Selena Gomez Starring as Linda Ronstadt in Biopic Based on the Singer’s “Simple Dreams” Memoir

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Selena Gomez is heading to the Blue Bayou…

The 31-year-old Mexican American actress/singer will portray Linda Ronstadt in an upcoming biopic based on the superstar singer’s 2013 memoir Simple Dreams.

Gomez, who stars in and executive produces Hulu’s The Only Murders In The Building, gave credence to the months-old internet rumors about the project by posting a photo of the memoir as an Instagram Story. Rolling Stone later confirmed the casting.

In pre-production, the film is being co-produced by James Keach and Ronstadt’s longtime manager John Boylan.

Additional casting and release date have not been announced.

An unconfirmed report of Gomez’s involvement in the biopic surfaced last July, but the IG Story today moved the possibility into the definite.

Keach directed the 2020 film Linda and the Mockingbirds, a documentary chronicling a road trip undertaken by Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and a group of younger musicians to the Mexican town of Banámichi in the state of Sonora, the birthplace of Ronstadt’s grandfather.

Like Gomez, who has had a successful music and acting career, Ronstadt is of Mexican descent. Ronstadt wrote at length about her heritage in the 2013 memoir. The singer returned to the subject in the 2022 book Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands.

Despite her 2012 retirement following a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease – the diagnosis was revised seven years later to progressive supranuclear palsy, a degenerative disease similar to Parkinson’s that has left Ronstadt unable to sing – Ronstadt and her music have returned to the spotlight in recent months. Last year her 1970 recording of “Long Long Time” was featured prominently in an episode of The Last of Us, and trailers for Ryan Murphy’s upcoming FX series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans make heavy use of Ronstadt’s smash 1974 hit “You’re No Good.”

The 2019 documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, offered an in-depth retrospective of her life and career, featuring on-screen appearances by and interviews with Ronstadt and her many musical friends and colleagues, including Browne, Ry Cooder, Emmylou Harris, Don Henley, Kevin Kline, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt and J.D. Souther.

If even a fraction of the many rockers and celebrities who’ve crossed paths with Ronstadt over the years make it into the biopic as characters, Hollywood will be very busy in coming months with actors vying for plum roles.

Natalia Lafourcade Receives International Folk Music Awards Nomination for Album of the Year

Posted on April 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Natalia Lafourcade latest homage to Mexico is earning a special honor…

The 38-year-old Mexican pop-rock and folk singer/songwriter, a two-time Grammy winner and 13-time Latin Grammy winner, is among the honorees at this year’s International Folk Music Awards.

Lafourcade is nominated for Album of the Year for her latest project, Un Canto por México, Vol. 2, which earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano).

Lafourcade’s first installment, Un Canto por México, Vol. 1, won the Grammy for Best Regional Mexican Music Album (including Tejano) and Latin Grammy for Album of the Year in 2021.

The recipients of the Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards, which are presented each year to honor the cultural impact of legendary folk music figures (in the categories of living, legacy, and business/academic) were also announced.

Accordionist Flaco Jiménez is honored in the living category.

The 83-year-old Mexican American accordionist, known for playing Norteño, Tex Mex, and Tejano music, has been a solo performer and session musician as well as a member of the Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven.

Throughout the course of his seven decade career, he has received numerous awards and honors, including Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Grammys, Americana Music Awards, Tejano Music Awards, and Billboard magazine.

He is featured in the film This Ain’t No Mouse Music, and Hohner has even released a Flaco Jiménez Signature series line of accordions. He has worked with Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, The Rolling Stones, and recorded on the number one Billboard Country song “Streets of Bakersfield” by Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens.

Meanwhile, Eugene Rodriguez will receive the Spirit of Folk award.

The acclaimed Mexican-American musician, educator and documentary producer founded Los Cenzontles, both as a band and as a non-profit music academy and community space for Latinx artists, youth, and families in the San Francisco Bay area.

He has produced over 30 recordings of Mexican roots music and cross-cultural projects and was nominated for a Grammy for the bilingual recording “Papa’s Dream”. He has produced three documentaries for the Cultures of Mexico in California series and conceived of the film project Linda and The Mockingbirds. He serves as a board member of the Arhoolie Foundation and has received numerous awards for his cultural and community service.

Amado Espinoza will also receive the Spirit of Folk award.

The Bolivian multi-instrumentalist, composer and instrument maker has called Kansas City home since 2014. Amado specializes in the Charango and Andean flutes, performs with multiple ensembles, and is the co-founder of Resonation Music and Arts, using educational programming to inspire curiosity and respect for world cultures through music, dance, and storytelling.

He’s a Charlotte Street Foundation Performing Arts Fellow, Lighton International Artist Exchange recipient, TedxKC presenter, and Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Student Theatre Department at UMKC.

The awards, produced by the Folk Alliance International, will be held during the opening evening of the Folk Alliance International’s annual conference on May 18 in Kansas City, Mo., and will also broadcast online.

Here’s the list of nominations:

Album of the Year:
They’re Calling Me Home (with Francesco Turrisi) by Rhiannon Giddens
Wary + Strange by Amythyst Kiah
Un Canto por México, Vol. 2 by Natalia Lafourcade
Outside Child by Allison Russell
The Fray by John Smith

Song of the Year:
“On Solid Ground” by Reggie Harris
“Painted Blue” by Sarah Jarosz
“We Believe You” by Diana Jones
“Call Me A Fool” by Valerie June
“Changemakers” by Crys Matthews

Artist of the Year:
The Longest Johns
Kalani Pe’a
Allison Russell
Arooj Aftab
John Francis Flynn

Flaco Jiménez’s “Partners” Album Among This Year’s National Recording Registry Selections

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Flaco Jiménez is being added to the registry…

One of the 82-year-old Mexican American singer, songwriter and accordionist’s most popular albums Partners, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1992, is one of this year’s National Recording Registry selections.

Jiménez, a Tejano music legend, appears on the new list of classic recordings joining the registry that Janet Jackson‘s 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814, Kool & the Gang‘s buoyant single “Celebration“; Nas‘ game-changing debut album Illmatic and timeless children’s titles Free To Be… You And Me and “The Rainbow Connection.”

“Partners” by Jiménez, a champion of traditional conjunto music and Tex-Mex culture who is also known for innovation and collaboration with a variety of artists. This bilingual album features collaborations with Linda Ronstadt, Ry Cooder, Emmylou Harris and Los Lobos, among others.

The addition of 25 recordings this year brings to 575 the total number of titles in the registry, which selects recordings worthy of preservation based on their cultural, historical and/or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.

Nearly 900 titles were submitted for recognition this year.

“The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement.

Here’s the complete list, in chronological order:
1. Edison’s “St. Louis tinfoil” recording (1878)
2. “Nikolina” — Hjalmar Peterson (1917 single)
3. “Smyrneikos Balos” — Marika Papagika (1928) (single)
4. “When the Saints Go Marching In” — Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra (1938) (single)
5. Christmas Eve Broadcast – Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill (December 24, 1941)
6. “The Guiding Light” — November 22, 1945
7. Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues — Odetta (1957) (album)
8. “Lord, Keep Me Day by Day” — Albertina Walker and the Caravans (1959) (single)
9. Roger Maris hits his 61st homerun (October 1, 1961)
10. Aida — Leontyne Price, et.al. (1962) (album)
11. “Once a Day” — Connie Smith (1964) (single)
12. Born Under a Bad Sign — Albert King (1967) (album)
13. Free to Be…You & Me — Marlo Thomas and Friends (1972) (album)
14. The Harder They Come — Jimmy Cliff (1972) (album)
15. “Lady Marmalade” — LaBelle (1974) (single)
16. Late for the Sky — Jackson Browne (1974) (album)
17. Bright Size Life — Pat Metheny (1976) (album)
18. “The Rainbow Connection” — Kermit the Frog (1979) (single)
19. “Celebration” — Kool & the Gang (1980) (single)
20. Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs — Jessye Norman (1983) (album)
21. Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 — Janet Jackson (1989) (album)
22. Partners — Flaco Jiménez (1992) (album)
23. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”/”What A Wonderful World” — Israel
Kamakawiwo’ole (1993) (single)
24. Illmatic — Nas (1994) (album)
25. “This American Life: The Giant Pool of Money” (May 9, 2008)

Library of Congress Adds “Buena Vista Social Club” Documentary to National Film Registry

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

The story of the Buena Vista Social Club’s effort to revive the music of pre-revolutionary Cuba is being celebrated.

The Library of Congress has unveiled its annual list of 25 movies to make the cut for the National Film Registry, with the documentary named after the ensemble of Cuban musicians, Buena Vista Social Club, making the cut.

The Buena Vista Social Club project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the group after the homonymous members’ club in the Buenavista quarter of Havana, a popular music venue in the 1940s. To showcase the popular styles of the time, such as son, bolero and danzón, they recruited a dozen veteran musicians, many of whom had been retired for many years.

Wim Wenders captured the performance on film for a documentary that included interviews with the musicians conducted in Havana. The film was released in June 1999 to critical acclaim, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary feature and winning numerous accolades including Best Documentary at the European Film Awards.

Lourdes Portillo’s The Devil Never Sleeps is part of a record number of films directed by women that make the list this year.

The 76-year-old Mexican film director’s mystery/documentary centers on Oscar, who is found dead from a gunshot wound. His wife believes he committed suicide. But his nephew, Portillo, suspects that it was murder and investigates the death with no help from the authorities.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said, “With the inclusion of diverse filmmakers, we are not trying to set records but rather to set the record straight by spotlighting the astonishing contributions women and people of color have made to American cinema, despite facing often-overwhelming hurdles.”

This year’s list brings the number of films selected for preservation in the registry to 800.

Turner Classic Movies will host a television special from 8:00 pm ET on December. 15 to screen a selection of motion pictures named to the registry. Among the films to air are The Battle of the Century, Lilies of the Field, Illusions, The Joy Luck Club, Cabin in the Sky and The Man with the Golden Arm.

