It's indeed unfortunate that talent of the magnitude I'm about to share is unknown to the general populace.
At the top of the list is the trumpet virtuoso Rafael Mendez. How great was he? Lore says that he perfected the art of "circular breathing." What that means is that he was able to inhale at the same time he was exhaling into trumpet solos that seemed to test the limits of human endurance. As a result, Mexican standards such as "Chiapanecas" (also known as "The Mexican Hat Dance") were transformend into staccato blasts approximating the licks of "Mahavishnu" John McLaughlin on guitar. Or imagine Eddie Van Halen at quadruple speed.
Mendez showed such virtuosity that at age 10 he was "invited" by Pancho Villa to travel with him for 6 months to perform for him and his troops.
Despite being virtually unknown by both Chicanos and Mexicanos, he actually has a school of music named after him, the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute at the University of Colorado at Boulder:
http://spot.colorado.edu/~stanleyw/RMBI.htm
Another Mexicano/Chicano you may not know is Lalo Guerrero, often referred to as "Chicano #1." His musical prowess and biting satire may remind one of Mark Russell - however, such a thought may be an injustice - it might rightly be said that Mark Russll is the gabacho Lalo Guerrero.
And lastly, for now, (I must resume with examples of women - perhaps some of you can point me in the right direction), there's cinematographer John A. Alonzo. Alonzo's best known work was creating the noir-ish setting of 1930's L.A. in Polanski's "Chinatown," one of my absolutely favorite films. But Alonzo also shines in Hal Ashby's classic "Harold and Maude." Recall the glow of the swimming pool as Harold's mother swims and he feigns drowning to punish his mother.,
Posted by: Adrian / 1:23 AM
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