On May 15, 2013 the US Postal Service issued a postage stamp honoring Lydia Mendoza.

Lydia Mendoza was the first Queen of Tejano Music, with a recording career that began in 1928 and lasted more than 60 years. Known as “La Alondra de la Frontera” (the Lark of the Border), Lydia was revered as a voice of the working class and a masterful interpreter of songs. The image on the stamp was supplied to the US postal service by the Arhoolie Foundation from its Strachwitz Frontera image archive. Click here for a link to the Postal Services Lydia Mendoza page.

The Arhoolie Foundation is excited to announce that we have just received generous grants from the Grammy Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities to continue our digital preservation of the Frontera Collection of Mexican American Records. The Frontera project has already digitized over 90,000 recordings from 78′s, 45′s and cassettes. This new funding will allow us to digitize the LPs and rare master tapes in the collection. These will be available on line through the UCLA Digital Library’s Frontera website.

We are especially grateful for the ongoing support that both of these organizations have given us over the life of this project. Our work would not be possible without them.

Congratulations to Julie Caine, Marié Abe, Loretta Williams, and Robin Wise on receiving a 2012 Excellence in Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter, for Squeezebox Stories, “a narrative-driven public radio documentary exploring the social history, multicultural adaptation and musical variations of the accordion.” The Arhoolie Foundation was proud to support this project along with the California Council for the Humanities.
To hear the program and learn more, visit their website: http://squeezeboxstories.com

The Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings contains over 140,000 individual recordings on 78, 45, LP and cassette, over 2,000 photographs, posters, catalogs and other images, and a database of record company histories, musicians’ biographies and much more. It is without contest the largest collection of its kind on the planet.

Enter Agustin Gurza, the first writer to take a shot at wrestling this monster to the ground. His introduction and guide to the Frontera Collection (pictured above), recently published by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, offers a manageable look at a seemingly endless resource. His approach is to explore the Frontera Collection from different viewpoints, discussing genre, theme, and some of the thousands of composers and performers whose work is contained in the archive. Throughout, he examines the cultural significance of the recordings and relates the stories of those who have had a vital role in their production and preservation.

An essay by Chris Strachwitz traces the history of commercial recordings of Mexican music, and another by historian and mariachero Jonathan Clark tells the story of mariachi from its earliest days to the present. Also included are playlists of favorites chosen by Strachwitz and by the man who has personally digitized over 70,000 of these recordings, musician and Arhoolie Foundation Head Digitizing Technician Antonio Cuellar.

This fantastic book can be found at The Down Home Music Store in El Cerrito, CA.

8 1/2 x 11″, Paperback, 226 pages

If you like what you’ve heard on the American Routes special program devoted to Arhoolie Records, recorded live at our benefit concerts earlier this year, you will be happy to learn that almost all of the music from that memorable weekend will soon be available in a large photo book with 4 CDs. The set will be produced and distributed by Arhoolie Records, which is licensing the material from the Arhoolie Foundation, for whom the concerts were a benefit. The book will contain primarily photos taken at the event by official photographer Mike Melnyk, 4 CDs of music recorded live that weekend, and printed commentary by Chris Strachwitz and various participating artists. Stay tuned as this develops!

From June 29 through July 6, American Routes public radio will be featuring a two-hour program recorded live at Arhoolie Records’ 50th Anniversary concerts held in February at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse. The entire three day celebration was a benefit for the Arhoolie Foundation.

Routes’ host Nick Spitzer flew out from New Orleans to MC the event, and was joined on stage by some of Arhoolie’s many admirers including roots rock guitarist Ry Cooder, bluesman Taj Mahal, Michael Doucet of Beausoleil, New Orleans’ Treme Brass Band, sacred steel masters the Campbell Brothers (pictured), the Mexican-American traditionalists Los Cenzontles, and many others.

Spitzer will also chat with Arhoolie’s founder, Chris Strachwitz about his passion for putting American roots music on record. Streamed on the internet, starting June 29th at http://americanroutes.wwno.org/ or on a radio station near you.

