The Tide Was Always High: The Music of Latin America in Los AngelesJosh Kun In 1980, the celebrated new wave band Blondie headed to Los Angeles to record a new album and along with it, the cover song “The Tide Is High,” originally written by Jamaican legend John Holt. Featuring percussion by Peruvian drummer and veteran LA session musician “Alex” Acuña, and with horns and violins that were pure LA mariachi by way of Mexico, “The Tide Is High” demonstrates just one of the ways in which Los Angeles and the music of Latin America have been intertwined since the birth of the city in the eighteenth century. The Tide Was Always High gathers together essays, interviews, and analysis from leading academics, artists, journalists, and iconic Latin American musicians to explore the vibrant connections between Los Angeles and Latin America. Published in conjunction with the Getty's Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, the book shows how Latin American musicians and music have helped shape the city’s culture—from Hollywood film sets to recording studios, from vaudeville theaters to Sunset Strip nightclubs, and from Carmen Miranda to Pérez Prado and Juan García Esquivel. |
Contents
Hearing | 6 |
Mexican Musical Theater and Movie Palaces in Downtown | 46 |
Rumba Emissaries | 76 |
Hollywood and the Propa | 105 |
A Century of Latin Music at the Hollywood Bowl | 124 |
A Conversation with Elisabeth | 138 |
Esquivel | 144 |
Soundings from the Para | 153 |
Interviews with Session Musicians | 163 |
A Speculative History | 216 |
Heroes and Saints | 244 |
Staging the Dance of Coalition with VersaStyle | 251 |
Gender and | 260 |
Caminos y Canciones en Los Angeles CA | 267 |
List of Contributors | 277 |
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Common terms and phrases
African American Afro-Cuban album Alex Acuña Angeles Argentine artists audiences band bandleader bossa nova Brazil Brazilian music California called Carlos Carmen Miranda cha cha cha Chicano city's club composer congas Cuba cultural dance dancers disco Disney drums fandango featured film genre Gonzalez guitar Heraldo de México Hollywood Bowl Idelsohn Society immigrant jarocho Jobim John Koegel Latin American music Latin jazz Latin music Latina/o listening live Loza Macías mambo mariachi melody Mexican American Mexico City MHCF Million Dollar Theater modern Moré movie Musical Preservation Archive musical theater musicians orchestra Paramount Ballroom percussion percussionist performed pianist play player Plaza popular music Quintanar radio recorded Revista rhythms Rodríguez rumba salsa Saludos Amigos samba scene Sérgio Sérgio Mendes session Sevilla singer singing Society for Musical son jarocho song sound South Spanish Spanish-language stage star studio Sumac theatrical theme Tirado United University Press Wind & Fire York Zarzuela