Juan Bautista Rael Collection
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Juan Bautista Rael Collection
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In the summer of 1940, when based at Stanford University, the scholar and linguist Juan Bautista Rael embarked on a project to document Hispano culture and music in the Northern Rio Grande region. In particular, he sought to carry out fieldwork with communities in the San Luis Valley (Southern Colorado) and Taos Valley (Northern New Mexico) -- where he had grown up in the town of Arroyo Hondo.
To truly capture the tonada del país, or the 'tune of the region,' he recorded alabados (religious hymns), songs from folk dramas and weddings, and dance tunes in Alamosa, Manassa, and Antonito, Colorado, as well as in Cerro and Arroyo Hondo, across the border in New Mexico.
In total, he made 146 audio recordings on thirty-six acetate discs, adding up to roughly eight hours of wide-ranging music. "Tonada del país" was a phrase Rael had come across in reading earlier, written compilations of Hispano hymns, possibly denoting that they enjoyed "great popularity among the people and were perhaps gathered from them."
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Library of Congress
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1940
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English
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Spanish
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