Corridos: Tales of passion and revolution

[kgreen]

Every 2 years or so, I create this link for the Greatest Screen event of Linda's career. Corridos, a PBS special several months before the Canciones De Mi Padre record. It showcased her Mexican Style and incredible stage presence, better than her other nods on film and TV. From the moment she comes on screen singing "Yo Soy El Corrido: and the next 5 minutes she combines her rock voice to her mexican style to the song "Yo Soy El Corrido, which she also used in her stage show. This version is as gun toting, dancing singing Linda. A real wow for any fan and a personal favorite. She looks gorgeous too.

We need to email them to release this and also make the songs available. Want new Linda music, here it is! Some snippits of songs too which probably have a full recording. These need to be released especially since Linda will likely not sing anymore. This is Linda in her "PRIME".

Note, after her first 5 minutes, there is a 20 minute segment, while good, has no Linda in it. We need to get this released to the general public. Let me know your thoughts, all show info is below.

Show Link

hidvl.nyu.edu/video/000539671.html


COLLECTION TITLE: El Teatro Campesino collection
TITLE: Corridos
ALTERNATE TITLE: Tales of passion and revolution
DATE: 1987 Apr. 1
LOCATION: Recorded at KQED studios, San Francisco, CA, on Apr. 1, 1987.

SYNOPSIS: Corridos: Tales of Passion and Revolution, nationally broadcast on PBS and the winner of the George Peabody for excellence in Television in 1987, was the final result of the El Teatro Campesino's stage production of the same name. The piece began as a five week workshop in ETC's San Juan Bautista playhouse in the summer of 1982, exploring the stories and narrative lyrics of Mexican popular ballads or corridos. The workshop production was an instant popular success with audiences and critics. ETC decided to stage a new production of Corridos at the Marines Memorial Theater in San Francisco, where it ran for three months to great reviews and eleven Bay Area Critics Awards. Other stagings followed in 1984. Corridos finally evolved into a full-fledged video production in 1987, after several drafts of the script that not only reworked the selection of ballads, but also condensed the material to fit into the confines of a one-hour special. The production presents two full-length corridos: Delgadina (a haunting parable of incest in a wealthy Mexican family), and Soldadera (based on the dispatches of American journalist John Reed, in which the compelling story of Elizabeta is framed by three songs of women during the 1910 Mexican Revolution). Highlights from other traditional corridos are connected by engaging narrative sequences: Yo soy El Corrido (the story of the corrido itself), Rosita Alvirez (a comedic parable of a defiant young woman who meets an early death), and El Lavaplatos (the story of an immigrant who dreams of becoming a movie star and ends up a dishwasher). Joining members of the original cast, the production included popular songstress Linda Ronstadt, singer/actor Daniel Valdez, San Francisco Ballet artist Evelyn Cisneros, and actor Clancy Brown.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:
"Materials of the Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library are protected by copyright. They may not be copied, downloaded, or reproduced. The owner of this work has granted NYU Libraries non-exclusive rights to include this material in the Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library and to make it accessible to the public for educational and research purposes. Requests to purchase or for permission to use the work should be directed to the owner."
COPYRIGHT HOLDER: El Teatro Campesino
CONTACT: Luis Valdez
ADDRESS:
Luis Valdez
705 4th Street
P.O. Box 1240
San Juan Bautista, CA 95045
USA
PHONE(BUSINESS): [phone]
PHONE(FAX): [phone]
EMAIL: [e-mail]
WEBSITE: www.elteatrocampesino.com

[eddiejinnj]

thanks kev!!! where ya been? eddiejinnj

[fabtastique]

wow, didn't know about this - yes I wish it was available to download or purchase!

[Cruzzer]

I am a youngin (34) but I saw and recorded that video when it aired on PBS, alas, I can no longer find my copy. I do agree, I would love to see it on Blu-ray or DVD. My mom and I often sing the songs but we both have expressed the same sentiment. Let me know how I can be of any help.

- Cruzzer 2 at Yahoo dot com

[Susan]

I have an old VHS copy of the PBS special and am looking for one on DVD. Do they exist?

[jon]

Here it is on line - hidvl.nyu.edu/video/000539671.html

[the Scribe]

Feb 14, 2017 11:25:24 GMT -5 jon said:

Here it is on line - hidvl.nyu.edu/video/000539671.html

I had fun watching this again. The Valdez brothers had quite an affinity for Linda. This was a magical period in her career. The 1980's were quite productive for Linda when you take a look back:

ronstadt.proboards.com/thread/3560/linda-ronstadt-television-video-1980s

[fabtastique]

Linda was very exploratory with her work in the 80s - its was a wonderfully creative time in her career. I'm so proud of her work during this period and the early 90s too

[kgreen]

Feb 19, 2017 0:25:43 GMT -5 the Scribe said:

Feb 14, 2017 11:25:24 GMT -5 jon said:

Here it is on line - hidvl.nyu.edu/video/000539671.html

I had fun watching this again. The Valdez brothers had quite an affinity for Linda. This was a magical period in her career. The 1980's were quite productive for Linda when you take a look back:

ronstadt.proboards.com/thread/3560/linda-ronstadt-television-video-1980s

Hi Rob,
Hope all is well old friend. I re-watched too and was again exhilarated by Linda's performance here...and singing at her highest level. This is the 30th anniversary of both this show and her landmark, Canciones de mi Padre!

