|
| Tejano music legend Lydia Mendoza’s first recordings in 1928, as a member of Cuarteto Carta Blanca, are included in the Frontera Collection at UCLA. |
The University of California, Los Angeles Chicano Studies Research Center, the UCLA Library, and the Arhoolie Foundation have launched the largest online digital archive of Mexican and Mexican American recordings. The Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings at UCLA is composed of approximately 41,000 selections, including corridos, boleros and sones to patriotic speeches and comedy skits.
Among the compilation’s many gems are 1908 recordings from the mariachi group Cuarteto Coculense; 1928 recordings from Tejano music legend Lydia Mendoza; and the first disc recordings in 1937 by accordion pioneer Narciso Martinez.
Arhoolie Foundation President Chris Strachwitz amassed the collection, and the Los Tigres Del Norte Foundation donated $500,000 to UCLA’s Chicano Research Center to digitize 78 rpm discs.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
