Chulas Fronteras & Del Mero Corazon soundtrack / Arhoolie CD-425

Description

Arhoolie CD-425 – Brazos Films Presents Chulas Fronteras & Del Mero Corazon: Soundtrack Recordings from Two Tex-Mex Classics.

TRACK LISTING:

1  Canción Mixteca – Ramiro Cavazos & Rafael Ramirez
2  Mi Texana – Los Pingüinos Del Norte
3  Muchachos Alegres – Narciso Martinez: accordion
4  Luzita – Narciso Martinez
5  Mal Hombre / Pero Ay Que Triste – Lydia Mendoza
6  Chulas Fronteras – El Piporro (Lalo González) with Los Madrugadores Del Valle
7  Rinches de Texas – Dueto Reynosa with Conjunto
8  Corrido de César Chávez – Los Pingüinos Del Norte
9  Chicano – Rumel Fuentes with Los Pingüinos Del Norte
10  La Nueva Zenaida – Flaco Jimenez y su Conjunto with Fred Ojeda
11  Un Mojado Sin Licencia – Flaco Jimenez y su Conjunto with Fred Ojeda
12  Cotula – Santiago Jiménez: accordion, with Santiago Jimenez Jr.: guitar
13  Prenda del Alma – Los Alegres De Terán
14  Volver, Volver – Los Alegres De Terán
15  México Americano – Los Pingüinos Del Norte
16  Seis Pies Abajo – Ricardo Mejia & Ruben Valdez
17  Las Quejas de Zenaida – Andres Berlanga
18  Camioncito Pasajero – Conjunto Tamaulipas
19  Al Pie de la Tumba – Conjunto Tamaulipas
20  El Troquero – Conjunto Tamaulipas
21  En Cada Vida Hay Un Momento – Leo Garza & his Conjunto
22  Quiero Que Sepas – Chavela Ortiz & Raymond Flores
23  Besos y Copas – Chavela Ortiz y Brown Express
24  Las Nubes – Little Joe & La Familia

This soundtrack album presents some of the finest musicians of the musica norteña tradition from their performances in two magnificent films, Chulas Fronteras (Beautiful Borders) and Del Mero Corazon (From the Very Heart). At the time Chris Strachwitz and filmmaker Les Blank teamed up in the mid-70s to document traditional conjunto music, there was no fanfare. Few knew the music outside the Spanish speaking lower Rio Grande Valley, the cradle of the music’s existence. Nevertheless, the two blazed ahead, driven by the conviction that traditional conjunto is as vital as other U.S. “vernacular” music like the blues, jazz, and zydeco. Their work became two landmark films: Chulas Fronteras and Del Mero Corazon. The Library of Congress eventually selected Chulas Fronteras for the National Film Registry, and both films have gone on to inspire future generations of musicians and filmmakers.

Recorded on location in cantinas and clubs, outdoor gatherings, the ranchos, and backyard barbecues where the music is most alive, the traditional three-piece conjunto — guitar, bajo sexto, and accordion — is the centerpiece of both films. There’s a raw vitality to this “blue collar” music of migrant agricultural workers. Especially moving are the corridos, or story songs, from Lydia Mendoza’s “Mal Hombre” (Bad Hearted Man), to Flaco Jimenez‘s tragicomic rendering of “Mojado sin Licencia” (Wetback without a (driver’s) License), and Lalo Gonzalez‘s epic tale of the lives of migrant workers in the title song – they all present a moving portrait of both a music and a way of life.

For conjunto aficionados, the soundtrack to Chulas Fronteras and Del Mero Corazon is a must-have.