Overview

A pioneer of Chicano rock, Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara performed with Frank Zappa, Johnny Otis, Bo Diddley, Tina Turner, and Celia Cruz, though he is best known as the front man of the 1970s experimental rock band Ruben And The Jets. Here he recounts how his youthful experiences in the barrio La Veinte of Santa Monica in the 1940s prepared him for early success in music and how his triumphs and seductive brushes with stardom were met with tragedy and crushing disappointments. Brutally honest and open, Confessions of a Radical Chicano Doo-Wop Singer is an often hilarious and self-critical look inside the struggle of becoming an artist and a man. Recognizing racial identity as composite, contested, and complex, Guevara—an American artist of Mexican descent—embraces a Chicano identity of his own design, calling himself a Chicano “culture sculptor” who has worked to transform the aspirations, alienations, and indignities of the Mexican American people into an aesthetic experience that could point the way to liberation.  

Full Product Details

Author:   Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara ,  Josh Kun ,  George Lipsitz
Publisher:   University of California Press
Imprint:   University of California Press
Volume:   51
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.635kg
ISBN:  

9780520297227

ISBN 10:   0520297229
Pages:   376
Publication Date:   13 April 2018
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi Introduction: The Fire and Flames of Funkahuatl, by Josh Kun and George Lipsitz 1 Prologue 16 La Veinte: A Santa Monica Barrio 17 Rubén Ladrón de Guevara Sr., 1914–2006 21 Superman in Ese Eme 26 Music and Movie Moments 32 Miss Las Vegas 36 La Gatita 38 Las Vegas and the Breakup of Our Family 43 Sue Dean 49 Miss Hollywood 52 Shindig! with Tina Turner and Bo Diddley 56 The Sunset Strip Riots and My Second Marriage 62 The Southern Belle 64 LACC and the New Revelations Gospel Choir 68 Miss Santa Barbara and the Summer of 1971 75 Frank Zappa and Ruben and the Jets, 1972–1974 80 Miss Pamela and the GTOs 85 Miss Claremont 87 Miss Chino 89 The Mutiny 91 The Movie Star and Miss Blue Eyes 94 Opening for Zappa at San Francisco’s Winterland 97 Con Safos: The Album 99 Pilgrimage to Mexico 105 La Gypsy 114 From “The Star Spangled Banner” to Punk 116 The Whisky and a New Band: Con Safos 120 Miss Aztlán 124 Gotcha! 126 Zyanya Records 128 Cristina, Día de Los Muertos, and Chicano Heaven 130 Born in East L.A.: The Movie 138 Caliente y Picante 147 Performance Art 152 To France with Aztlán, Babylon, Rhythm & Blues 154 Validation Crisis 170 Jammin’ with John Valadez 174 Arts 4 City Youth and Trying Again 180 UCLA 182 Journey to New Aztlán 187 The Enchantress 196 América Tropical 200 Miss Mongolia 203 Teaching Poetry 207 Inner City Lessons 212 Teaching at UCLA 217 The Neo-Chicano Tantrik Funk Monk 220 Lust to Art: Mexamérica and Performing at the Getty 223 The Eastside Revue: 1932–2002, A Musical Homage to Boyle Heights 228 L.A. Times Profile of Boyle Heights 231 Funkahuatl’s Absurd Chronicles 234 The Iraq War 236 Cross-cultural Friendships and Protests 238 Manzanar Pilgrimage 246 Yellow Pearl Remix 253 Saving the Toypurina Monument 257 Rock ’n’ Rights for the Mentally Disabled 260 Resistance and Respect: Los Angeles Muralism and Graff Art 262 Miss Bogotá and the X Festival Ibéroamericano del Teatro 264 Word Up! A Word, Performance, and Theater Summit 267 Meeting My Brothers from the Westbank First Nation, British Columbia 270 Epiphany at Joshua Tree 274 Miss Altar in the Sky 276 Rubén Guevara & The Eastside Luvers 289 The Tao of Funkahuatl 292 Release of the Tao of Funkahuatl CD in L.A. and Japan 294 MEX/LA 296 Rockin’ the House of Dues and Grand Performances 299 Fifty Years in Show Biz 303 Miss Beijing 306 Miss Monterey Park 309 End of the Ten-Year Sex Drought 313 Seventy and Still Running 315 Platonic Homegirls 317 Joseph Trotter 318 A Boyle Heights Cultural Treasure 320 Boyle Heights Por Vida 322 ¡Angelin@s Presente! 325 Sara Casillas-Gutiérrez Guevara, 1923–2015 327 Staged Confessions 329 The Fall 332 Take Me Higher, Mi Reina 334

Reviews

...a fresh and intriguing, heartfelt and insightful cruise through the main thoroughfares, side streets, and alleyways of Chicano rock 'n' roll, performance art, and Los Angeles cultures, past, present, and beyond, seamlessly written by this first-time author. * Los Angeles Review of Books *

"""...a fresh and intriguing, heartfelt and insightful cruise through the main thoroughfares, side streets, and alleyways of Chicano rock ’n’ roll, performance art, and Los Angeles cultures, past, present, and beyond, seamlessly written by this first-time author."" * Los Angeles Review of Books *"

""...a fresh and intriguing, heartfelt and insightful cruise through the main thoroughfares, side streets, and alleyways of Chicano rock ’n’ roll, performance art, and Los Angeles cultures, past, present, and beyond, seamlessly written by this first-time author."" * Los Angeles Review of Books *

.. .a fresh and intriguing, heartfelt and insightful cruise through the main thoroughfares, side streets, and alleyways of Chicano rock 'n' roll, performance art, and Los Angeles cultures, past, present, and beyond, seamlessly written by this first-time author. -- (10/05/2018)

Author Information

Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara is a native Angelino Chicano musician, singer, and songwriter with Ruben And The Jets (cofounded with Frank Zappa), Con Safos, and the Eastside Luvers; a record producer of Chicano rock and rock en español compilations; and a performance artist, poet, short story writer, historian, journalist, and activist.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions