Can solar-powered mariachis replace bean-powered mariachis?

3mariachis(PNS reporting from GUANAJUATO, MX) Solar-powered mariachis have begun coming off production lines here in the high tech manufacturing city of Guanajuato, Mexico, musical soldiers in the war on climate change.

The eco-friendly musicians use renewable energy from the sun instead of traditional musical fuels like frijoles, tacos y cerveza, all of which produce the damaging “greenhouse gas” behind global warming.

The solar-powered trio – maracas, trumpet, and guitar – were recently spotted playing an unpublicized gig at a 99 Cents Only store in the Houston, Texas area, according to Juan of Words, who took the photo above.

YouTuber David Diaz spotted another trio dancing silently in a letterbox, and added his own music:

Mas…Can solar-powered mariachis replace bean-powered mariachis?

Listen: Why does Mexican music have polkas, waltzes and accordions?

bigflacoHappy birthday, Texas accordion star Flaco Jimenez! (DOB: March 11, 1939.)

Why is Mexican music filled with polkas and waltzes and accordions? It’s about immigration, according to Felix Contreras of NPR’s Alt.Latino and Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records on Morning Edition:

 

PREVIOUSLY ON FLACO JIMENEZ:

Mas…Listen: Why does Mexican music have polkas, waltzes and accordions?

Ask A Mexican: Should Mexicans move to the South? (video)

It’s complicated, but Gustavo ¡Ask A Mexican! Arellano considers the future of Mexican-Americans in the South and suggests it’s the new, unconquered Aztlan ripe for the Reconquista Part II. After all, paisas and good ole’ boys are the same with the horses and the whiskey and the marrying their second cousins, right? (Gustavo’s art courtesy Memo Nerricio’s Tex[t]-Mex Gallery and Steve Alvarez’ Mexington.

Today is the day the music (and Ritchie Valens) died

newspaperToday marks the sad anniversary of “the day the music died,” the February 3, 1959 airplane crash that took the lives of rock stars Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

Valens, from the L.A. suburb of Pacoima, was born Richard Steven Valenzuela and some consider him the father of Chicano rock. Pocho Valens didn’t espeak Espanish, so he sang the lyrics to La Bamba from a phonetic cheat sheet.

Click for music videos of Chantilly Lace from the Bopper, Peggy Sue by Holly and the actual Valens La Bamba recording sessions, plus a Don McLean performance of The Day the Music Died.

Mas…Today is the day the music (and Ritchie Valens) died

Will Shakila become the next ‘Christmas Idol’? (video)


The Christmas Idol panel of judges is as tough as a grand jury. Santa Claus, Lady Sharoun the Purple, and Jesus H. Christ Himself can make a contestant’s dreams come true or break her heart. Can Shakila — Roberta Valderrama — win them over with her hot hot hot version of Feliz Navidad?

Let me tell you all the reasons I really, really hate Christmas

I’m so sick of Christmas and December isn’t even a week old!

Every year it’s the same crap over and over again. I mean, I wasn’t even finished pretending not to eat Halloween candy before people started playing that Christmas music — don’t even get me started on the music! It’s like, let’s take a has-been artist and have them pump out some horrible tripe and force everyone to remember why they became irrelevant in the first place, all the while pretending like we’re enjoying the tunes.

You know, all those songs were written during a time when my grandparents weren’t even allowed to go into certain restaurants. “No Mexicans, No Dogs” is what the door signs used to say. “White Christmas” indeed!

Mas…Let me tell you all the reasons I really, really hate Christmas

1940s Style: Orquesta de Don Ramon ‘Chicano Boogie’ (video)


It’s not much of a video but it rules as a wild examplar of 1940s pachuco “boogie-woogie jitterbug” (like Lalo Guerrero’s Los Chucos Suaves.) This performance features unstoppable rhumba-flavored proto-rock-n-roll beat-me-eight-to-the-bar-boogie-woogie highlighted by shouted Spanglish insanity. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s give a nice welcoming round of applause to Orquesta de Don Ramon as they perform Chicano Boogie. [The artwork is from the Arhoolie compilation album. Yes, the track ends abruptly.]

