On this Veteran's Day I'm thinking of my dad, Willie Garza, who was awarded the Silver Star for Valor in WWII. He was my inspiration when we created "By the Hand of the Father"--the theater production I co-wrote with my wife, Theresa Chavez, Rose Portillo and Eric Gutierrez, with the musical collaboration of Alejandro Escovedo. The soundtrack from the show (available on iTunes) featured this performance of "Mexico Americano," with a guest vocal by Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, backed by Los Pochos (Otoño Lujan and Elliott Berribault) and the rest of the ensemble. The spoken word intro (performed by Kevin Sifuentes) is about my dad.
Oscar,
Thank you for posting this. I have always been so moved by this section of the production. It made your father so alive to me. Working on By the Hand of the Father was such a great pleasure. And I also felt that it was a tribute to my father who loved the theater and was one the first Korean Americans to go to New York City to pursue that dream.
Paula
Posted by: Paula Batson | November 13, 2009 at 05:48 PM