1970s-themed concert to celebrate
Latinos in U.S. popular music
Mark Guerrero, other performers to rock the Cal State L.A. stage Saturday, Dec. 7
Los Angeles, CA – Singer, songwriter and musician Mark Guerrero, son of legendary musician Lalo Guerrero, will bring his acoustic and electrical sounds to the Cal State L.A. campus on Saturday, Dec. 7, in a 1970s-themed concert celebrating “Latinos/as in U.S. Popular Music.”
The concert, organized as part of the Smithsonian’s “American Sabor” exhibit on display at Cal State L.A., will be presented 7:30 p.m. in the State Playhouse on the CSULA campus.
“The music I’ll be performing will be my original songs, which span from the early ’70s through the present,” said Guerrero. “Some of the songs reflect Chicano and East L.A. life and culture, such as ‘The Streets of East L.A.,’ ‘On the Boulevard,’ ‘Zoot Suit,’ ‘Orale,’ and ‘I’m Brown’.”
Guerrero, who led the popular East L.A. band Mark & the Escorts, recorded two singles for GNP Crescendo Records: “Get Your Baby” and “Dance With Me.” He also recorded as a solo artist for Ode Records (produced by the legendary Lou Adler), Capitol Records, and with his group, Tango, for A&M Records. He has performed on stage with a variety of renowned performers, such as Redbone, Eric Burdon, El Chicano, Tierra, Lalo Guerrero, and many others.
Rocking the stage, Guerrero will open his show with an acoustic set accompanied by female vocalist Geree Gonzalez, known as “one of the best singers to come out of East Los Angeles, and one of the best Chicana vocalists of all time.”
Gonzalez sang with the legendary Village Callers in the late 1960s, El Chicano in the 1990s, Chico, and many others. She has also produced many recordings, including an album on MCA Records. Some of Guerrero’s original songs in the line-up include “Viva Dolores” (a tribute to farmworker labor leader Dolores Huerta), “Pre-Columbian Dream,” “Mexican Moon,” and “The Ballad of Lalo Guerrero.”
Bringing back the smooth rhythm of the 1970s, Guerrero will be joined by an eclectic band and present an electronic mix of songs that defined that musical era. The band consists of the following members:
* guitarist Ron Reyes, a member of The Impalas (‘60s), Yaqui (’70s), Cannibal & the Headhunters Band, and the Mark Guerrero Band;
* keyboard player Jimi Seville, a member of Yaqui and currently with the Dean Martin Jr. Band;
* bassist Louie Ruiz, formerly member of Cannibal & the Headhunters Band, recorded with Jerry Salas of El Chicano, and currently tours with John Corbett Band;
* drummer Manny Lizardo, Rocky Padilla Band and other Latin and rock bands; and
* sax player Marco Palos, currently touring with entertainer Louie Prima Jr.
The program will also include an instrumental song Guerrero recorded in the 1960s with Mark & the Escorts, which is still featured in many Eastside Sound and garage rock compilation CDs. Guerrero will also perform three of his father’s songs, which were recorded in the late ’40s and early ’50s. The styles are swing, rock n’ roll, and blues in Spanish and caló (Chicano slang).
For campus parking or directions: /sites/default/files/univ/ppa/campus_map.pdf (Permit dispenser parking is available in Structure C.) For more about the “American Sabor” exhibition: https://americansabor.org/exhibition/venue/1534. For concert info, call the College of Arts and Letters at (323) 343-4001.
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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 230,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to the Honors College for high-achieving students. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu