“I thought I was just going to be meeting up with like-minded women, fem, gender non-conforming folks and go to record shops, hang out, see what other people’s collection was but I think to all of our surprise it turned into something we didn’t expect,” Aguirre said. Maryann Aguirre, also known as DJ Que Madre, remembers hosting the first meeting of the LA chapter of Chulita Vinyl Club in her home back in 2016. The first chapter started in Austin, Texas, in 2014. It’s a non-binary and gender non-confirming women’s DJ collective that uses music and vinyl as a form of resistance against the erasure of culture. Now, she’s part of the Los Angeles chapter of Chulita Vinyl Club. I didn’t really like to stand out,” she said. “A big part of that upbringing meant that I kept things to myself. While Gutierrez always loved music, becoming a DJ wasn’t something she initially thought of doing. “I remember as a kid being at the parties and sort of falling asleep to the sounds of the guitar,” she said, reminiscing about her time growing up in Mexico.Īs she looked through her collection of vinyl records, she said that growing up undocumented, the music and those memories helped her feel connect to back home. Music is part of her identity, from hip-hop to the boleros her uncle used to perform. Ryan Katz, Marnette Federis and Esther Manilla helped produce this segment.LOS ANGELES - As the record spins, it takes Andrea Gutierrez, also known as DJ Sleep Walk, back in time. Xochi Solis, head of the Austin chapter of the Chulita Vinyl Club, sums it up: "I think there's a real beauty there - of us holding on and being the conservators of this sonic information." So when Chicanas like Saenz grew up in the Rio Grande Valley listening to Chicano soul, collecting these records was more than an expression of their style. They all had to know both Spanish and rock and pop and soul music. "So these bands would follow that group of people and perform at bars and dance halls and concerts out in the fields. "They followed the immigration of farm workers from Texas to Tennessee to Michigan to Wisconsin," Molina says. It should come as no surprise, then, that he was one of the pioneers of Tejano soul.Īccording to music historian Ruben Molina, families like Little Joe's were Mexican farm workers following the harvest - and the music went with them. Little Joe grew up on the cotton fields of Texas, where his was one of the only Mexican families living in a community of largely black families. The group Little Joe y La Familia is the perfect example of this fusion. And although they collect all kinds of records, Chicano soul is one genre that rings near and dear to the club's heart and style.Ĭhicano soul is the product of black and brown communities living side by side. She's founder of the Chulita Vinyl Club, an all-girl vinyl collecting crew spread throughout the Southwest and California. "I just like holding that piece of history." "I just feel that is definitely more intimate than playing it on my phone on, like, Spotify or a streaming app," Saenz says. On her days off, Claudia Saenz scours used record shops, thrift stores and yard sales, keeping her eyes peeled for records her parents grew up on. Editor's note: This is one of three segments in this week's episode of Alt.Latino.
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