Carmencristina Moreno is one of the best Mexican-American
female vocalists of all time. Her voice and singing
ability rivals singers the caliber of Joan Baez and Linda
Ronstadt. She’s also a fine songwriter and accompanies
herself brilliantly on acoustic guitar. She has achieved
many things in her career, but like most Chicano musical artists,
has not received the commercial success and mainstream attention
she deserves.
Carmencristina comes from a rich
musical heritage. Her parents, Luis M. and Carmen A.
Moreno, known as El Dueto de Los Moreno, enjoyed a long and
successful career. Her Mexican-born father was a singer-songwriter,
who wrote many rancheras that became standards, and her mother
was blessed with a beautiful voice. They toured extensively
in the Southwest, recorded with the great mariachi, Mariachi
Vargas de Tecatitlán, and performed with the legendary Mexican ranchera singer, Lucha Reyes. El Dueto de Los Moreno
recorded for several major labels and were radio stars.
Carmencristina was born in East Los
Angeles and grew up in Fresno, California and Jalisco, Mexico,
becoming linguistically and musically bilingual. She
was influenced by the various Mexican/Latin musical styles,
i.e., ranchera, salsa, Tejano, and Veracruz, as well as by
the music of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell.
She has recorded for Epic, Capitol, and Boardwalk Records,
both in English and Spanish. In 1976, she was the first
Mexican-American to represent the United States in the prestigious OTI
Festival in Acapulco, where she performed her composition,
“Sangre Antigua.” She later recorded the
song and another of her songs, “El Corrido de Dolores
Huerta” on a United Farm Worker’s Union fund-raising
album, “Si Se Puede,” accompanied by
Los Lobos.
Ms. Moreno’s acting credits
are many, including roles in films, such as “Hickey
& Boggs,” with Robert Culp and Bill Cosby, “Master
Gunfighter,” with Tom Laughlin, and “Deal of the
Century,” with Chevy Chase. She’s done dramatic
television shows, such as, “Knots Landing,” and
“Baby Boom,” (with Kate Jackson), as well as variety
shows, such as the Joey Bishop Show and the
Virginia Graham Show. She participated
in Moctezuma Esparza’s docu-show, “Celebration,”
hosted by Ricardo Montalban for ABC-TV, and starred in her
own half-hour one-woman show for PBS’s “Ahora”
series. Carmencristina also wrote the soundtrack for Sylvia
Morales’ docu-film “Bread and Roses.”
In 1992, Carmencristina participated
in a star-studded tribute to my dad, Lalo Guerrero, at the
McCallum Theater in Palm Desert, California. Sharing
the bill with yours truly, Daniel Valdez, Cheech Marin, Paul
Rodriguez, Don Tosti, Little Joe, and Culture Clash. She proceeded
to bring down the house with a passionate version
of my dad’s “Cancion Mexicana,” accompanied
by Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez. She did
the same thing a couple of years later at UCLA, backed by
Los Camperos de Nati Cano, at a show entitled, “Cancion
Mexicana: The Music of Lalo Guerrero.” In 1993, she participated in the Smithsonian
Institution’s “Festival of American Folklife,”
(themed “Borderlands”) in Washington D.C.
Later, she did six follow-up workshops held in several border
cities.
My family and Carmencristina’s
go way back. It was her father who showed my dad’s
song, “Cancion Mexicana” to Lucha Reyes, who later
recorded it and the rest is history. I first met Carmencristina
around 1970 under completely separate circumstances.
I was recording with a record producer, Tommy
Coe, who was friends with J.R. Shanklin, also a record producer.
J.R. had met Carmencristina when he saw her perform at the
Smokehouse Restaurant in Burbank. He recognized her
talent and apparently more because they eventually married
and had a son together. So at the time, we were working
and hanging out with the same crowd. I had no idea when
we first met that our parents had known each other, but was
very impressed with her great voice and talent. In the
mid-80s, my dad and I went to Bakersfield to attend a
birthday celebration for Cesar Chavez at the convention center
and Carmencristina was performing. My dad, who was very
impressed, invited her to sub for him at his gig in Rancho
Mirage, California. She took the job and wound up moving
to nearby Palm Springs, where she lived for many years.
