Chuy Varela in San Jose, Ca – The African Presence in Mexican Popular Culture

In the summer of 2009, The Castellano Family Foundation Distinguished Speaker Series hosted Jesse “Chuy” Varela in San Jose, California at National Hispanic University. He spoke about “The African Presence in Mexican and Chicano Music”. He had recently helped organize an exhibit at The Oakland Museum titled, The African Presence in Mexico: From Yanga to the Present, which is also the title of a book by Sagario Cruz-Carretero, published in 2006.

Jesse “Chuy” Varela is Music Director at public radio station KCSM 91.1 FM in San Mateo, CA. the Bay Area’s jazz station. Visit his website, Chuyvarela@aol.com for articles about Latin music, entertainment events in the bay area, and Latino products like his 2014 Latino Music Calendar.

He began with comments on the little-known history of enslaved Africans brought to Mexico in the 1500s and their contributions to Mexican culture. He focused on the area of Veracruz and the Costa Chica, port areas, where in the 1600s slave leaders such as Gaspar Yanga and Francisco de la Matosa led revolts against the Spanish and established free towns.

He discussed and played music and movie clips of Son Jarocho music, highly influenced by the African “call and response” tradition. “La Bamba” is one of the best-known songs in this style. He spoke about “Tonia La Negra” (born Maria Antonia del Carmen Peregrino Álvarez, Veracruz) and her early work with Agustin Lara and Pedro Vargas and the “guarachera era” when Cuban music influenced 1950’s Mexican movies with dancers such as Rosa Carmina, Maria Antonieta Pons and Ninon Sevilla.

He recalled how he interviewed Cesar Chavez in San Jose, California who said that ” he used to be a pachuco and listened to Coleman Hawkins, Body and Soul and early Latin jazz. He spoke about how this tradition continued in Chicano culture through the music and films of artists such as rocker Richie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela), and boogie musicians Don Toasti (Edmundo Martinez Tostado) and Lalo Guerrero, and movie maker Luis Valdez.

All copyrights for this video are to Jesse “Chuy” Varela. Acknowledged third-party content.

Videographer: Ramon J. Martinez Ph.D.
Video link
https://youtu.be/Y-UEuA__qOI

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