The Arhoolie Foundation held a benefit the weekend of February 4^th through 6^th at the Freight and Salvage Coffee House in Berkeley. It consisted of  a wonderful series of concerts, panel discussions, a parade and more. We’d like to thank everyone involved and everyone who came out to celebrate with us. Mike Melnyk was our official photographer and has put together a great slide show of the event.

Tickets still available for Saturday and Sunday night concerts! Get them at the Freight & Salvage.

Schedule of Afternoon Events

Saturday, Feb 5th:

12 pm: Linda Ronstadt in conversation with Nick Spitzer and Chris Strachwitz. (With previously unseen clips from Linda’s Mariachi period.) At the Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley

1:30: Chris’ film adventures with Les Blank, Maureen Gosling, and other guests. With clips from Chulas Fronteras, Del Mero Corazon, J’ai Ete Au Bal, and Down Home Music 1963. At the Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison.

4:00pm: Parade with the Treme Brass Band from New Orleans. Downtown Berkeley – starting in the northwest corner of Civic Center Park near the intersection of Martin Luther King Blvd and Center Street, proceeding up Center to Shattuck Ave., stopping in front of the Downtown Berkeley BART station, continuing down the east sidewalk of Shattuck, turning left on Addison St., and ending in front of the Freight & Salvage. FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Weather permitting.

Sunday, Feb. 6:

CHANGE IN SCHEDULE!

Paul Oliver, due to health reasons, unfortunately had to cancel his U.S. trip. So instead we have:

12 pm: Evolution of Cajun/Creole Music. With Chris Strachwitz, Marc, Ann, Wilson and Joel Savoy. Moderated by Nick Spitzer. Julia Morgan’s Historic Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave.

1:30: The Steel Guitar in Gospel Music. With the Campbell Brothers and Bob Stone, author of the new book Sacred Steel. Julia Morgan’s Historic Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant)

All panels free to evening ticket holders and $5 for general public.

As previously announced, Arhoolie Records will be celebrating its 50^th Anniversary with three nights of concerts to benefit the Arhoolie Foundation, February 4, 5, and 6 at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, California.

The concerts will be emceed by Nick Spitzer, host of the popular public radio program “American Routes.”

Tickets can be purchased online and at the Freight and Salvage.

This event is ever-changing! Check back for the latest news.

Tentative Afternoon Panels and Films:

1) Chris & Paul Oliver discuss their first 1960 trip through the South with Paul’s recorded interviews and music and perhaps film clips.

2) Mexican Music and beyond – Nick Spitzer (moderator), Linda Ronstadt, Eugene Rodriguez and Chris Strachwitz. Clips from “Chulas Fronteras” and “Del Mero Corazon” with film maker Les Blank and editor Maureen Gosling present.

3) The steel guitar in Gospel music with the Campbell Brothers and Bob Stone – author of the new book: “Sacred Steel”.

Arhoolie Records is one of the premier roots record labels, bringing you the best in Blues, Cajun, Zydeco, Tex-Mex/Tejano, Gospel, Jazz, Country, Bluegrass, and regional music from around the world.  Arhoolie Records was founded in 1960 by Chris Strachwitz.  Through the years, Mr. Strachwitz has recorded both known and obscure artists, and brought their music to wider audiences.  Among the notable musicians who have recorded for Arhoolie are Big Mama Thornton, Flaco Jimenez, Clifton Chenier, Lightning Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb, Earl Hooker, Beausoleil, Lydia Mendoza, Rose Maddox, and many more.

Good Bye Jaime!

One of my very best friends has departed this life and gone to the big Corrido conference up yonder! I hope those of you who knew him and live in the Bay Area will come to the Memorial on February 12th, 2011 as noted below. I will try to give my personal thoughts and remembrances at that gathering.

