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David Nio
Professor Herrera
CHIC 316 Research Paper
12/13/2013
For as long people lived there have been inhabitants all around the world. What is now
the south west of the United States and all of Mexico was once the land of the natives. The
Spanish arrived from Europe and conquered essentially creating a new culture and ethnicity. The
history and origins of Mexico and its people is long and deep. This paper will focus on a fully
established Mexico leaving out its history and creation. Instead following the path of Mexicans
immigrating to the South West of the United States and the journey they experienced becoming
Mexican-Americans in a forever changing culture. The music will be the main focus of the paper
and will follow a time line beginning with the Annexation of Mexico covering changes in society
and how the music changes along with it.
With defeat in 1848 Mexico ceded the major portion of the southwest to the United
States. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided for the exchange of land in exchange of land
in return for 15 million dollars and certain provisions to protect the rights of Mexicans and their
future offspring. (Pg.9, Loza) At this point it was no longer the Mexico they had created and
enjoy for so long. Instead this was the beginning of a transition period that was projected to
destroy the culture and who they were in this region of land that was newly acquired by the
United States. Whether they liked it or not the changes were happening around them and there
wasnt much for them to do against it since the flow the gold rush had them over populated with
newly established Anglo-Americans. As Loza writes, their ability to persist as a distinct culture

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and to maintain an identity separate from their new Anglo neighbors may be seen as their
greatest victory post-war period. (pg.11, Loza), essentially events legally transformed
Mexicans into American citizens (pg.84, Feay-Shaw) but their persistence allowed them to stay
true to themselves as all their towns were annexed by the US.
Due to its low density the Mexican population slowly crumbled a long with its culture
and it wasnt till the new wave of immigrants that essentially revived the culture and served as
the foundation for new developments. At the turn of the century Mexicans continued to face
change and now also dealt with issues regarding the Mexican Revolution. Loza writes:
Mexicans would witness considerable change in demographic, economic, and social patterns
during the early twentieth century. The original humble pueblo changed dramatically, coming
face to face with the dilemmas of the 1910 Mexican Revolution and World War I. (pg.16, Loza)
This Mexican revolution caused a big wave of Mexican immigrants that were escaping the war
in their home country and while settling in Texas and Southern California created the first
Mexican barrios.
Barrios established a place for all immigrants to essentially live together. This
encouraged the growth of their culture and although segregated and discriminated a place for
them to live. This increase in growth or concentration of Mexicans allowed for the creation and
existence of Mexican music in these barrios. As Loza puts it, Growth of the Mexican
community was accompanied by growth in the music of Mexicans in Los Angeles. (pg.16,
Loza). Most of the music at this time was the music that Mexicans had brought here from their
home country such as corridos. These corridos were ballads that were telling the stories of the
problems they were having with their new country and they injustice that they felt. This new
flow of music that people related too created the opportunity for capitalization. Radio stations

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that were dominantly in Spanish started appearing in the late 20s. Broadcast created a demand
for music and big music companies began to exploit for commercial gain the musical traditions
of Mexicans in California and in the Southwest (pg. 67, Pena).
Culture continued to increase in these barrios as well as their population did. The Los
Angeles barrio had become a city with in a city as Loza puts it. Hard times in the economy
changed things for the country and also for the Chicanos living in it. Immigrants were easy
targets and were blamed for economic hardship. Because of this repatriation happened in the
early 1930s which cause about 300,000 Mexicans to return back to Mexico. About one-third of
the Mexicans counted in the 1930 census were repatriated; about 60 percent of those repatriated
were born in the United States and thus were U.S. Citizens. (pg. 36, Loza). Some of the people
had never ever stepped foot in Mexico and were fully American but were forced to moved back
voluntarily in fear that they would be deported and separated from their families. This put them
in an awkward situation since they werent welcomed in their true home land because they were
seen as outsiders and they werent welcomed in Mexico for the exact same reason. During this
same time period was the beginning of Mexican conjunto norteo or in Texas simply called
conjunto.
Conjunto was invented by either Texans or Mexicans depending on who you ask. What is
known is that it started around the Mexico-Texas border and had lot to do with the introduction
of the accordion. During repatriation there was a lot of movement of people between Mexico and
the United States so the music really emerged as one or the other carried the style and popularity
to the neighboring country. It really took off during the mid-thirties because of the intervention
of large American recording labels that had begun to really invest in the Chicano population. Big

