Annotations for Speaker: Maria Hinojosa

Sometimes people in Texas marvel at how few others have heard the Tejano Conjunto music that they are so passionate about.

That soon may be changing thanks to a new documentary film airing this August on public television.

Filmmaker Hector Galan has spent nearly 20 years documenting Latino stories for public television, including such PBS works as The Hunt for Pancho Villa, The Forgotten Americans, Chicano, the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, and Songs of the Homeland.

His latest film, Accordion Dreams, documents the history of this instrument and the role it plays in the development of Texas' most prominent working-class music throughout most of the 20th century.

Hector Galan joins us now from Latino USA Studios at KUT in Austin.

So why Conjunto this time, Hector?

So for all the people who really don't understand how it is that Mexicanos and Mexican-Americans in the Southwest ended up playing accordions of all things, give us that history.

Conjunto or Tejano music, for a long time was kind of seen by younger generations as like old folky music, you know, the stuff that your papas would listen to, but not necessarily something that you as a teenager would listen to.

And what I found fascinating was to see these kids in your documentary who are playing the accordion, a la Jimi Hendrix. [laughter]

That's right. It was pretty amazing. So what happened that there's suddenly been this refound or this renewed love for this music among younger Latinos?

Now, when I interviewed Valerio Longoria in your film, Accordion Dreams, you call him the great innovator of Conjunto music. What struck me, and this was in 1985, but what struck me about him was that he was so humble.

And the notion of Conjunto music really being a roots music, a working class music, a real pueblo music.

And I'm wondering, is there a concern as Conjunto music becomes more popular and more commercialized that somehow it might become diluted and lose those roots?

Well, thanks very much for speaking with us. We've been talking with filmmaker, Hector Galan of Galan Productions. His latest documentary, Accordion Dreams, is scheduled to air nationally August 30th on PBS.

Muchas gracias, Hector. Gracias.

And for this week, this has been Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture.

Thanks for listening. Gracias por escucharnos.

On June 3rd, actor Anthony Quinn died at the age of 86.

He was born poor in Chihuahua of a Mexican mother and Irish father and became an actor who was often cast in the role of the foreigner, the other.

Listen to some of the names of the characters he played.

Manolo de Palma, Chief Crazy Horse, Eufemio Zapata, Attila, Quasimodo, and of course, Zorba.

He won two Oscars for Best Supporting Actor, one for Viva Zapata and the other for Lust for Life.

Later in his life, Anthony Quinn continued to make film and television appearances, but his creative endeavors turned mainly to painting and books.

His second autobiography, One Man Tango, was published in 1995.

I spoke to Anthony Quinn then. Here once again is a part of that conversation.

There are a lot of people who don't realize that you were born in Chihuahua, Mexico.

So was it when you went to Italy that you feel that things changed? You had been typecast in Hollywood for so long as a pirate or an Indian chief, for example. When did the roles that you were able to play begin to change for you?

You know, reading your book, One Man Tango, there's really a sense that you are, at this point of your life, dealing with issues of spirituality, of what the world means, what the world means to you.

And I'm wondering what it's like, for example, when you say you have 750 million admirers. What does that do to a man? What does that do to a man's soul? What has it done to you?

And what are the issues that you're kind of, that you think you're trying to come to terms with in your book, One Man Tango?

Because your father fought with Pancho Villa.

You're a painter now. Now I learned you wanted to be a priest. You were a preacher.

I mean, you have no, there is no constraints on you. There are no and never have been any constraints.

And they don't know that you're going to invite all the Mexicanos over to have-

Actor, artist and writer Anthony Quinn. His new autobiography is One Man Tango and it's published by Harper Collins.

How do you say goodbye in Tarahumara?

So it's adios?

Oscar-winning acting legend Anthony Quinn died Sunday, June 3rd. He was 86 years old.

This interview originally aired on Latino USA in 1995.

Quique Aviles is a Salvadoran born poet based in Washington DC.

As a group, immigrant workers are rarely seen and seldom heard in modern U.S. media.

Beginning June 1st, though, Bread and Roses will be released nationwide.

The bilingual film chronicles the struggle of immigrants to form a union in Southern California during the 1990s.

The film premiered recently in Los Angeles.

Correspondent Robin Yorovich was there and filed this report.

Lots of desert animals would raid it if they could. They can't because cacti, like desert succulents everywhere, defend themselves with spines.

Nopal cactus, also known as devil's tongue, may not immediately come to mind when you're looking for something new for lunch. But in Mexico and the southwestern United States, the prickly pear cactus has been cooked and enjoyed for generations.

Susana Trilling is a chef and former restaurateur from the U.S. now living in Oaxaca, Mexico.

She offers cooking classes at her school, Seasons of the Heart, and also teaches across the United States.

Latino USA caught up with Susana Trilling in Austin, Texas at Manuel's Restaurant, where she shared with us her recipe for ensalada de nopales asados, grilled nopales salad.

And in case you didn't catch all of that the first time, here's the recipe.

One pound of fresh nopales, nine garlic cloves, a quarter pound of tomatoes, three cebollitas, or green onions, two avocados, half a cup of chopped cilantro, or coriander, one star of anise, ground, a third of a cup of red wine vinegar, two tablespoons of lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Susana Trilling is author of the book Seasons of My Heart, A Culinary Journey Through Oaxaca, Mexico.

