My Abuelita was One Talented Mujer (Woman)
Multi-Cultural Chicano Musical History in Southern California with Classical Music Indianist Composer and Chicana Pianists in LA
Los Angeles during the early 1900's was not a friendly place
for Mexican-Americans and Chicanos. Though originally part of
Mexico, California was annexed by Anglos to become part of the
United States of America in 1848. With the gold rush of 1842
and other immigration, the existing American Indian and Spanish
/ Mexican people of California were politically and socially
marginalized. By the 1920's lynchings, racially motivated
attacks and "anti-greaser" laws were in place to control and
dominate the Mexican American (Chicano) population of
California. Pressure on Mexican Americans increased and
included segregated schools in areas of Southern California
where large groups of Chicanos persisted. The famous case,
Mendez vs. the Board of Education finally ended Hispanic
segregation in the late 1950's.
Intelligent, cultured and talented Hispanic Americans were not lauded. In fact, with the veil of racism over many Anglo peoples perceptions during that era, there was very limited press coverage of the positive cultural contributions of Chicanos in Los Angeles. History is written by the "winners", and as a conquered population, Spanish / Mexican Californians have lost many of their historical cultural contributions to a lack of attention.
As a third generation Californian (I now live in Oregon), I found some Chicana history within my family that pertains to the larger political climate and the cultural life of elite Angelinos during the early part of the twentieth century. In the early 1920's my grandmother Catalina Maria Ortiz Acosta and her family, lived in Los Angeles. The last of eighteen children, my grandmother Catalina was the daughter of J. Nestor Ortiz and Maria Salazar Ortiz. J. Nestor was a wealthy man who had owned several businesses and a sheep ranch in the town of Ortiz, Colorado (near Antonito, on the border with New Mexico). J. Nestor sold his interests in Colorado and re-located in Los Angeles, California in 1903. Catalina was born the next year. Though her ancestors where among the founding families of Santa Fe, New Mexico (and other towns in the region), she would often refer to herself and family members as "Californios" or "Spanish". Either were terms that people (Anglo and Hispanic) in her generation used to refer to the Spanish families that lived in the American Southwest when that region was under the control of Spain/Mexico. Because she was born in California, the term "Californio(a)" is accurate, but not completely reflective of her cultural heritage. The term she used usually depended upon her sense of the listener's knowledge of these finer points of cultural history.
Though the term Californio/a is dated and
not used today, it was very meaningful for Spanish citizens of
California who became citizens of the United States because of
the Mexican War in 1848. My grandmother would often express her
indignation towards
prejudice that any family member encountered with the comment,
"Those
peasants don't realize that we are Californios." I smile
when I think about that. She disdained the prejudice that she
deemed more a result of a lack of a good education than a lack
of kindness. (I'm including this information about her cultural
ethnic appellation because you will note that the concert
program below refers to her as a "Spanish-American Pisaniste".)
The Ortiz family befriended Charles O. Roos and his wife, Jaunita E. Roos. The family connection was certainly enriched by Catalina's friendship and professional relationship with Jaunita. Catalina (1904-1991) was then a twenty year old classical pianist and the featured pianist at concerts the Roos organized. My grandmother spoke with admiration regarding Juanita's musical abilities. Charles, an Easterner, moved to Los Angeles and worked as a newspaper feature writer when not involved with his work as a lyricist. His wife Juanita was a gifted pianist. They collaborated to create a variety of piano compositions. Charles also wrote poems and lyrics for other composers' music. The concert program for the event at the Ramona Convent in Alhambra, California illustrates the typical concert Roos organized. Nordskog Records recorded the concert. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of that recording or know of it's existence.
Sifting through my Grandmother's photo
albums I found several photos of Charles and Juanita. The
photos of the people in the Native American outfits are my
grandmother Catalina, and Chief Yowlache, dressed in
traditional Native American clothing for publicity photos that
Roos used in his concert promotions. Chief Yowlache was the
"Indian baritone" for the program. Catalina accompanied him and
also played solos.
During a time of
escalating social injustice, Juanita and Charles Roos were
creating musical compositions that celebrated different
cultures. Though women had only just received the vote, and
womens rights were often negated, Charles Roos publicly
acknowledged his wife Juanita's contributions, including her
name on compositions they collaborated on. The concert program
at the Alhambra Convent School illustrates that the Roos were
actively promoting the beauties of the Native American and
Hispanic culture to the elite of the dominant Anglo society.
Understanding the political climate within which my grandmother
was making her musical contributions to culture increases
my
admiration for her artistry and
strength. She steadfastly dedicated herself to excellence in
her art form and understood the symbolic importance of her
image as a intelligent and accomplished Hispanic woman when
many minds were closed to the idea of such a person
existing.
