Los Cenzontles
| Los Cenzontles | |
|---|---|
| Origin | San Pablo, CA, United States |
| Genres | Latin Roots, Blues, Chicano Rock, Tejano, Ranchera |
| Years active | 1994 - Present |
| Website | http://www.themockingbirds.info |
| Members | |
| Eugene Rodriguez Fabiola Trujillo Lucina Rodriguez Hugo Arroyo Emiliano Rodriguez |
|
Los Cenzontles ("The Mockingbirds") 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 boleros. The band's core members also operate Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center in San Pablo, California.
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[edit] 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 folk 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.[1] (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.[2] 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.
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] DVD
- Pasajero, A Journey of Time and Memory, 2004
- Fandango, Searching for the White Monkey, 2006
- Vivir (To Live), 2008
