|
  Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero Jr., hailed as the father of Chicano
music and a voice of the Mexican-American community for more than 60 years has
died at the age of 88. According to his family, Mr. Guerrero had been victim to
recent health problems and had been moved from his home in Cathedral City, near
Palm Springs to a convalescent home in Rancho Mirage where he died.
Born in the impoverished Barrio Viejo section of Tucson, Arizona in 1916 to a
large family living and no formal musical education, Guerrero went on to write
more than 700 songs, declared a national folk treasure by the Smithsonian
Institute in 1980 and received in 1997 the presidential Medal of the Arts from
President Bill Clinton.
Writing lyrics in both English and Spanish, Guerrero sampled a variety of styles
from corridos to swing to cha cha and rock and roll. His credits include “Nunca
Jamás” and Mexico’s unofficial national anthem “Cancion Mexicana.” Writer and
director Louis Valdez incorporated several of the Pachuco songs written by
Guerrero for his 1970s Broadway musical “Zoot Suit.” Guerrero is also credited
with “El Corrido de Robert Kennedy and “El Corrido de Cesar Chavez,” marking his
dedication to social and political figures. Guerrero also reached out to a
generation of Hispanic children with 40 albums staring the Spanish-speaking
cartoon characters Las Ardillitas (Little Squirrels).
Lalo Guerrero might be best remembered for his biting wit and expressing his
contempt for discrimination through a series of parodies. In 1955 Guerrero hit
it big with a parody of “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” with his own version
starring a Mexican character called Pancho Saáchez that sold a respectable
500,000 copies. Other parodies include “Elvis Pérez,” “Tacos for Two,” “Mama
Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Busboys” and “No Chicanos On TV.”
Guerrero’s last recordings will appear on Ry Cooder’s CD Chavez Ravine,
to be released some time this summer.
Mr. Guerrero is survived by his wife, Lidia, four children, two grandchildren
and four siblings.
[Photo courtesy of Break Records.]
[Editor's note: You can read more about Lalo Guerrero in his son's
words at Mark Guerrero's Web site,
http://markguerrero.net.]
|
