Profile of Chicano musician Esteban Jordan
Esteban Jordan discusses his career as a Chicano musician, his experiences in the recording industry and the origins of his unique sound. Jordan talks about the creative constraints he has experienced in the recording industry, where producers have been unwilling to take chances on innovative sounds and instead have pressured him to keep playing polkas. He then describes how he started playing the guitar when he was seven and working in the fields with his family. He later picked up the accordion and dropped out of school at age ten to form his own band. His early experiences with migrant life has inspired his music and his commitment to the Chicano community and to farm workers. He then discusses his participation in the farm workers’ march from San Juan, Texas to Washington D.C. Jordan believes his music is not political. He explains that he sings about the realities facing the community and what is happening so as to inform people and encourage them to organize themselves. Jordan describes his music as eclectic: he uses different techniques and styles to re-interpret traditional music. He then talks a little bit about his band and how it has changed over the years. Jordan’s eldest son is also a musician and he plays with his father. Host Linda Fregoso interviews him briefly about his father’s music and plans for the future. Jordan concludes that his music tries to blend American and Chicano sounds.
KEYWORDS
AccordionBolero
Cantinas
Chicano Markets
Chicano Music
Children
Conjunto
Corridos
Country Music
Disco
Esteban Jordan
Esteban Jordan Jr.
Farm Workers
Harlingen, Texas
Huapanga
Jazz
Migrant children
Migrant Labor
Migrant Life
Music
Narciso Rodriguez
Polka
Popular Culture
Por Una Mujer Casada
Radio
Ranchera Music
Recording industry
Salsa
San Juan, Texas
Tejano Music
Texas Farm Workers Union
Tony Jordan
Valerio Longoria
Washington, D.C.
Working Class
Youth Culture