La Gloria De Tex

at various times in a career that's spanned six decades, she's been known as la alondra de la frontera (the lark of the border) and la cancionera de los pobres (the poor people's songstress), but one night in houston, in the mid-70s, an mc, divinely inspired, introduced her as the glory of texas, the title by which lydia mendoza will now always be remembered. born in houston in 1916, she is, beyond argument, the greatest singer and most popular and enduring star texas has ever produced. since her first session as a 12-year old in 1928, cutting a 78 with her parents and a sister as cuarteto carta blanca, mendoza has recorded well over 1000 songs in a dazzling range of styles, accompanied by her guitar, orquestas, mariachis and conjuntos, making it well-nigh impossible to compile a single representative album, but this one has a particular charm and purity. recorded in 1979 at her daughter's home in san antonio on chris strachwitz's classy field recording rig, mendoza, warmed up from an afternoon concert, accompanies herself on 12-string guitar, and sounds like she's in your own sitting room. the feeling and emotion mendoza can convey in song, are so intense that ignorance of spanish is simply not a problem, her power and passion transcend language.