On October 11, 1992, one of the greatest collections of Chicano
talent ever assembled gathered at the McCallum Theater in
Palm Desert, California to honor the “Father of Chicano
Music,” Lalo Guerrero. It was organized by my
brother, television producer Dan Guerrero, whose contacts
and influence, combined with the respect and goodwill towards
my dad, attracted an impressive list of Chicano musicians,
actors and comedians. All but one group performed for
no fee (try getting a mariachi for free). The proceeds
from the event went to the College of the Desert ‘s
efforts to establish a branch in the Eastern Coachella Valley
and for scholarships for Latino students at C.O.D. The
setting was awesome, a beautiful 1200 seat auditorium, which
was filled to capacity, with a stage set worthy of a network
television show. It was loaned to my brother by a set
designer friend named Jimmy Cuomo. Lighting design was
donated by Frank Olivas and sound by Ish Garcia. The
performers in the first half of the show were backed by a
combo led by guitarist Marcos Loya, which featured Bobby Loya
on trumpet and Bobby Navarrette on sax. (Loya and Navarrette
have played with top Chicano bands such as Tierra, Thee Midniters
and El Chicano). The second half was backed by the great
and famous Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez.
The idea of the show was to have each artist perform one or
two songs written by my dad (Lalo Guerrero). The list
of performers were as follows: Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez,
Little Joe, Carmen Moreno, Culture Clash, Latins Anonymous,
Gilberto Valenzuela, Mercedes Castro, Lupita Castro, Gloria
Becker, Don Tosti, Mariachi Campana de America, Trio Charro,
Daniel Valdez, and me. Chicano icon Cesar Chavez
and actors Edward James Olmos, Rosanna DeSoto, Tony Plana,
and Ada Maris were also there to speak about my dad’s
contributions, as did playwright/director Luis Valdez via
video tape.
The show opened strongly with Daniel
Valdez, star of the play and movie “Zoot Suit,”
performing “Los Chucos Suaves” decked out in a
zoot suit surrounded by world-class dancers. They were Urbanie Lucero, Susie Armijo, Miguel Delgado, Ismael Sanchez,
and Sal Lopez. Later in the show Daniel did “Vamos
a Bailar,” which features different musical styles including
swing, mambo, and danzon, which Daniel and the dancers performed
with the proper attitude and style. The choreographer
for the numbers was Lettie Ibarra. Other highlights
of the show were: Don Tosti performing “Mambo
No. Cero” on vocal and piano, Carmen Moreno belting
out “Canción Mexicana” with Mariachi Sol de Mexico,
Gilberto Valenzuela crooning his recent recording of “Nunca Jamas,” and Little Joe and Mariachi Campana de America
doing “La Minifalda de Reynalda,” which is a norteño/rock
song. The mariachi did the rock & roll sections
complete with Rockettes-style leg kicks. In the comedy category, Cheech
Marin sang “No Chicanos on TV,” Paul Rodriguez
performed “No Way Jose,” and Chris Franco did
“Tacos for Two.” All three renditions were
hilarious. Also, comedy groups Culture Clash and Latins
Anonymous performed hysterical ensemble pieces. I performed
two songs on the show. The first was “Do You Believe
In Reincarnation,” which is a 6/8 doo wop song with
English lyrics that has always been one of my favorite recordings
by my dad. I had three excellent female background singers;
Brenda McFerrin (Bobby McFerrin’s sister), Donna Dougherty,
and her sister Karista Cook. I played piano and sang
to the accompaniment of the Marcos Loya Band. Later
in the show I did a song I wrote for the event that was a
tribute to my dad’s life and music entitled “The
Ballad of Lalo Guerrero.” This song was performed
solo with acoustic guitar. A major highlight for me was when
Cesar Chavez approached me after the show and said "that's
a beautiful song you wrote for your dad." You can
read the lyrics to the song on my selected lyrics page. Unfortunately,
the event was not professionally recorded or videotaped,
but amateur video does exist. After the show there was
a party at Las Casuelas Nuevas Restaurant in Rancho Mirage,
a community west of Palm Desert. Most of the performers
showed up and a good time was had by all.
Two years later, on May 22, 1994,
“Lalo & Amigos Comicos” took place, again at
the McCallum Theater, also produced by Dan Guerrero.
It featured comedians Willie Barcena, Cris Franco, Culture
Clash, Cheech Marin, John Mendoza, Paul Rodriguez, Diane Rodriguez
(no relation), Liz Torres, Luda Vika, and Lalo Guerrero.
Once again Marcos Loya and his band provided musical backing.
Proceeds went to student scholarships for College of the Desert.
top row, left to right-
Carmen Moreno, Jose Hernandez, Cheech Marin, Lupita Castro,
Marcos Loya, Dan Guerrero, Mark Guerrero, Juan Ortiz, Cesar
Chavez, Lalo Guerrero, Edward James Olmos, and Rosana De Soto
bottom row, left to right-
Willie Loya, Diane Rodriguez, unidentified, Daniel Valdez
Paul Rodriguez, and Little Joe Hernandez
bottom right corner, left to right-
Richard Montoya, and Herbert Siguenza
(Ricardo Montalban
was scheduled, but did not attend due to illness)
Video
"The Ballad of Lalo Guerrero" words
and music by Mark Guerrero
Click here for
more Mark Guerrero performance
videos from Lalo tribute
