Pedro Ayala
Pedro Ayala | |
---|---|
Birth name | Pedro Ayala |
Born | General Terán, Nuevo León, Mexico | June 29, 1911
Died | December 1, 1990 South Texas | (aged 79)
Genres | Conjunto |
Instrument | accordion |
Years active | 1935–1989 |
Labels | Arhoolie Records, Bego Records, DiscOlando Records, Eco Records, El Pato Records, Falcon Records, Folklyric Records, Ideal Record, Oro Records, RyN Records |
Pedro Ayala (June 29, 1911[1] – December 1, 1990[2]), called "El Monarca del Acordeón", was a Mexican accordionist and songwriter from General Terán, Nuevo León, Mexico.[1] Pedro Ayala was a pioneer of conjunto music[3] with his distinctive accordion playing, receiving a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts[1] for his contribution to conjunto and folk music.
Early life
Ayala, the son of musician Emilio Ayala,[1] began playing the accordion when he was 5 years old.[citation needed] His family migrated to the United States when Pedro was about eight years old, settling in the town of Donna, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley and working as farm laborers. At age ten, he began to accompany his father on gigs for local dances, playing the tambora (drum).[3] By age fourteen, Pedro had learned the two-row button accordion, guitar and was playing with one of his favorite accordionists, Chon Alaniz.[1]
Career
Ayala began his professional career in 1935, and decided to concentrate on the accordion as his primary instrument. He played music while continuing to work on farms. In the 1940s and 1950s, Ayala was a well-respected performer among working-class Mexican Americans living in Texas, earning the title "El Monarca del Acordeon" (Monarch of the Accordion). In 1947, he recorded with a new record label named Mira in McAllen, Texas. Mira later became Falcon Records, a very successful Chicano recording company.[3] Over the course of his career, Ayala made 10 albums and numerous 78- and 45-rpm recordings that included polkas, chotes, valses, and redovas.[1]
Throughout his career, Ayala remained true to the stylistic core of conjunto music, but also added innovations such as incorporating the toloche (stand-up bass) to the ensemble. He was also regarded as a songwriter with a distinctive style of composition.[3]
In 1957 his sons Ramon Ayala, and Pedro Ayala Jr. (Quito) joined his group Pedro Ayala y su Conjunto.[citation needed] By 1963 Pedro Ayala's youngest son Emilio joined the group renaming the group to Pedro Ayala El Monarca del Acordeón y Los Hermanos Ayala touring the entire United States for the next several years.[citation needed]
Personal life
Pedro Ayala married Esperanza Benitez in 1935.[1] They had a total of nine children three of which also played instruments. Hector Ayala, Elia Ayala, Pedro Ayala Jr., Anita Ayala, Ramon Ayala, Pedro Ayala Jr. (Quito), Olga Ayala, Magdalena Ayala, and Emilio Ayala.[citation needed]
Awards and honors
- Ayala was a recipient of a 1988 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.[4]
- He was given a Texas flag that flew over the state capitol in Austin, Texas by Governor Ann Richards.[citation needed]
- Pedro Ayala y Los Hermanos Ayala were invited to perform at the White House in Washington, D.C. by the Smithsonian Institution.[5][6] The entire event was documented on video.
- Ayala was inducted into the Tejano R.O.O.T.S. Hall of Fame in 2004.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "NEA National Heritage Fellowships: Pedro Ayala". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "Texas Music Pioneers (A-M) / Texas Music History Tour". governor.state.tx.us. Texas Music Office. 2013. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Govenar, Alan, ed. (2001). "Pedro Ayala: Mexican American Conjunto Accordionist". Masters of Traditional Arts: A Biographical Dictionary. Vol. vol. 1 (A-J). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio. pp. 41–43. ISBN 1576072401. OCLC 47644303.
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has extra text (help) - ^ "NEA National Heritage Fellowships 1988". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Local musician dies, leaves legacy | ayala, ramon, music - News". TheMonitor.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012.
- ^ Shorkey, Clayton T. (October 23, 2015). "Ayala, Pedro". Tshaonline.org. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
Further reading
- Peña, Manuel H (1985). The Texas-Mexican Conjunto: History of a Working-Class Music. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292780682. OCLC 11550341.
External links
- Pedro Ayala at AllMusic
- Pedro Ayala discography at Discogs
- PBS Accordion Dreams "Pedro Ayala"
- Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions
- Tejano ROOTS Hall of Fame
- Pedro Ayala recordings courtesy of The Arhoolie Foundation
- Arhoolie Records, News Archive, 2001
- The Monitor newspaper article
- 1911 births
- 1990 deaths
- Hispanic and Latino American musicians
- Mexican accordionists
- Songwriters from Texas
- National Heritage Fellowship winners
- 20th-century American musicians
- 20th-century American male musicians
- Musicians from Texas
- Mexican emigrants to the United States
- Tejano musicians
- People from Donna, Texas
- American musicians of Mexican descent
- 20th-century accordionists
- Arhoolie Records artists