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companies such as RCA Victor, Columbia, and Decca started to move into the southwest and
exploit the variety of music that was then flourishing in the region of the country.
As World War II became part of the picture for the United States things began to change
again. Mexicans that had been removed from the country were now back and part of the culture
again. Mexican-Americans had also been part of the war efforts which created mobility for them
that they had never experienced. Small barrio kids who had never had the money to travel were
all of sudden experiencing other culture as they were scattered across the country and other
countries as well. Suddenly there were younger musicians with a broader perspective on culture
and life. The new musicians began changing the music they knew and created an evolving style.
Along with the wartime also came the bracero program in 1943. The bracero program brought
workers from Mexico into the United States to work on farms and the railroad system being built
across the country. These braceros were known as new Mexicans and although they were
ethnically the same as those who had emigrated a generation earlier they were different in
society. To Americans they were both disliked and discriminated against and to each other they
were culturally different. Pachucos had originally lived in the United States before being
repatriated back to Mexico only to come back to the United States. Also young Mexican
Americans were now different as describe by Rodriguez, Coming of age in the late 1950s and
early 1960s, these young, increasing acculturate students exhibited a growing understanding of
their individual civil rights and their standing as U.S. citizens of Mexican American descent.
(pg.278, Rodriguez). This created levels to the Chicano society and with that came different
forms of music. Braceros were newly immigrated and had different tastes in music then those
who had already spent large portions of their lives in their new country.

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Braceros being new to the country were also new to the culture and for this reason
reflected their own culture strongly. The music they listened to was pure Mexican music such as
conjunto, rancheras, and mariachi. The music taste brought a new market to the United States
and gave foreign music the opportunity in the United States. As Loza writes During the bracero
program of the 1940s, the Mexican Consulate, which provided Mexican entertainment for the
workers, asked the Padilla sisters to sing at bracero camps. (pg.58, Loza). The fact that these
new immigrant workers had made such an impact in the population that the Mexican consulate
actually provided them with entertainment shows the impact they had on new music also
entering the country. Additional to that they also brought mariachis to the United States, As
immigration has continually increased, so has the growth of mariachis (pg.87, Loza). As the
wave of new immigrants came to fill jobs on the farms and railroads also became a new wave of
culture and style introduced to the already diverse barrios in the southwest.
Pachucos also developed their own style and enhanced their culture during this time.
Pachucos were Mexican Americans that had live both in the United States and Mexico during
repatriation, but they also saw themselves as Americans. They listened to music in English such
as jazz, swing, and big band. New styles of music, such as the big band sound, heavily
influenced he musical culture of young Chicanos, especially within the pachuco cult (pg.70,
Loza). During this time new Chicano artist were coming up on the scene such as Lalo Guerrero,
who is now known as the father of Chicano music, but also was Don Tosti, and Chico Sesma.
These artist were heavily influenced by many musical styles such as swing, jazz, and other
rhythmic styles. They used these new musical styles they were creating as a way to show the
culture they lived whether it was their dialect of calo or their form of interpreting style with their

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zoot suits. At this time swing was about the most popular style for these zoot-suiting pachucos
and they took over many entertainment spots with their large groups.
During this time artist like Lalo Guerrero and other Chicano artist dominated the
nightclub scene. Night clubs all over the barrios in the south west of the united states were in
full force creating a home for the large pachuco cult following. It was in this night club scene
that gave birth to some of the most popular songs of the pachuco era. Songs like Chuco Suave
and Pachuco Boogie were recorded to be performed on the floors of these clubs. Loza writes
of Tosti, Performing on the ground floor was the group of Don Tosti, a local Mexican-American
bassist Tosti eventually became quite well known locally through a single his group recorded
called Pachuco Boogie.(pg.71, Loza). This also helped cement the value of the up and
coming Chicano music. These were no longer the times of local bands playing in front of
workers who had no choice but to listen to the music being played, but instead people were
paying significant amounts of money to go see these people perform. Night clubs were all of a
sudden a valuable staple of the Chicano barrios and their impact on increasing popularity of artist
was felt.
The civil right movement had a huge impact on the Mexican Americans in the country.
They were discriminated just like every other race that wasnt white. This created a new sense of
Chicano pride and began to demand respect they believe they deserved. The United Farm
Workers union led by Cesar Chavez organized farm workers and became a political force putting
them in opportunities to change things that directly affected their quality of lives. During this
time Chicano music also entered the main stream of music and radio play. It was during this time
that the development of Latin Rock was fully emerging.

