cannibal and the Headhunters, covered this slip-up with an improvised and contagious "nah, na, na, na, nah." His deep and wide mariachi-influenced vibrato made rock n roll history in 196 and led to a tour with the Beatles.

As the song opens, imagine a train. Frankie, as lead singer, starts the train moving with "you got to know how to pony." He's immediately answered by the group's vocal train whistle "whoo, whoo." the screams and shrieks of the young women make sure they won't be left behind as young Chianas and Chicanos hop the barreling civil rights train, struggling towards a more promising future.

8. "96 Tears" by Question Mark and the Mysterians. 1966.

Question Mark and the Mysterians was a Mexican American musical band whose members were born in Texas, but grew up Michigan. Their families were part of a community of Mexican Americans who were recruited throughout the 20th century to meet Michigan's labor shortages in foundaries, steel mills, packing houses, and auto plants.  Infamous rock critic Lester Bangs called Question Mark and the Mysterian's 1966 hit song "96 Tears" "one of the greatest rock and roll songs of all time." What makes the song stand out it is the unforgettable organ riff that drives the song. The organ riff connects "96 Tears" and conjunto based Tejano music. In the 1960s, Texas conjunto bands augmented the accordion with Farfisa organs. The Farsia organ sound, as perfected by Question Mark and the Mysterians became identified with garage rock and today is exalted by rockers everywhere. The tune of "96 Tears" transferred an accordion riff to the Farisa organ and infused the Tex-Mex sound into rock and roll history.

Content section

1. "Viva Tirado" by El Chicano. 1970.
By the late 1960s, when the Vietnam War had changed the hopeful mood of East Los Angeles, a band called the V.I.P.s became El Chicano, changing their name to reflect their Mexican American roots. Their 1970 hit "Viva Tirado" takes a jazz instrumental and adds an intense interplay of drums, conga, lamenting bass, and the signature Eastside Hammond organ. The original jazz instrumental by pianist Gerald Wilson was inspired by Mexican bullfighter Jose Ramon Tirado.

2. "Sabor a Mi"by Ersi Arvizu. 1971.
Born in East Los Angeles, Ersi Arvizu performed in East L.A.'s popular 1960s girl group, The Sisters. As a child she sang the traditional Mexican music of her parents who where musical performers who went by the name Dueto Arvizu. Ersi adored her parents music: rancheras, boleros, and mariachis. When the Chicano pride movement inspired East L.A. bands to see their culture as source or pride rather than shame, Ersi's put the music of her parents center stage in her soulful rendition of the 1950s Mexican bolero "Sabor a Mi." Ersi's 1971 version was recorded with the band El Chicano.

3. "Come and Get Your Love" by Red Bone. 1974.
Long before their band redbone became a household name with their 1974 hit "Come and Get Your Love," brothers Pat and Lolly Vasquez (stage name Pat and Lolly Vegas) strongly influenced the Eastside sound with their guitar playing.

In "Come and Get Your Love" Lolly's Chicano-accented chant "hey, what's the matter with you" combined with the tom tom sound of the drum, evokes their Native American connections. Notice the cha, cha, cha rhythm.

4. "Volver, Volver" by Los Lobos. 1993 version.
Like many East L.A. bands from the 1960s, Los Lobos played rock and roll, but they distinguished themselves from other Eastside bands by choosing to learn to play acoustic traditional folk instruments associated with Mexico and Latin American. When they decided to use electric instrumentation, they created a unique sound that meshed rock and roll with Tejano and cumbian rhythms. Because of their special blend, Los Lobos is considered by critics to be one of America's most important groups.

In "Volver, Volver," they play the Eastside sound with a twist- choosing to use Mexican folk instruments including the accordion and lead vocals that have a mariachi flavor which are augmented by a sax.


5. "One Time, One Night" 1986.
In "One Time, One Night" with its layering of acoustic and electric instruments like the conjunto accordion, heavy conjunto bass, and western "rootsy" guitar, we hear the mexican american experience. They sing about dashed American dreams "in an age old song about the home of the brave and this land here of the free.

6. You're No Good / Linda Ronstadt. 1975.
The press dubbed best-selling Mexican American signer Linda Ronstadt the "queen of the rock" in the 1970s. In her 1974 no 1. Billboard hit "You're No Good," Linda mixes country, and R&B with African American gospel harmonies.

7. "Los Laureles"/"The Laurels" by Linda Ronstadt and Mariachi Vargas. 1987.

Listen to this song where Ronstadt, who sang the previous song "You're No Good" powers out huapngo ranchera sound vocals with its trademark falsetto yodel. Accompanied by Mariachi Vargas Linda Ronstadt unites fans in the U.S. and Latin America.

