00:00:00.850 - 00:00:20.370

With a couple of words, you know, this is Arnaldo Ramirez at Falcone Records who recorded Lydia and of course Mendoza sisters also. Um how did she happen to run into her? You know. Well, I, uh not a question of running into her. She was, uh she

00:00:20.379 - 00:00:38.770

was pretty well known. I looked for her. I running to her. Uh uh I remember when I was a youngster actually going back. Uh I don't know how old uh Lydia is, but I think that she started recording uh when she was 17 with RC A

00:00:38.779 - 00:00:55.490

or she started singing at 15. This is the regulation that I've got. And I know that I go way back into my youth when, uh when uh her song Malore was heard all over Malore was, uh I guess, you know, that, that was her, uh that

00:00:55.500 - 00:01:10.638

was the first record she made and it's also her biggest hit, her biggest hit. Then she hit others like Celosia and some of those others. But anyway, she, uh she was an institution. I mean, I had a lot of respect and admiration for her even before

00:01:10.649 - 00:01:28.580

I even thought of getting into the record business. So when I had a chance to uh touch base with her and, and approach her on the possibility of recording for me, for me, it was uh really, really something an opportunity and uh she did defraud me

00:01:28.589 - 00:01:45.989

because on the first release, the one that you mentioned number 97 I can't forget that number Bess Sando La Cruz by the composer Chucho Monge. And the other side flip side, Angel De Misano, that was by a composer from San Antonio. Uh But anyway, Besan La

00:01:46.000 - 00:02:03.750

Cruz was the bay head. And I remember in Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. Boy, that's where most of the uh uh the uh success of the record started right in, in that area in that region. Of course, then it, it became a standard with us in Carlo,

00:02:04.129 - 00:02:18.770

I mean, for a long time and uh later, many years afterwards when I uh recorded Lydia again, II, I recorded that number again with her, you know, and, and, and you, you, you will probably find it in one of her later. But that was a, a

00:02:18.779 - 00:02:34.770

rerecording. I was not using the old man. No, no, of course, I don't think so. I'm probably, you're probably right. It was easier than I don't think so. Let me take a look at some of the excellent. Here I go to Colombia. I used to go

00:02:34.820 - 00:02:54.789

at least once a year because we didn't have uh quite a number of releases of ours in Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador and Central America and Lydia Mendoza. I was, I was really uh very pleasantly surprised when I found that Lida Mendoza was, was pretty well known

00:02:54.800 - 00:03:08.199

in Colombia. The fact is about, she went to Colombia, I think maybe about four years ago. That's why she, she went very recently. She told me I got, I got some clippings from that. This friend of mine sent to me from Colombia when, when she was

00:03:08.210 - 00:03:27.789

over there. And I got this particular friend of mine, uh, who was an old, old timer within the record industry. I thought, see if he couldn't provide me with, with some of the, uh, the, uh, well, your authentic Colombian music, your, uh, the oldest, OK. That

00:03:27.800 - 00:03:45.389

most of these for me, which I gave to Lidia too. This, this was specially made for, uh Colombia market for that market there. Uh, but, and, and I guess you recorded her quite a, quite a number of times. It, it, it, it shows throughout the years,

00:03:45.399 - 00:04:01.740

I guess ever since throughout the years she would, she would go, I guess she, she, she was, uh, recording for, for everybody. She was in demand. And, uh, I still, I, I think I mentioned this. Uh, I have about three ob that I haven't released. Oh,

00:04:01.750 - 00:04:19.058

really? You said three? The time has not been the proper time. Yeah, it's hard to sell records right now. It is, it is three years ago, uh, maybe we could have taken a chance. But right now it's, yeah, we gotta be very, we have a lot

00:04:19.069 - 00:04:32.678

of stuff that we haven't released, that we recorded some time ago and, and I believe that we got, uh, uh, some good, good recording with Lya. I'm, I've, I've been thinking on, on coming out one of these days with, with some more of the stuff that

00:04:32.688 - 00:04:45.838

we've got. Do. Do you, do you, do you, do you by any chance recall the, the first time you ever saw her live perform when you were youngsters? I think, whether she ever came down here. Yeah. You know, I uh let me see if I can,

00:04:47.619 - 00:05:04.730

you know where the Rio Theater in Mission is where uh it's, it's, it was, it was declared a historical uh institution building. Well, II, I was born and I lived all my life 22 doors next, I, I was living on the corner and the uh the

00:05:04.739 - 00:05:21.220

theater was constructed in 1913. I think it was by Spaniard that came to men and he was the uh the one that built this theater in 1913. He also had as far as I can remember. It's called the, the Real, the Real Theater. It is now

