Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Hecho en Tejas Part II

Something really cool happened Saturday. My 83 year old dad came by and I shared the book with him. He loved it! The coolest part was that he knew the music to the song, "El Contrabando del Paso" and he sang it to me. He said he remembered being a little boy in 1930 and listening to his two older brothers (that were twins and bootleggers) sing that song in harmony.

After singing the song he reminisced about the Texas Rangers, injustice towards Mexican-Americans during that time, and picking cotton in East Texas with the prejudice. I marveled that I had history sitting in my kitchen as I heard him sing and then tell his stories.

He liked the books so much he took it home to read more. I've been wanting to interview him on camera to record him telling his stories. I want for my kids to remember him and I don't want for them to miss out on the great stories he can tell. He is one of the last oral storytellers of his generation.

1 comment:

~^^~L*C~^^~ said...

That is an excellent idea about recording your dad. A communications group did a project on this @ UHV. It was a very awesome experience, because I could see so much history in the video and connect with the stories. This part of our culture definitely needs to be preserved!