Right now I am still having a hard time realizing what an incredible loss his leaving us has been. Thanks, Jaime, for your incredible knowledge, enthusiasm, research work, delightful presence, trips to Mexico and la frontera when it was still joyful and civilized, the Corrido conferences, the trips to Redwood City to hear Los Campesinos de Michoacán, documenting Lydia and the Mendoza family, the great times in East Oakland with Los Gavilanes de Oakland, eating “real” mole verde in DF, I could go on forever – this guy was totally unique – one of a kind if there ever was one! Adios! — Chris Strachwitz 12/15/2010

James Robert (Jaime) Nicolopulos Born Aug. 22^nd, 1945 in Berkeley, CA to Thomas J. and Sarah Nicolopulos. Passed away Dec. 1^st, 2010 in Austin, TX from complications of biliary duct cancer, surrounded by loving family, colleagues, and friends. Professor at University of Texas, Austin since 1992, after receiving his Ph.D. in Hispanic Languages & Literatures at U.C., Berkeley that year.

Prof. Nicolopulos, affectionately known as “Jaime,” was an eminent scholar in the fields of Renaissance Hispanic and Colonial Latin American poetics, and was also widely esteemed for his monumental and original contributions to the study of the Mexican and “Border” genre of topical ballads known as corridos. Since the 1980s he collaborated closely on many corrido & border music-related projects with renowned researcher, collector, archivist, and publisher of American vernacular music, Chris Strachwitz, his Arhoolie record label, the Arhoolie Foundation, and the Down Home Music Store in El Cerrito, CA. He was active not only in his home department, Spanish & Portuguese, but in the Center for Mexican American Studies as well. He often returned to his alma mater, UC Berkeley, as a visiting faculty member. Prof. Nicolopulos was a creative pioneer who early on integrated the internet into his teaching, starting with his first academic website in 1996. Prof. Nicolopulos is fondly remembered by his colleagues and by his wide circle of friends as an irrepressible spirit, a loyal & caring friend, raconteur par excellence, and a generous and tireless mentor.

Born while his father was at sea in the South Pacific aboard a WWII  Liberty Ship like those he had earlier helped build, his mother had recently finished library school. After the war the family settled in the Montclair District of Oakland, CA where Jaime attended public schools. Jaime’s father became Supervisor of the California State Conciliation Service, where as a civil servant he acted as a widely respected mediator in high-profile labor disputes. Tom Nicolopulos was an accomplished linguist and amateur scholar who read ancient Greek and Latin, as well as a noted authority on U.S. labor history. Jaime later recalled that his passion for the study of epic poetry began early with the experience of sitting by while Tom recited The Odyssey aloud. Sarah too was well read & possessed a keen intellect, and was an early and staunch activist in the consumer rights movement.

As a U. C. Berkeley student at the time of the Free Speech Movement, Jaime was not immune to the influences of the chaotic atmosphere in what was the epicenter of the emerging counter-culture revolution. He dropped out before graduating, despite having won such honors as a National Defense Scholarship to study Arabic at a Harvard summer program. For many years he lived a bohemian and often adventurous life in California and the West, as well as making several extended and rugged journeys deep into Mexico and Central America, living rough in very remote places among local indigenous and mestizo people. His most extended sojourn was several years spent with his first wife, deep in the Yucatan near the as-yet-undeveloped site of Ruinas Tulum, where he was for a time factotum of a coconut plantation belonging to an elderly Mayan lady.
After his return to the U.S. and the 1976 birth of his son, his marriage eventually ended and he felt adrift. Alone, broke, without a résumé, and nearly 40 years old, he resolved to re-invent himself and continue his education. Working nights as a taxi driver he re-enrolled at UC Berkeley and immediately began to distinguish himself. With the priceless mentoring of the late Prof. José Durand, Prof. Ignacio Navarette, and his dissertation director, the eminent Prof. Emilie Bergmann, he finally received his doctorate. Shortly thereafter he began his career at U.T. Austin and married a colleague, Christina Barber, Ph.D. of Berkeley, his loving companion for the rest of his life.

Jaime is survived by wife Christina, of Austin, son Tasho, of San Francisco, CA, brother Peter, of Oakland, niece Tai, of San Francisco, and former wife Earlanne, (“Chipper”) of Cape Canaveral, FL. A celebration of his life will be held at St. Alban’s Church, 1501 Washington Street, Albany CA, on February 12^th, 2011 at 1:00 PM.