8. "Gluttony" Alice Armendariz aka Alice Bag of the Bags. 1978.
In the late 1970s, the Bags featured the first L.A.-based punk women lead singer, Alice Bag. She was born Alicia Armendariz to Mexican immigrants who lived in East L.A. Alicia's furious screams defined the aggressive vocal style of the Hollywood punk scene. Her vocals rose up over distorted electric guitar and sped up bass and drums, to create a thick, dissonant texture, a trademark of the early punk sound, echoing L.A. tension.


9. "Attitudes" by Teresa Covarribias of The Brat. 1982.
Teresa Covarribias's strong writing and lyrical voice made The Brat East L.A.'s most beloved punk/new wave band. In "Attitudes," Teresa refuses to play nice as her nasal voice stretches-out Mexican falsetto vocal phrasing.


10. "La Bamba" buy The Plugz. 1978.
The Plugz from El Paso, linked the Hollywood and East L.A. punk scenes. the band's 1979 stripped-down version of "La Bamba" pays tribute to Ritchie Valens and shouts out to the bands Mexican American roots. In this Mexican son jarocho, lead singer Tito screams in Spanish I'm not a fascist, I'm not a capitalist, I'm an anarchist, playing with the lyric's to the Sex Pistols song Anarchy." The Plugz and The Brat were featured on the 1983 album "Eastside Renaisance. The record linked punk to East L.A. 60s bands.

11. "Death Breath" by The Undertakers. 1982.
In "Death Breath" the Chicano punk band The Undertakers build and sustain pure tension with no release. They sing about toxic pollution in brown communities.

12. "No Pay" by The Undertakers. 1982.
Just as 1960s East L.A. band could play a variety of genres, so too could East L.A. punk bands. Contrast their song "Death Breath" with "No Pay." In their song "No Pay" we hear a Mexican conjunto guitar introduction, a polka um-pah bass, and bouncy ska syncopation.


13. "El lay (L.A)" by Los Illegals. 1984.
Los Illegals re-made the insult "illegal" into a badge of ethnic pride. Spotlighting the lives of undocumented workers in the song "El Lay," recorded in 1983, the band uses a cha, cha, cha cowbell, a vox organ an distorted guitars, to highlight the abuse done to undocumented workers, echoing the theme of the 1930 popular L.A. corrido, "El Lavaplatos" "the Diswasher."

14. "Immigration Time" by El Vez. 1994.
The Zeros were another original California 70s punk band. In the early 1990s, former Zeros member Robert Lopez took on the stage name El Zez, the Mexican Elvis. Then he cooked up riffs from early rock and roll, glam rock, and punk and sang pro-Latino lyrics. His backup band the Memphis Mariachis held the groove while El Vez rocked the stage. In the song "Immigration Time" El Vez sings with Alice "Bag" Armendariz. El Vez takes the melody of Carribbean-infused Rolling Stone's "Sympathy for the Devil and Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds." Then, he fades up the mambo and turns on Mexican/country flavored guitar to pay tribute to undocumented Mexican workers.

15. "La Raza by Kid Frost. 1990.
Kid Frost's tune "La Raza" hit U.S. rap charts in 1990. The first rap featuring "cal�, or pachcuco slang was rapped over El Chicano's 1970 hit "Viva Tirado." Frost's version pumps up the bajo sexto influenced bass, claiming Chicano pride.


16. "Amanecer" by Lysa Flores. 2003.
The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) era of the early punk and Chicano music scenes inspired East L.A. singer-songwriter-guitarist Lysa Flores to create her own indie record label called Bring Your Luv. Lysa coined the term "Chicana Alternative" and kept the Eastside 90s scene moving with concerts and community events. In this song "Amanacer" she harmonizes the melody with the huapango mexican falsetto yodel.

17.
"Planta de los Pies" by Martha Gonzalez of Quetzal. 2003.
The crunchy knocking you hear is not digitally produced percussion; it is the feet of Martha Gonzales, from the East L.A. band Quetzal. Martha was the first woman to bring the tarima from son jarocho or stomp box, to rock music. Stomping on wooden boxes was originally started by African slave communities on the Mexican gulf coast as a result of Spanish colonizers prohibition on drumming. Martha transforms the tarima "Chicana style" as she sings along with the jarana guitar of the son jarocho. the use of Asian instruments, tarima, and alternative rock is another example of Eaststide musical mestisaje.

18. Maria / Rage Against The Machine. 1999.
Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine grew up in East L.A. and Orange County. He fused socially conscious rap lyrics with punk sonic ferocity. In "Maria" Zach's sound saturation helps tell about an undocumented worker summoned to an L.A. factory to make clothes. Maria survives a hellish border crossing only to be abused and injured on the job.

19. "No Hay Manera" by Akwid. 2003.
Many children of recent Mexican immigrants love to mix hip hop with mexican music. Akwid's 2003 song "No Hay Manera" mixes hip hop vocals with brass instruments from Banda Sinaloense, in a style called banda rap. Listen to the off-beat horn punches, the bass line played by a tuba, and the mariachi-influenced trumpet.