When I moved to the same city in 1990, I got to see more of
her and know her better. She’s a strong woman
who has endured the trials and tribulations of the music industry,
and life in general, with her dignity and sense of humor in
tact. Several years ago, after raising her three sons,
she returned to live in Fresno, where she remains musically
very active.
Currently Carmencristina Moreno has
a CD out, which she produced herself, “Train
from Tenochtitlán.” It contains 12 of her
compositions, all in English, but in a musical framework that
is very Mexican. Two of my favorite songs on the album
are “Vaquero,” a tribute to the cowboy of the
Americas, and “Lady Tex Mex,” which is done with
a bajo sexto and accordion, giving it the authentic conjunto
sound. There’s also a song called “Lorena,”
which deals with the Lorena Bobbit incident. It doesn’t
condone “the act,” but tells the story from the
point of view of the physical and cultural abuse she suffered.
Another standout track is “Dollar a Song,” which
tells the story of when Carmencristina would sing with her
parents in country bars for a dollar a song. The album
is well-recorded with excellent musicians and her voice
is as great as ever.
Update
Two songs written by Carmencristina Moreno are being used
in the theatrical production "Cesar and Ruben,"
written by Ed Begley Jr. and starring Edward James Olmos.
It's a play about Farm Worker organizer, Cesar Chavez, and
slain journalist, Ruben Salazar. The play, which opened
March 14, 2003 in Los Angeles, also features music by Joni
Mitchell, David Crosby, Santana, Ruben Blades, Peter Gabriel,
Enrique Iglesias, Control Machete, and Los Pinguos.
In September of 2003, Carmencristina Moreno received the nation's
highest folk-arts honor, the National Endowment for the Arts
National Heritage Fellowship. She received the award,
which includes a $20,000 prize, at a ceremony in Washington,
D.C., and performed in a separate concert that in the past
has been attended by U.S. presidents. My dad, Lalo Guerrero,
won the same award in 1991. This is an honor Carmencristina
richly deserves.
Carmencristina Moreno has a great new CD out called "Lovers
& Legends," which she describes as "ballads
of heroes, bandits, causes, and lovers." Her voice
is as great as ever and her songwriting continues to evolve
to new heights. Some of the highlights of the album
are "The Battle of Cinco de Mayo," which chronicles
the history of the legendary event in Mexican history, "You'll
Always Have Sabor a Mi," an English language version
of the classic Mexican bolero, a sexy, bluesy song called
"Working Man's Woman," the beautiful and jazzy "Ellen's
Song," a cover of Jack Hanna's "Ballad of Joaquin
Murrieta," and a beautiful Spanish/English version of
"America O' Bella/America the Beautiful."
On January 11, 2013, Carmencristina Moreno and I finally got the
opportunity to perform together. The venue was a cultural
center called Arte Americas in Fresno, California, where I
presented a program in tribute to my father, the late Lalo
Guerrero. My program consisted of a video and slide show
on the life and career of my dad, followed by solo sets of Lalo
Guerrero songs performed by Carmencristina and me.
For a finale, Carmencristina and I performed three Lalo songs
together; "La Minifalda de Reynalda," "Nunca Jamas," and "El
Chicano."
Hear Mark's interview with Carmencristina Moreno
on his "Chicano Music Chronicles" podcast
by clicking the play button on the photo link below
Carmencristina Moreno Recordings Featured
1. Vaquero 2.
Have I Told You Lately 3. Morenito Consentida 4.
Guadalajara 5. El Sangre Antigua 6. El Corrido
de Dolores Huerta
7. Dollar a Song 8. I Need a Man (Amazon's
Lament) 9. Lorena 10. What Excuse 11.
The Battle of Cinco de Mayo 12. The Ballad of Joaquin
Murrieta 13. Con Mexico En Mi Corazon 14.
America O Bello