I would love to see a boxed set of her All-Spanish work. This film has not only the two full performances, but snippits of 4-5 songs we have never heard her sing. It sounds like this show would have the full recordings and these could be a bonus portion of this proposed box set. Add the three full Spanish records, any outakes or unreleased from those sets, her released recordings (Adonde Voy, spanish Blue Bayou, Lo Siento Mi Vida) and her perfomances on others records (Mambo Kings, Mariachi Vargas, Mariachi Los Camperos, and the Chieftains). This complete set would be over 50 recordings and would make a great holiday gift this year for the fans and Completists.

If they start soon it could easily be a reality. I think if anyone thought this was a good idea and emailed Rhino and John Boylan, this could be a reality. This music really goes to Linda's heart as well. It would be a great gift to fans and Linda as well!!

Kev

[eddiejinnj]

I wonder if John Boylan has looked at this site. I told him about it in person at the Tilles Center in LI in Septmeber. eddiejinfl

[the Scribe]

Hi Kevin. I remember the day you brought this film to our attention. I have no idea how I missed it on PBS in it's original broadcast but it was long before the Forum days and I didn't watch television much. You are absolutely right! While watching this I was thinking the same thing myself. Not only are there new songs by Linda in this film there are others including duets with Ruben Blades, other Mariachi groups, Disney's Sonar es desear/Un Precioso Sueño, La Pastorela, Benediction etc. elsewhere. There might even be recordings we don't know about including some rarities with her dad including that elusive Spanish version of Different Drum I used to hear about. I recall Linda guested on a Mariachi album by a group that previously backed her.

I have always thought that with the browning of America Linda's Spanish music could be her greatest legacy. Linda is legendary amongst young Hispanics who know her as the singer who kept mariachi alive and is now a part of their culture in many schools around the country. She took a fading art form and turned it into cultural pride. In Arizona she took it out of local flea markets into concert halls and ironically her recordings then became the mariachi blaring throughout the flea markets later on lol. Maybe you recall an article by someone saying that they took an adventure into the jungles of South America only to hear the music of Linda's Canciones soaring through the trees. She is everywhere lol.

It would be wonderful to have as many of those recordings as possible under one roof!

Just a few songs most don't know about:










blast from the past

[the Scribe]

Feb 20, 2017 8:44:23 GMT -5 eddiejinnj said:

I wonder if John Boylan has looked at this site. I told him about it in person at the Tilles Center in LI in Septmeber. eddiejinfl

As astute as John is I was surprised he told you he wasn't aware of it. Even Linda's family members know about it. Tony's Ronstadt webpage seems to be the "go to" Ronstadt page as well. It is the most official unofficial site around. John may still be recuperating from the latest Trio box set release but I can't imagine he hasn't thought about this. And as Kevin says this music is Linda's heart. She would be intimately involved in this labor of love if it were to happen. Because of the different music labels involved it could be complicated but the music industry has changed so much there may be fewer impediments. Not sure.

I would even throw in some of the video performances as well.

[Deleted]

“Y o soy el Corrido / I am the ballad, I sing of happiness, tragedies and sorrows. . . , " Luis Valdez as El Maestro tells us in “Corridos! Tales of Passion and Revolution” tonight on PBS (8 p.m. on Channel 24, 9 p.m. on Channels 28 and 15, 10 p.m. on Channel 50).

But there is little joy in these classic Mexican ballads refashioned by Valdez from his inspired musical stage play “Corridos!” Instead, in this one-hour TV adaptation, we are offered at best a Latino “Fairie Tale Theater” or, at worst, corridos as music videos, sung in Spanish with English dialogue.

It isn’t a bilingual production when actors are forced boringly to repeat lyrics in English or to dispense with the translations altogether. Why weren’t subtitles, which were effectively used on the stage, used here?

Another change is the casting of Latino superstars. Linda Ronstadt has Latino roots and an American accent, but her Spanish singing voice pales next to Lola Beltran, the queen of Mexican ranchera music.

In “Delgadina,” one of the corridos, a “Cabaret"-style butler steals the focus from prima ballerina Evelyn Cisneros in a quirky pas de deux rendition of incest.

“El Lava Platos/The Dishwasher” is a Chaplinesque Latino (Daniel Valdez) eluding la migra (the INS) while the underlying serious issue of immigration sinks into silly soapsuds.

“La Soldadera” (The Woman Soldier) is more successful, but its three ballads about women in battle aren’t translated, hence the viewer must rely on American journalist John Reed’s gringo dispatches for their meaning.

Two questions: (1) Why are the Mexican males in these corridos insensitive macho oafs, child molesters or cowardly illegals? (2) Why aren’t the names of known corrido composers credited--especially the legendary Pedro J. Gonzalez, who wrote “El Lava Platos”?


www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-07-ca-8085-story.html

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[eddiejinnj]

Not the best of reviews but hey opinions are ah's, everybody has one. This show probably got Linda really pumped to do her "Canciones" album. eddiejinfl

[Deleted]

Linda had coaching while recording Canciones, so would have been better, and as she said, improved more doing live shows (as for PoP)

sites.dlib.nyu.edu/hidvl/nzs7h4d7

[Deleted]

Fun watch. I liked the last scene of Linda & Luis Valdes having a drink together. 

2 of Linda's songs are on CDMP, but are the others on any album?

[Deleted]

hemi.nyu.edu/hemi/hidvl-additional-performances/item/586-campesino-corridos#