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“Canciones De Mis Abuelos” is a project dedicated to preserving and promoting the untold stories of the musicians and music archived in the Frontera Collection. This initiative aims to create an online database of musicians, as recounted through the eyes, ears, and words of their family members. The project will collect and document a broad range of musical genres and performers, including boleros, rancheras, corridos, huapangos, and others.

The project’s inspiration arises from the awareness that a significant void of information exists in the history of musicians who have contributed to musical history in the United States and beyond, and they are in danger of being lost over time. Our grandparents and great-grandparents are the repositories of these songs and the stories that come with them, but their knowledge is often not passed down to younger generations.

To address this problem, “Canciones De Mis Abuelos” project will work directly with family members and online communities to collect their stories and showcase their songs archived in the Frontera Collection.

Overall, “Canciones De Mis Abuelos” aims to preserve and promote the music and histories of these musicians by documenting and preserving the stories and songs of our grandparents. The project’s objective is to ensure that this vital aspect of our cultural heritage is not lost to future generations.

 

“Canciones De Mis Abuelos” es un proyecto dedicado a preservar y promover las historias no contadas de los músicos y la música archivada en la Colección Frontera. Esta iniciativa tiene como objetivo crear una base de datos en línea de músicos, tal como son relatados a través de los ojos, oídos y palabras de sus familiares. El proyecto recopilará y documentará una amplia gama de géneros musicales e intérpretes, incluyendo boleros, rancheras, corridos, huapangos y otros.

 

La inspiración de este proyecto surge de la conciencia de que existe un vacío significativo de información en la historia de los músicos que han contribuido a la historia musical en Estados Unidos y más allá, y que están en peligro de perderse con el tiempo. Nuestros abuelos y bisabuelos son los depositarios de estas canciones y las historias que las acompañan, pero su conocimiento a menudo no se transmite a las generaciones más jóvenes.

 

Para abordar este problema, el proyecto “Canciones De Mis Abuelos” trabajará directamente con familiares y comunidades en línea para recopilar sus historias y mostrar sus canciones archivadas en la Colección Frontera.

 

En general, “Canciones De Mis Abuelos” tiene como objetivo preservar y promover la música e historias de estos músicos mediante la documentación y conservación de las historias y canciones de nuestros abuelos. El objetivo del proyecto es asegurar que este aspecto vital de nuestro patrimonio cultural no se pierda para las generaciones futuras.

Would you like to share the story of your family’s contribution to this music? 

Dear friends, 

We’re thrilled to announce that the Arhoolie Foundation and Les Blank Films are joining together to purchase our longtime home at 10341 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. 

The decision to buy the building comes after several months of thoughtful consideration and a strong response from our community. It has become clear to us that continuing our work in the place where Chris Strachwitz originally conceived it is the best way forward for the organization. Staying in our longtime home preserves an important part of Arhoolie’s cultural legacy, prevents the disruption that moving would cause, and—most importantly—opens up possibilities for closer collaboration with Les Blank Films, Down Home Music, and our local East Bay community.

Now comes the hard part. While we are under contract to buy the building, we need to raise $2.4 million to meet the purchase price by April 15. Here are two ways you can donate to our cause:

  • The GoFundMe page for the capital campaign
    (donations to this fund are shared by all three of the tenants).

  • Direct tax-deductible donations/securities to either of the two non-profits who are buying the building:
    Contact Harrod Blank at Les Blank Films https://lesblank.com/contact/;
    or Adam Machado at Arhoolie Foundation, adam@arhoolie.org.

As we begin this capital campaign, we will continue our normal operations in the building while forging a closer institutional bond with Les Blank Films and taking modest, collaborative steps to bring more public programming into Down Home Music. We plan to revive Les Blank and Chris’ tradition of in-store film screenings and will host more informal, free performances and gatherings in the store as part of our outreach work. We believe this collaboration will result in a vibrant community gathering place dedicated to music, film, and deep roots culture. 

We’re grateful for your support. We look forward to updating you on our progress in the coming weeks and months.