English - American Sabor

CLASSROOM CURRICULUM AND EDUCATOR RESOURCES
Educational materials developed by:
Patricia Costa-Kim, Ph.D. Director, Education
Experience Music Project
- And Marisol Berrios-Miranda, Ph.D., Robert Carroll, Ph.C., Shannon Dudley, Ph.D.,
Michelle Habell-Pallan Ph.D., and Francisco Orozco, Ph.C.
of the University of Washington
American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music was created by Experience Music Project and organized for
travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The exhibition, its national tour,
and related programs are made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund.
Ford Motor Company Fund
EMP
Experience Music Project
The American Sabor website http://www.americansabor.org
Latinos in U.S. Popular Music: Timeline
1930–1939
As leader of the house band for New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel, Xavier Cugat glamorizes Latin music
• 1930: The Pedro J. González radio show and his band “Los Madrugadores” is a hit with Latinos in Los Angeles
• 1936: Narciso Martinez and Santiago Jimenez begin recording Tejano music
1940–1949
New York-based musicians shape Caribbean styles like mambo and cha cha chá; Lalo Guerrero becomes a symbol of Chicano music playing Pachuco
• 1941: Mario Bauzá joins Machito’s Afro-Cubans as musical director, creating one of the most famous partnerships in Latin music
• 1946: Desi Arnaz has hit record with “Babalú”
• 1948: Don Tosti records “Pachuco Boogie”
• 1949: Pérez Prado and Beny Moré collaborate on hit “Que rico mambo;” Tito Puente forms his first mambo band
1950–1959
Afro-Cuban dance begins to integrate new genres and instrumentation; mambo and charanga are popular dance styles; 3rd generation of Mariachi Vargas band popularizes mariachi
music to wider audience
• 1952: Pérez Prado records “Mambo No. 5”
• 1955: Lalo Guerrero records “Pancho Lopez”
• 1958: Ritchie Valens appears on American Bandstand; The Champs win Best Rhythm & Blues Performance Grammy for “Tequila”
• 1959: Bassist Israel “Cachao” Lopez leaves Cuba for the United States
1960–1969
Boogaloo combines Latin rhythms with an R&B backbeat in New York; the “Eastside Sound” develops in Los Angeles, including The Blendells, The Premiers, Cannibal and the Headhunters,
The Romancers and The Village Callers; Latin rock scene active in San Francisco with groups like Santana and Malo
• 1960: Lalo Schifrin moves to New York and joins Dizzy Gillespie’s quintet playing cubop (Latin-influenced bop)
• 1961: Salsa musician Celia Cruz emigrates from Cuba to New York City
• 1963: “Oye Como Va” by Tito Puente is #1 on Billboard pop chart, followed by “If I Had a Hammer” by Trini Lopez; Herb Alpert records “The Lonely Bull”
• 1964: Fania Records, important salsa label, is launched by Jerry Masucci and Johnny Pacheco
• 1965: Willie Colón signed to Fania Records; Cannibal & the Headhunters record “Land of 1000 Dances” and open for The Beatles’ second U.S. tour; “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and
the Pharaohs reaches #2 on the Billboard charts; Doug Sahm founds the Sir Douglas Quintet
• 1969: Santana performs at Woodstock
1970–1979
The East LA punk scene develops, including bands with Latino members: The Zeros, The Plugz, The Bags, and Nervous Gender; Latino artists performing salsa and hip-hop in New York City
• 1970: Little Joe and the Latinaires changes name to Little Joe y la Familia; El Chicano releases first album; Santana releases Abraxas with hit track “Oye Como Va”
• 1971: R&B vocal group Tierra created
• 1973: Tito RodrÍguez sells out Madison Square Garden in New York for the final appearance before his death
• 1974: Freddy Fender records “Before the Next Teardrop Falls”
• 1978: The album Siembra by Willie Colón and Rubén Blades becomes the best-selling salsa record in history
• 1979: Zoot Suit is first Chicano play on Broadway; music by Lalo Guerrero and Daniel Valdez
1980–1989
Rap and hip-hop emerge on the national music scene, including Latino artists
• 1985: “Conga” by Miami Sound Machine hits #1 in U.S.
• 1987: Los Lobos records Ritchie Valens songs for the soundtrack to the film La Bamba; Linda Ronstadt celebrates her Mexican heritage with Canciones de Mi Padre
1990–present
Narcocorridos, corridos focusing on the drug trade, begin to emerge–banned by many radio stations; a number of Spanish-language artists successfully cross over to English; Latino
pop artists including Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, and Paulina Rubio make global impact; multicultural bands like Bacilos, Nuclear Valdez, and Spam Allstars that blend
Latin rhythms with genres such as rock, funk and electronica flourish in Miami
• 1990: Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval leaves Cuba for the United States
• 1993: Selena Live! wins the Grammy Award for Best Mexican American album; the album Dreaming of You, released shortly after Selena’s 1995 death, is extremely successful
• 2003: Akwid breaks through with banda rap album Proyecto Akwid
• 2004: Daddy Yankee’s reggaetón hit “Gasolina” on mainstream radio