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Ritchie Valens was the face of the Latin Rock movement. They were no longer
just superstars for the Chicano crowd, but instead true superstars in the views of everyone in the
world. Valens came from a barrio in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. He was the
definition of a Chicano, even his name was a combination of his Mexican heritage and his now
American lifestyle. The name change was done for the sake of acceptance in the Americans eyes
but the observation of how it really reflected who he was should be noted. Although Valens never
got to the number one spot on the national charts, Los Lobos did on the road he founded: La
Bamba reached the number one spot on the national pop music charts, almost thirty years after
Valens had done the original version. (pg.96, Loza). There is one observation that Id like to
make twice on that one quote. The fact that Los Lobos were able to get to number one on the
chart using his song, or his style for the song, shows the change that must of happen during those
30 years for that too possible. The same goes for Ritchie Valens though, he initiated a change that
would later allow for Los Lobos success but someone had to do the same for him. The song La
Bamba is a song that has long been part of the Mexican culture in the form of huapengo. For
Ritchie to be able to hear the song and rerecord it in a style that is creating shows the change that
happened from when it was first recorded who knows when to Ritchies times. Just like he set the
foundation for Latin rock all the Chicanos before him set the foundation for the path that led
from the huapango style in Mexico to him being able to produce music that is being played on
American radio waves as his own style.
Since the 1980s Chicano culture has experienced a rapid growth and development. It has
to do with large numbers of Mexican Americans now living in all parts of the United States.
With the increase of Mexican Americans around the country the Spanish language media has
spread with it and now mostly available in all parts of the country. Music has developed so

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much that there is even specialized awards shows for the Chicano genre itself: The National
Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences expanded it Latin Category for the Grammy Awards
into three different style categories in 1983. These included Latin pop, tropical, and Mexican
American. The latter style allowed for Mexican-Based styles from both south and north of the
Mexican-U.S. border, contingent on their distribution in the United States. (pg.115, Loza). Not
only has the Chicano music benefited from it but also regional Mexican music. There are now
large amounts of Mexican style in music such as banda, mariachi, and narcocorridos being
played in American airwaves along with hybrid styles of both regional Mexican and Chicano
style
Music has always constantly evolved for all styles of music. In the Chicano culture it has
been heavily influenced by all of societys hardships and pressure. The path Mexicans took while
coming to the United States has been long and tough. Now that they are more accepted in general
society the music they brought with them and even created as they grew with the country is now
a large part of music in general. Many changes happened during the time the first immigrants
arrived to the current culture we live. Things such as the invention of radio shaped the way music
was form, world wars changes the views of many young people, and social rights movements
empowered them to become who they wanted to be. During this time there were also a lot of
artist that braved the discrimination and through thick in thin came out and produced music that
they loved. Whether it was the conjunto artist from the beginning of the century, Lalo Guerrero,
or Ritchie Valens they all did it for the Chicanos that followed them. It is interesting how they
formed according to society and lived trying to create their own form for their own selves. This
goes to show how people reflect their feelings and emotions in what they broadcast, for this

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paper music, and how it is possible to learn of their travel through time by analyzing the work
they leave behind and how it coincides with history.

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Works cited
Feay-Shaw, Shelia. "The Music of Mexican-Americans: A Historical Perspective of a Forgotten Culture
in American Music Education." JSTOR. JSTOR, Oct. 2002. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/40215256>.
Loza, Steven Joseph. Barrio Rhythm: Mexican American Music in Los Angeles. Urbana: University of
Illinois, 1993. Print.
Pena,Miguel. 1989. Notes toward an Interpretive History of California-Mexican Music. In From the
Inside Out: Perspectives on Mexican and Mexican American Folk Art, edited by Karana
Hattersly-Drayton, Joyce M. Bishop, Tomas Ybarra-Frausto,64-75. San Francisco: The Mexican
Musuem
Rodriguez, Marc S. "A Movement Made of "Young Mexican Americans Seeking Change": Critical
Citizenship, Migration, and the Chicano Movement in Texas and Wisconsin, 19601975." JSTOR. JSTOR, Autumn 2003. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/25047295>.