Lydia Mendoza(1916-2007)
- Soundtrack
Born to a musical family in Houston, Texas, in 1916, Lydia Mendoza
launched her own career in music by 1934, after having performed
musically in her lower-class immigrant family's band since 1928. Though
only 18 years old, Lydia's mesmerizing voice and distinctive guitar
playing made her a hit. She became best known during the 1930s and 40s,
with hits like "Mal hombre" and "Pero hay que triste". She said that
she was never cheated by a record company because her father handled
all of those details and made sure she wasn't swindled. She has
received the National Heritige Award, the National Medal of the Arts
and, during her 60-year career, recorded some 50 LPs and over 200 songs
for many different labels around the country. Her touring has taken her
all over the USA and Mexico, and as far away as Columbia. In her later
years, a stroke cost her both her singing voice and her ability to play
her guitar. Until her death in 2007, she lived in a modest bungalow in
Houston Heights, Houston, Texas.