Multi-Cultural Musical History in Southern California
In the
early 1920's my grandmother Catalina Maria Ortiz Acosta and her
family, living in Los Angeles, 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
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" 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. 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 refers to her as a "Spanish-American
Pisaniste".
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)
