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VARIOUS ARTISTS
Pachuco Boogie, Featuring Don Tosti (Arhoolie)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner
Pachuco Boogie features 21 historical Mexican-American dance tracks that formed the soundtrack for immigrants adjusting to life in America in the 1940s. Pachuco Boogie is a style that evokes sharp-dressed zoot suited men and elegantly dressed women out for a night on the town. This Arhoolie CD is more than a period piece: it's a document that reflects the impact of artists like Cab Calloway and Dizzy Gillespie on Mexican American youth, particularly on the title cut and on "Guisa Gacha," or "Stuck Up Girl." There's swing aplenty on Pachuco Boogie, and the entire disk shows a side of American life that's largely been kept from the mainstream dominant culture. As I listened to Stockton, California-born guitarist Jorge Cordoba play "Frijol Boogie," I knew that my musical education was somewhat incomplete for not exploring Mexican-American swing. Although my Spanish is rudimentary at best, I enjoyed Arhoolie's presentation of Pachuco Boogie; despite the language barrier between Don Tosti's crew and me, these cats could boogie.
Track List:
Pachuco Boogie by: Cuarteto Don Ramon Sr. (Don Tosti's Pachuco Boogie Boys) * * Guisa Gacha (Mambo) by: Cuarteto Don Ramon Sr. (Don Tosti's Pachuco Boogie Boys) * Wine-O-Boogie by: Don Ramon Sr. y su orquesta (Don Tosti's Pachuco Boogie Boys) * El Tirili by: Don Ramon Sr. y su orquesta (Don Tosti's Pachuco Boogie Boys) * Pachuco Mambo (Mambo) by: Los Chucos * Los Pachucos (Canción) by: Las Hermanas Mendoza * El Bracero Y La Pachuca (Corrido) by: Dueto Taxco con Mariachi Caporales Del Norte * Solido Joaquin (Guaracha) by: Dacita & Her Orquesta * Frijole Boogie by: Jorge Córdoba * Muy Sabroso Blues by: Lalo Guerrero Y Sus Cinco Lobos * Los Chucos Suaves by: Lalo Guerrero Y Sus Cinco Lobos * Chicas Patas Boogie by: Lalo Guerrero Y Su Orquesta * Buena Vista Swing by: Conjunto Alamo * El Pachuco Alegre (Boogie) by: Los Hermanos Yañez y Pedro Ayala * Las Pachuquitas (instrumental) by: Conjunto San Antonio Alegre * Mi Dolorcito (Boogie) by: Conjunto San Antonio Alegre * Guisa Guaina by: Don Tosti Y Su Trío * Pachuco Boogie - (2nd recording) (2nd recording) by: Orquesta Don Ramon (actually Don Tosti's Pachuco Boogie Boys) * Los Blues by: Don Tosti y su Trío * Mambo Del Pachuco by: Don Tosti y su conjunto * Chicano Boogie by: Cuarteto De Ramon Martínez (Don Tosti's Quartet)
© 2002 - Eric Steiner