|
North of the Border is a 30 minute program of Mexican roots
music with socio-historical commentary in English. Hosted and produced by retired educators Rosa and Joe
Perez, the show aired from 2002 to 2007 on the NPR affiliate in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Using both vintage and contemporary recordings,
music for each program is arranged around a theme such as the “corrido”, a musical genre recognized throughout
the U.S. by the famous “Ballad of Gregorio Cortez”. Other shows have grown around musical traditions
that are now extinct like the Big Band Tejano Orchestras and the Female Duets of the 1940s. North of the Border
is a musical perspective from the Texas side of the Rio Grande, cultural gateway to the sounds of Mexico and beyond.
Influenced by the continuing immigration from Latin America, this is music we listen to here, North of the Border.To people who know the music, pioneer musicians like Lydia
Mendoza, Beto Villa and Conjunto Bernal are as familiar as contemporary artists like Freddy Fender, Selena, and Los Lobos.
With an educational look at Mexican-American music, North of the Border presents selections full of diversity
ranging from rustic musica ranchera to jazzy urban sounds.
|