00:05:21.239 - 00:05:44.779

uh it's being converted into a uh into an art exhibit uh thing. So it's called Sochi. It's on uh on Doherty right there in Mission on Dorothy. Doherty. Yeah. Real Theater. So you'll, you'll find probably so Xoxoch, I, they left out the t and just so

00:05:45.549 - 00:06:01.269

I get it and, uh, see, I used to be, uh, watch all the artists, you know, that would be coming in because that was a theater. It was not a movie house, it was a theater and they had a lot of, uh, these troops, stage shows

00:06:01.429 - 00:06:16.489

and they would, they would come in a, um, these old troops will stay for, for a couple of weeks, three weeks, a month, they would stay in the area and present all of these dramas and comedies and all live. It's all theater. And then that's when

00:06:16.500 - 00:06:36.065

I was exposed to, to a lot of these artists, there was another artist from San Antonio whom I also recorded uh Arturo Vasquez, the pianist. Now, he, he also was one of the uh the originals in San Antonio together with Lydia Mendoza and uh Eva Garza.

00:06:36.075 - 00:06:52.299

Eva Garza is an only because she's, she's dead already. She married uh Charro Jin from, from Mexico. But I go back to those times and my brother was a pianist. And when all the artists from San Antonio, see San Antonio was the center of, of artists

00:06:52.309 - 00:07:05.239

actually, was it actually it came mostly from San Antonio? Not, not in Mexico. No, from San, from San Antonio. And they would come in through the valley and my brother as a pianist would, they knew that he was here. So he would go with them, you

00:07:05.250 - 00:07:19.589

know, accompanying as in a company, of course, in the case of Lida Mendoza, that was the whole family. I I, that's when I, you're asking me when I, I, the first time I saw him was with the whole family with Dona Leonor, also Dona Leonor and

00:07:19.600 - 00:07:36.540

also Lydia's husband, Juan Juan. Could you, could you, I believe was his, what was his? I can, could you possibly describe to me how that show went or what you remember of it? Well, it was, I mean, she was it La Alondra de la Frontera. Uh

00:07:36.549 - 00:07:55.940

I remember uh one time that uh well, let me repeat myself. She was it one time she came here and, and she broke all records. Uh People going in to see her, how, how, how old were you? But then you think, well, I guess I was

00:07:55.950 - 00:08:10.160

uh I would say I was a teenager. I was a teenager when you were born about, I was born in 1918, 18. So this is 20 about 34. That's about the time she was making her first hips. Yeah, my 36 or something like that, I guess.

00:08:10.410 - 00:08:30.029

But she came and like Arturo Vasquez, this other fellow that I'm mentioning they were really uh hits, hit artists. So I remember the whole, the whole family. Also, Juan would go come with them and uh Mrs Leonard and Juanita and Maria and Lydia. Uh huh. So

00:08:30.109 - 00:08:48.750

uh they were really something. Yeah, they were really something. That's incredible. Huh. I, uh, hear that she was coming to the valley here. Uh, she was here recently, wasn't she? Can you remember anything about how Lydia would get her songs or? Did, did, did you give

00:08:48.760 - 00:09:04.375

her the songs or did I, uh, most of the songs I gave? But I, I was, uh, of course, uh, I was also surprised at the, at the, uh, the number of songs that, that she, that she had from way back. I mean, she would remember

00:09:04.385 - 00:09:18.849

and, and, uh, she'd know, I mean, just about any song that you could think of, she knew, she knew it. But then she was also very fast in learning new songs because I, I gave her a lot of original material. I don't know this, for example,

00:09:18.859 - 00:09:30.330

I gave her all of this. How would you, for example, give it to her, would it be on a piece of paper or would you put it on the eyes? You remember? I think I would or would you sing it for her or something? Uh, we

00:09:30.349 - 00:09:48.750

go, I don't know. But she was quick anyway, sometimes she would come in and, and, and learn it right here. That's what I heard. She's learning right here. Yes. Yes. Oh, she's quite, she's quite an institution within the recording industry. San Antonio. I, I used to,

00:09:48.770 - 00:10:12.739

uh, to make 33 spots as the, the main centers of uh Spanish speaking or whatever artist that was Monterey Dival in San Antonio. But San Antonio actually, I think that you could go farther back and, and get AAA bigger variety of artists. Eva Garza was also,

00:10:12.750 - 00:10:29.450

she was a singer, very popular singer. And those that she went to record in, in, uh with CCO records, those labels that were going very strong in New York that's from New York. Yeah. Uh, but she, she played the piano this year. I don't know somebody,

