Los Cenzontles
Encyclopedia
Los Cenzontles is a Mexican-American
Roots
band, heavily influenced by Tejano music
, country music
, rock and roll
, and traditional Mexican regional music
such as Son Jarocho
and bolero
s. The band's core members also operate Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center in San Pablo, California.
music and focus on educational outreach.
In 1994, 3 major events moved Los Cenzontles to become the band as it exists today. (1) That year the recording of Papa's Dream, produced by Eugene for Los Lobos
, Lalo Guerrero
and members of Los Cenzontles was released. The recording was subsequently nominated for a Grammy for Best Musical Album for Children
. (2) Eugene Rodriguez incorporated Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center as a non-profit, responding to spiraling social problems among local youth. (3) That same year, 15 year-old Cecilia Rios, San Pablo resident and close friend of many of the Center's students, was brutally raped and murdered. In response to the tragic loss, the members of Los Cenzontles composed their first original work, El Corrido de Cecilia Rios.
In 1995, the group released its first album, Con Su Permiso, Señores. The group has released 17 albums in 13 years, including collaborations with David Hidalgo
, Bobby Black, Bill Evans (banjo), Julian Gonzalez, and Santiago Jimenez, Jr.
The band has performed alongside Linda Ronstadt
, Los Lobos
, Los Tigres Del Norte
, Ry Cooder
, and The Chieftains
among others. Currently, Los Cenzontles tours venues in the United States and Mexico. In 2007, Los Cenzontles released its first album of all original material, Los Senn-sont-less. In 2009 they released their latest album, American Horizon, a collaboration with Taj Mahal and David Hidalgo.
With support from the James Irvine Foundation
, Los Cenzontles began developing a 3 part documentary series in 2003. The “Cultures of México in California” project is a cultural preservation/awareness project that explores the changing role of roots music and dance in Mexican immigrant and Mexican-American communities in California. Their first DVD, Pasajero, was released in 2004.
Today, Los Cenzontles stays close to its activist roots. The Arts Center currently has over 200 students, and the band members continue to do educational outreach in addition to their recording and performance commitments.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Roots
Roots revival
A roots revival is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly-composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound.After an...
band, heavily influenced by Tejano music
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
, country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, and traditional Mexican regional music
Regional styles of Mexican music
Regional styles of Mexican music vary greatly vary from state to state. Norteño, banda, duranguense, and other Mexican country music genres are often known as regional Mexican music because each state produces different musical sounds and lyrics....
such as Son Jarocho
Son Jarocho
Son Jarocho is a traditional musical style of Veracruz, a Mexican state along the Gulf of Mexico. It evolved over the last two and a half centuries along the coastal portions of southern Tamaulipas state and Veracruz state, hence the term jarocho, a colloquial term for people or things from the...
and bolero
Bolero
Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...
s. The band's core members also operate Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center in San Pablo, California.
History
Los Cenzontles was begun in 1989 by Eugene Rodriguez and Berenice Zuniga-Yap as part of a California Arts Council artist residency. The goal of the Los Cenzontles Project was to create a place for area youth to learn traditional Mexican music and dance. When students' training advanced, the original touring group of Los Cenzontles was formed to showcase Mexican folkRegional styles of Mexican music
Regional styles of Mexican music vary greatly vary from state to state. Norteño, banda, duranguense, and other Mexican country music genres are often known as regional Mexican music because each state produces different musical sounds and lyrics....
music and focus on educational outreach.
In 1994, 3 major events moved Los Cenzontles to become the band as it exists today. (1) That year the recording of Papa's Dream, produced by Eugene for Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
, Lalo Guerrero
Lalo Guerrero
Eduardo "Lalo" Guerrero , was a Mexican-American guitarist, singer and farm labor activist best known for his strong influence on today's Latin musical artists.-Life Summary:...
and members of Los Cenzontles was released. The recording was subsequently nominated for a Grammy for Best Musical Album for Children
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. (2) Eugene Rodriguez incorporated Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center as a non-profit, responding to spiraling social problems among local youth. (3) That same year, 15 year-old Cecilia Rios, San Pablo resident and close friend of many of the Center's students, was brutally raped and murdered. In response to the tragic loss, the members of Los Cenzontles composed their first original work, El Corrido de Cecilia Rios.
In 1995, the group released its first album, Con Su Permiso, Señores. The group has released 17 albums in 13 years, including collaborations with David Hidalgo
David Hidalgo
David Hidalgo is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Los Lobos. He is also a member of the supergroup Los Super Seven and of the Latin Playboys, a side project band made up of some of the members of Los Lobos...
, Bobby Black, Bill Evans (banjo), Julian Gonzalez, and Santiago Jimenez, Jr.
Santiago Jiménez, Jr.
Santiago Jiménez, Jr. is a folk musician who has won a National Heritage Fellowship in 2000 for lifetime achievement in traditional Tex-Mex/folk music. His father, Santiago Jiménez Sr. was a pioneer of conjunto music...
The band has performed alongside Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
, Los Tigres Del Norte
Los Tigres del Norte
Los Tigres del Norte is a norteño-band ensemble based out of San Jose, California, hailing from Rosa Morada, Sinaloa, Mexico.- History :...
, Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...
, and The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
among others. Currently, Los Cenzontles tours venues in the United States and Mexico. In 2007, Los Cenzontles released its first album of all original material, Los Senn-sont-less. In 2009 they released their latest album, American Horizon, a collaboration with Taj Mahal and David Hidalgo.
With support from the James Irvine Foundation
James Irvine Foundation
The James Irvine Foundation is a philanthropic nonprofit organization established to benefit the people of California. It seeks to promote social equity and enrich the cultural and civic life of America’s most populous state through its grants in three areas: the arts, youth and education, and...
, Los Cenzontles began developing a 3 part documentary series in 2003. The “Cultures of México in California” project is a cultural preservation/awareness project that explores the changing role of roots music and dance in Mexican immigrant and Mexican-American communities in California. Their first DVD, Pasajero, was released in 2004.
Today, Los Cenzontles stays close to its activist roots. The Arts Center currently has over 200 students, and the band members continue to do educational outreach in addition to their recording and performance commitments.
Members
Current Members:- Fabiola Trujillo - Voice
- Lucina Rodriguez - Voice, jarana, guitar
- Hugo Arroyo - Voice, jarana, electric bass, tuba & percussion
- Eugene Rodriguez - Guitars, requintos, vihuela
- Emiliano Rodriguez - Accordion, guitar, bass
- Mireya Ramirez - Percussion, dance
Discography
- Con Su Permiso, Señores, 1995
- You'll Come Flying
- Amor, Paz y Sinceridad, 1999
- Volando en los Cafetales, 1999
- Hypnotizada, 1999
- De Una Bonita, 2000
- Cancionero, 2000
- Cuatro Maestros, 2001
- Media Vida, 2002
- Plan de la Villa, 2002
- El Pasajero, 2003
- Pocas Palabras, 2003
- Pasajero, A Journey of Time and Memory, 2004
- El Chivo Traditional Mariachi Volume III, 2004
- El Toro Viejo Traditional Mariachi Volume IV, 2006
- Los Senn-sont-less, 2007
- Songs of Wood and Steel, 2008 (with David Hidalgo)
- American Horizon, 2009 (with Taj Mahal and David Hidalgo)
- San Patricio, 2010 (contributing three songs with The Chieftains and Ry Cooder)
- Estado de Verguenza, 2010 (single)
- Raza de Oro, 2010
DVD
- Pasajero, A Journey of Time and Memory, 2004
- Fandango, Searching for the White Monkey, 2006
- Vivir (To Live), 2008