I searched the internet for more information about the Roos and found an interesting essay. I've included an excerpt with a link back to the original author. You'll recognize the name "Lieurance" in the Composer/Lyricist column of the concert program. I've also included some links to historical documents that record the political culture of the era. The following excerpt sheds light on Roos connection to like minded Anglo intellectuals during this time.
Excerpt of an
essay by Linda Marsh Helfman,© 2007 (The Photos are mine)
http://polleymusic.lincolnlibraries.org/History.htm
"His (Lieurance's) interest in
tribal music began in 1902 with a visit to his brother who was
an Indian Agent on the Crow Reservation in Montana. From
that time he began a life-long fascination with the music and
customs of the Native Americans. He visited over 30
reservations and amassed a collection of several thousand
recordings and transcriptions as well as a large number of
Indian flutes. He also invited Native Americans to his
studio in Lincoln for some of the recording sessions. It was
often difficult to coerce the Indians into performing for his
recording machine, but his understanding and patience with
tribal ways won them over. He had an enormous respect for
the people and had learned a great deal from the Native
American wives of two of his brothers. Much of his vast
collection now resides in the Smithsonian Institution, the New
Mexico Museum, and the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library
of Congress.
Lieurance
drew upon Native American melodies for many of his own
compositions which he then clothed in what he called the
"harmonizing which our ears demand'. His most famous
piece is "By the Waters of Minnetonka". It was first
published in 1913, and became the number one sheet music hit of
its day, with many subsequent published arrangements. It
was performed and recorded by some of the leading musicians of
the era and enjoyed world-wide popularity.
In the early 1920s Charles O. Roos, a
feature story writer for a Los Angeles newspaper, happened to
read about Lieurance and his work with Native American
music. In
his younger days Roos had been
a woodsman and raftsman on the St. Croix River and had written
poems based on his experiences with the local tribes
there. He realized that Lieurance was the right person to
set the poems to music. The two of them met and decided
to travel together in the Chippewa forest country of northern
Minnesota in order to gather additional material and inspire
themselves further. Using thematic material from Chippewa
homeland, rain dance, ceremonial, and mourning songs, Lieurance
composed music for Roos' poems, and the result was the "Eight
Songs From Green Timber" song cycle which appears in this
collection." © 2007Linda Marsh Helfman
In the United States in 1924, Native
Americans were denied many civil rights. They were not allowed
to vote, educate their children and live freely. Mexican
Americans inexorably lost the civil rights they had enjoyed
prior to the Mexican War and been promised in the Treaty
of Gudadalupe Hidalgo (1848) and related legislation. Following
are facts from the historical time line on the site http:/
/www.gale.com/free_resources/chh/timeline/1901.htm
-
1902: The Reclamation Act is passed, dispossessing many
Hispanic Americans of their land.
- 1912: Brutality against Mexican Americans in the Southwest territories is commonplace. Lynchings and murders of Mexican Americans in California and Texas result in a formal protest in 1912 by the Mexican ambassador of the mistreatment.
The social and political climate damaged the social, political
and economic rights for Mexican Americans, setting the stage
for continued injustice eventually resulting in segregated
schools in Southern California.
This excerpt from Digital History.com quotes and article
in the Hutchings' California Magazine, July 1857. See
www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/mexican_voices/voices_display.cfm?id=68
for the original document.
"The first California Assembly, meeting in 1849 and 1850, asked Congress to bar all foreigners from the mines, including the Californios, who were naturalized citizens. A rapid influx of Anglo-Americans rendered Mexican Americans politically powerless. The Spanish-speaking population fell from fifteen percent in 1850 to four percent in 1870.
Mexicans and Indians in California were quickly reduced to second-class citizenship. The Foreign Miners' Tax of 1850, a $20 monthly fee for the right to mine, was applied not only to foreign immigrants but also to Mexicans born in California. Early in 1851 the tax was repealed, but it had already had its effect. California's Indenture Act of 1850 established a form of legal slavery for Indians. The state antivagrancy act of 1855, popularly known as the Greaser Law, restricted the movement of Californians of Mexican descent. Other 1855 statutes outlawed bullfights and negated the constitutional requirement that laws be translated into Spanish.
The Californios suffered a massive loss of land. The legislature placed the heaviest tax burden on land, which put great financial pressure on Californio ranchers."
Hutchings' California Magazine, July 1857. See www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/mexican_voices/voices_display.cfm?id=68 to read the entire original document.
You'll also find related articles at both of those links.
Photos are: Indian Woman Standing and also in Canoe -- Catalina costumed in Native American dress for the concert promotional photos. Catalina Ortiz with fur collar, standing. Photo of Charles and Juanita with a dedication to Catalina written on the photo. Photo of Charles with a canoe paddle. Photo of Indian man in canoe -- Chief Yowlache costumed and posed. Woman holding garment-- Anna Roos (possibly a older sister or the mother of Charles Roos)