It's published by Ballantine Books.

The recipe for Ensalada de Nopales Asados can also be found on our website at latinousa.org.

[Music] In Old New Mexico, way before the advent of the railroad, candle flames danced in tin sconces on white plaster walls. Tin flames lit the faces of Christian saints. Tin crosses led processions of worship.

In those days, traders brought in small tin items. Then in the mid-1800s, the railroads began to haul in large sheets of tin. It became plentiful for the first time, inspiring the golden days of tin making for the next 75 years.

Sadly, we don't know much about tin's history. Few artists signed their work, and much of it has been lost. But today, tin making is popular once again in New Mexico.

Reporter Deborah Begel dropped in on a tin making class at the public library in the northern New Mexico town of El Rito.

[Music] It's a musical hybrid.

Electrónica meets down-home Mexican music. [Music]

It's also Tijuana and the border.

Actually, it's its own world, a hybrid world where cultures clash and reinvent themselves.

Bostitch, Fusible, Panoptica, Hyperboreal, Chlorophylla are some of the names of the DJ crews sampled in a release called Nortec Collection, the Tijuana Sessions Volume 1.

Nortec is not only music, but a collective. And with us today on Latino USA is one of its founders, Pepe Mogt.

So how was Nortec created?

You guys say that the Electronica comes from an inspiration, from a long way back like Kraftwerk and like the original techno-technos.

Now, for you, you say that it's much more than music. It's really an attitude, an atmosphere. What are you talking about?

Where do you see Nortec going next? I mean, if it's a movement, if it's a multidisciplinary atmosphere and attitude, what comes next then in terms of where Nortec goes?

Well, good luck with everything.

We've been speaking with Pepe Mogt, who is part of the Nortec Collective, a CD with the Nortec compilation called The Tijuana Sessions Volume 1 is out on the Palm Pictures record label. [Music]

Ojala is a Spanish word that, I was surprised to learn, has its roots in the Arabic word inshallah, which means God-grant or God-willing.

And Ojala is also the name of a unique duo that combines both Spanish and Middle Eastern influences.

With us today to talk about this rare mix of language and music are Javier Palacios and Kamran Hooshmand, who perform together as the group Ojala.

Welcome to both of you. So whose idea was it? Was it you, Kamran, who growing up in Iran just really wanted to spill your guts singing Latin American love songs?

Or was it you, Javier, who just really wanted to push and test the limits of Mexican traditional music?

And what about for you, Javier?

You know, I have to tell you, when I got the picture, I looked at it and I was like, OK, I'm going to guess who's who. And I totally guessed wrong. [laughter] I thought--I thought that Javier was the Iranian and that Kamran was the Mexican. See, that's the idea. [laughter]

So let's talk about the music. I'm wondering when you do a song like Cucurrucucú Paloma, which is so Mexican.

What's the response that you get, Javier, when it's your version? People say, oh, my God, imposible. Or do they say this is extraordinary?

[Music] What I found interesting was how, for example, in the song Corazon Loco, you've got the very Arabic intonation and yet the singing is in Spanish.

So I want to know what dreams do you have of pushing this even further? I mean, are you thinking of Arabic salsa or mariachi with Arab lyrics? [laguhter]

Take us to the next level.

Ojala.

Well, thank you so much for stopping by to visit us at Latino USA.

We're talking to Kamran Hooshmand and Javier Palacios, who formed the duo Ojala, which is also the name of their first release.

You can find more information on their web page, Ojalamusic.com.

Muchas gracias and khodāhāfez.

For this year's Academy Awards, actor Benicio Del Toro has been nominated as best supporting actor. If he wins, Del Toro would become only the second Latino to win an Oscar in one of the major categories. The only other time that happened was in 1961.

Rita Moreno was born Rosita Dolores Alberio in Puerto Rico. She came to the United States with her family in search of new opportunities some 55 years ago.

She has since conquered Broadway, Hollywood and television, despite the in-her-face barriers that her brown skin created.

Rita Moreno is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the only woman to have won all four of show business' top honors. An Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.

She became a pioneer for both women and people of color when she won an Academy Award for West Side Story. The first and only Latina to ever win that award.

We're pleased that she joins us from a studio in New York City.

Welcome to Latino USA. You know it's a total pleasure to be speaking with you. You know when I was 10 years old growing up hating my name Maria.

And my father gave me permission to watch this movie about something happening in New York and of course you were there.

And certainly that moment for me became an incredible moment in recognition. In that someone who had my name existed in this country which of course I previously felt that no one did exist in this country with that name.

At what point in your life as a Latina did you begin to feel visible?

And what's the significance even today so many years later we still have young Latinos who continue to fight their own invisibility. What do you do with that lack of visibility?

And now you've taken on a huge role at this stage in your life.

Why are you speaking out on something so, I mean a lot of people are going to say, what do you mean Rita Moreno speaking out about osteoporosis?

You know Rita, my husband asked me recently to tell him one of the moments when I'm like extraordinarily happy and I said when I'm dancing.

So let me ask you at this point in your life, what is the moment when you are happy beyond words?

Well thanks so much for speaking with us. We've been having a conversation with Rita Moreno, the legend of stage, screen and television.

And for this week, this has been Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture.

Gracias por su atención. Thanks for listening.