Happy Mexican Dancing Horse Day! (videos)

 

OK, we made up Mexican Dancing Horse Day, but we think there should be holiday like that, with Banda music and all the oats you can eat! Above is a brand-new dancing horse video, and here’s a classic dancing horse FAIL video:

Mas…Happy Mexican Dancing Horse Day! (videos)

Happy Birthday Ritchie Valens, Pocho Pride of Pacoima (music videos)

bigritchievalensHappy birthday, dead Ritchie Valens, born this day in 1941.

Valens, from the L.A. suburb of Pacoima, was born Richard Steven Valenzuela and some consider him the father of Chicano rock.

Pocho Valens didn’t espeak Espanish, so he sang the lyrics to his biggest hit record from a phonetic cheat sheet.

And then he died.

For your Ritchie-listening pleasure, we are pleased to feature two versions of La Bamba, the original 1958 “keep the tape running” recording sessions, and then the actual hit record.

Everybody scream now:

RITCHIE!!!!

Mas…Happy Birthday Ritchie Valens, Pocho Pride of Pacoima (music videos)

Man disappointed with ‘What Selena Character are You?’ quiz result

Yolanda Corpus 2(PNS reporting from SAN ANTONIO) During his morning coffee break, local accountant, Lawrence “Lencho” Flores, completed a survey that appeared on his Facebook timeline called, What Selena Character are You? According to sources, Flores was deeply disappointed with the result of Yolanda Saldivar as his character.

According to the quiz, Flores is Yolanda Saldivar who “when you feel slighted, watch out!”

Mas…Man disappointed with ‘What Selena Character are You?’ quiz result

New study: Beans (frijoles) are indeed ‘the magical fruit’

juanfrijoles(PNS reporting from GUANAJUATO, MX) Researchers at Guanajuato University of Technology (GUT) have confirmed that beans (frijoles) are not only one of the oldest and best sources for protein in the Americas, but that they are indeed “a magical fruit.”

“Beans are one of the gifts from the New World to the rest of us,”  lead researcher Dr. Germán Gutiérrez told a press conference here Tuesday. “They supply magical sounds, as well as protein and lots of fiber.”

Mas…New study: Beans (frijoles) are indeed ‘the magical fruit’

Exploring the sound of the mariachi grito in ‘El Rey’ — solo (video)


Chicago artist Diana Delgado Pinada writes:

Listening to the quintessential charro song El Rey accompanied with occasional “gritos Mexicanos” or “mariachi howls” would not be an unusual event. However, when the gritos are performed by a Latina in a Midwest suburban kitchen, in full charro attire, the isolated, elongated cries or howls resonate a little deeper.

Mas…Exploring the sound of the mariachi grito in ‘El Rey’ — solo (video)

Will Shakila’s ‘Feliz Navidad’ win the next ‘Christmas Idol’? (video)


The Christmas Idol panel of judges is a tough one. Santa Claus, Lady Sharoun the Purple and Jesus H. Christ Himself have power to make a contestant’s dreams come true. Can Shakila (Roberta Valderrama) win them over with her hot hot hot version of Feliz Navidad?

PREVIOUSLY ON ROBERTA VALDERRAMA:

Mas…Will Shakila’s ‘Feliz Navidad’ win the next ‘Christmas Idol’? (video)

I really, really hate Christmas – let me tell you why

I’m so sick of Christmas and December isn’t even a week old!

Every year it’s the same crap over and over again. I mean, I wasn’t even finished pretending not to eat Halloween candy before people started playing that Christmas music — don’t even get me started on the music! It’s like, let’s take a has-been artist and have them pump out some horrible tripe and force everyone to remember why they became irrelevant in the first place, all the while pretending like we’re enjoying the tunes.

You know, all those songs were written during a time when my grandparents weren’t even allowed to go into certain restaurants. “No Mexicans, No Dogs” is what the door signs used to say. “White Christmas” indeed!

Mas…I really, really hate Christmas – let me tell you why