'Bird of Four Hundred Voices' Chronicles Los Cenzontles' Mission to Empower Young People Through Mexican Folk Music

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 9 August 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the 1990s, Eugene Rodriguez wanted to help his teenage students learn Son Jarocho, a regional folk music style from Mexico. So he organized a weeks-long road trip from the Bay Area to Veracruz where that genre of music originates. That is one of the memorable experiences Rodriguez has had as founder of Los Cenzontles, a music group and nonprofit organization based in San Pablo. Hundreds of East Bay young people, mostly of Mexican descent, have come through the organization’s music, dance, and art classes that center traditional folk music from Mexico. Rodriguez chronicles his work celebrating folk music and using it to empower young people in his new memoir, “Bird of Four Hundred Voices: A Mexican American Memoir of Music and Belonging.” We’ll talk with Rodriguez, who will join us in studio with other musicians from Los Cenzontles for a live performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs.
0:04.8	Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable
0:10.3	themes that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products out there.
0:14.7	Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time. From startups to scaleups, online,
0:20.1	in person and on the go. Shopify is made for
0:22.8	entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup.
0:30.1	Greetings boomtown. The Xfinity Wi-Fi is booming. Exfinity combines the power of internet and mobile.
0:37.0	So we've all got lightning fast speeds at home and on the go. Learn more at Xfinity combines the power of internet and mobile. So we've all got lightning fast speeds at home and on the go.
0:40.7	Learn more at Xfinity.com.
0:42.5	Restrictions apply.
0:43.2	Xfinity, internet required.
0:44.2	Actual speeds vary.
0:46.5	From KQED.
0:51.8	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:56.0	Eugene Rodriguez is a long time East Bay educator and community builder.
1:01.0	His organization, Los EnSotlis, teaches Mexican folk music,
1:05.0	using it as a basis for young people to understand their roots and identities.
1:10.0	And now Rodriguez chronicles that work in a new memoir, Bird of 400 voices, a Mexican-American
1:16.7	memoir of music and belonging.
1:19.3	We'll talk about the book, the changing Mexican communities of Richmond and San Pablo, and
1:23.8	of course they'll play some beautiful music right from our studios.
1:27.4	That's all coming up next after this news.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.