00:10:29.849 - 00:10:43.969

you know, it, it was more, it was a different, a little bit different category of music, wasn't it? I mean, who's that one? No, no, I'm sorry. No, I thought you were talking about Lydia. No, Eva. Eva, I don't know that she played the piano at

00:10:43.989 - 00:11:06.760

all. She married this Charo Jro Hill who had a very popular. Ok. Let me give you some interesting background. This was caporal but his caporal were uh Chucho Navarro and Alfredo Hill who later became Los Panchos in New York. You see, they got into uh an

00:11:06.770 - 00:11:25.580

internal me problem and, and they, they left him. Charro Hill married Deva Grez in San Antonio and Chucho Navarro and Alfredo Hill, they went to New York looking for, you know. Yeah, something for making it. Yeah. That's when my brother Rafael met him. Uh, see my

00:11:25.590 - 00:11:41.000

brother Rafael goes back to that. My brother had been in New York before that. Uh my brother went out there and got some of his songs recorded with the uh Cubans and the uh Puerto Ricans, which was hard to do. Yeah. Uh Anyway, that's where he

00:11:41.010 - 00:11:59.780

met Los Panchos in 47 or I think it was around 47. And, uh, and that's where Los Panchos met. Uh uh No, no, the, the, uh, the Puerto Rican that, that then was, was part of their uh Hernando Viz, the first voice. Anyway, Charro Hill married

00:11:59.789 - 00:12:14.315

Eva Garza and then Eva Garza was a singer on the, she went to, after she had made some records here, she went to Mexico and started recording, I don't know, for, for, for her company, but then she died later on, but she left the song Felipe

00:12:14.325 - 00:12:30.429

Hill was pretty popular in Mexico right now. So there's, you know, all of that stemming out of San Antonio. She also came out of San Antonio. Yes. Yes. I think we got a recording and LP with her picture on it and the jacket that Rafael used

00:12:30.440 - 00:12:47.130

to keep. But, but, but, but you, you, you, you feel Lydia, Lydia's music was what was more to the common people than, than, well, you know, actually Lydia's music was international. I mean, this, this uh uh very simple sound with her guitar. I don't know how

00:12:47.140 - 00:13:04.460

many strings. She had a lot, a lot of, a lot of strings and she had this particular sound and nobody, you know, as soon as she started uh hitting on those strings. You knew it was Lida Mendoza, Lida Mendoza. And there's always this particular songs that

00:13:04.469 - 00:13:26.239

would cater to a, to any audience. That's how she was popular in, in, in South America, Colombia. And actually Colombia has a lot of uh similarity in their songs to the Mexican uh song, the romantic song. The, but anyway, she uh she was, you know, she

00:13:26.250 - 00:13:40.020

was an international artist as far as I'm concerned. Not only to the, oh, she would say, you know, one of her songs, she says, I'm La Canonero de Los Pobres, Cancion Nada Mas is one of the songs that she composed. The singer of the poor. I'm

00:13:40.030 - 00:13:57.619

just a singer. That's all or heck she catered uh uh to more people than just the poor. I can assure you that because her records are now sold all over Spanish, all over, all over. She was, I mean, when you get uh singing, I mean, uh

00:13:57.630 - 00:14:14.969

selling your sons with the Puerto Ricans. Uh you, you're really actually going over or you, you, you're going over the fence, you know, really? Because that, that's a different type of uh the, the feelings are different in their, in their music, in their music. Yes. But

00:14:14.979 - 00:14:30.559

then all of the Spanish speaking go to the basics which is once you get to that come denominator in which Lydia Mendoza had this uh talent to reach the comedy denominator. Then he would sell to the Puerto Ricans himself. You know, we have AAA group, an

00:14:30.570 - 00:14:47.219

accordion group, a Lares Terran who also broke that barrier. See, when, when we first started with the accordion thing and nobody wanted those Accordions, they thought it was trash. I mean, we couldn't sell one, we, we couldn't give it away. Alere Terran came in and actually

00:14:47.229 - 00:15:05.919

they broke the barrier and they opened the doors for all accordion music. And in, in South America A de Terran is one of the well known international artists. So like Lydia Mendoza, the Alere De Terran also became internationally known and accepted because they've got something, they

00:15:05.929 - 00:16:08.929

got something that uh that can transcend, it can go beyond your local uh feelings or your local taste. That's good. I really appreciate help you more girl. Oh man, there you go. Year I come on. Got it. I feel. Bye.

00:16:14.309 - 00:16:36.919

Oh, I, I mean.