Here’s the full rundown of this year’s additions:

The Battle Of The Century (1927)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Bread (1918)
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
Cabin In The Sky (1943)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Dark Knight (2008)
The Devil Never Sleeps (1994)
Freedom Riders (2010)
Grease (1978)
The Ground (1993-2001)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Illusions (1982)
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Kid Auto Races At Venice (1914)
Lilies Of The Field (1963)
Losing Ground (1982)
The Man With the Golden Arm (1955)
Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)
Outrage (1950)
Shrek (2001)
Suspense (1913)
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)
Wattstax (1973)
With Car And Camera Around The World (1929)

Jimenez Inducted Into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Flaco Jimenez’s name will appear in the Austin City Limits history books…

The 76-year-old Mexican American Conjunto, Norteño and Tejano music accordionist and a member of the Tejano fusion group Texas Tornados, who received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year, has been inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.

During the 2nd annual Austin City Limits Hall of Fame concert on Thursday, Jimenez was inducted with a class that included Loretta Lynn, Guy Clark, Asleep at the Wheel and the late Townes Van Zandt.

Jimenez’s short but sweet acceptance speech prefaced an upbeat six-song set earlier in the night with conjunto band Max Baca & Los TexManiacs featuring David Hidalgo of Los Lobos on guitar and vocals. Midway through, Dwight Yoakam came aboard to sing lead, with Jimenez’s colorful accordion accents propelling the extended cast on “Streets of Bakersfield” and Warren Zevon’s “Carmelita.”

The green room was jam-packed just moments earlier with friends, family and fellow musicians who just wanted to be close to Jimenez, who received the loudest reception of the night. He beamed recounting how Yoakam had mentioned his military service as an Army artilleryman during the Korean War.

“I was proud to serve my country,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez, a five-time Grammy winner, has enjoyed a successful career that has spanned more than six decades. In that time, he’s collaborated with artists like Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, Doug Sahm and Carlos Santana.

Corea Leads the Pack of Latino Winners at the 2015 Grammy Awards

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Chick Corea has added new trophies to his extensive Grammy collection…

The 73-year-old part-Spanish jazz and fusion musician earned two awards at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, raising his total Grammy count to 22.

Corea, who came into the night at the most-nominated Latino artist of the year, won in both of the categories in which he was nominated.

He picked up the award in the Improvised Jazz Solo category for “Fingerprints.” He won for Jazz Instrumental Album for the Chick Corea Trio’s critically acclaimed Trilogy.

But Corea wasn’t the only Latino/a to come away with a coveted gramophone.

Kirstie Maldonado picked up her first-ever Grammy.

The half-Mexican American/part-Spanish artist and her fellow Pentatonix group mates – winners of NBC’s The Sing-Off in 2011 – won in the Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella category for their acclaimed  ”Daft Punk” medley.

Christina Aguilera, the Best New Artist winner at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2000, picked up the fifth Grammy of her career. The 34-year-old half-Ecuadorian American singer won in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
for her collaboration with A Great Big World on the single “Say Something.”

Other winners include Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Ruben Blades, Calle 13, Vicente Fernandez and Carlos Vives.

Meanwhile, Flaco Jiménez was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The 73-year-old accordionist who brought Tex-Mex flavor to the music of Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Ry Cooder and others gained mainstream popularity as a member of the crossover bands The Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven. He’s a five-time Grammy Award winner. Distinguished accordion manufacturer Hohnor created the Corona II Flaco Jimenez Signature Model in his honor. He’s the only Latin artist to receive the career Grammy tribute this year.

Here’s a complete look at all the night’s Latino winners:

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
A Great Big World with Christina Aguilera, “Say Something”

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
Pentatonix – “Daft Punk”

Best Improved Jazz Solo
Chick Corea – “Fingerprints”

Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Chick Corea Trio – Trilogy

Best Latin Jazz Album
Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra – The Offense Of The Drum

Best Latin Pop Album
Ruben Blades, Tangos

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
Vicente Fernández, Mano A Mano – Tangos A La Manera De Vicente Fernández

Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album
Calle 13, Multiviral

Best Tropical Latin Album
Carlos Vives, Más + Corazón Profundo

Jiménez to Receive Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Flaco Jiménez has earned his place in Grammy history…

The 75-year-old Mexican American musician, a five-time Grammy-winning accordionist, will receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy.

Jiménez, a member of the Texas Tornados and accordionist, has enjoyed a successful career that has spanned more than six decades. In that time, he’s collaborated with artists like Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, Doug Sahm and Carlos Santana.

Jiménez has maintained a huge influence in the Tex-Mex genre by continuing to record and tour, as he upholds his status as the definitive Tex-Mex accordionist.

Other honorees include Beatles legend George Harrison, the Bee Gees, Buddy Guy, the Louvin Brothers, hard bop saxophonist Wayne Shorter and French composer Pierre Boulez.

The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards will be delivered on February 7 at an invitation-only ceremony.

A segment of the Grammys broadcast on February 8 will also be devoted to recipients of this award.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

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