She was born May 12, 1916, in Houston to Francisco and Leonor Mendoza. Her family came from northern Mexico, and she and several siblings grew up moving between Monterrey, Mexico, and south Texas.

Her mother played the guitar and sang Mexican songs, which made Mendoza wish for a guitar of her own. At 4, she made one out of a plank of wood, six nails and several rubber bands.

"It made a sound -- I was happy enough," Mendoza told the Houston Chronicle in 2001.

When her father became too ill to work as a railroad mechanic, she began performing with her parents and a sister on the streets and in restaurants of border towns.

In 1928, her father answered an ad in a San Antonio newspaper placed by a New York company looking to record Spanish-language musicians. Family members recorded their first record in a hotel room and were paid $140 for 20 songs.

--L.A. Times, December 30, 2007 (via Beautiful, Also, Are the Souls of My Black Sisters)

She and her family share part of their story in their own words in Lydia Mendoza: A Family Autobiography.

When we got back to San Antonio in 1932, the first thing we did was take part in some concursos, singing contests, that were going on at the Teatro Nacional. They were sort of like amateur music contests: mostly for children. The man who was in charge was a very good friend of Papa's. So Papa went over there when we got to town, and he told his friend, "Look, I've got this little group here, they're my children, could they possibly enter the contest?" "Sure, of course, lots of people are taking part in these contests," Papa's friend told him.

Mostly young boys sang or played in those contests. There was one girl, however; I remember because she was playing a twelve-string guitar. We entered the contest, and I wanted to do some of my songs by myself, to sing them alone. The guitar that we had was a six-string, and it sounded real bad -- it was a very old one. So, Papa asked that girl if she would lend me her twelve-string so I could sing a song. However, that girl didn't want to loan it to me, because she thought that she was going to win.

All of the groups came out singing in turn, and then I went out with my violin, and my sister Maria with the mandolin and my other sisters: Panchita, with our old six-string guitar. Manuel played the triangle and Juanita danced; she was only five years old. We won the first prize, which was a five dollar gold piece! That was the money we used to settle ourselves in San Antonio.

--"Lydia Mendoza, Queen of Tejano" from NPR: People and Places, October 15, 2004

Her career spanned five decades, during which she recorded with many Mexican-American producers and companies and dedicated her talent to her people.

Lydia though continued touring by herself and even expanded her tours into Mexico and as far away as Columbia. In 1971 Mexico, not the United States, chose Mendoza to represent them in the Smithsonian Festival of American Folk Life. She appeared at the Library of Congress in 1977 at the request of the American Folk Life center for the conference on "Ethnic Recordings in America." Furthermore she has been properly honored by many other appearances at the request of people who see her as a living legend and link to an American Heritage that many have forgotten.

When she is asked about the newer forms of Spanish Language Tex-Mex Mendoza seems less than excited. Her preference is for the older Conjunto with its emphasis on stringed instruments than on horns or the bane that is the inorganic sound of the synthesizer. She feels that people who go back and enjoy her and other folkloric music aren't having the same experience. "Oh, no it's not the same. This was music for the workers."

--Worship Guitars interview with Lydia Mendoza

The legacy Mendoza leaves is one that touches all of us, one that reminds us that by following your spirit and dedicating your heart to the people, your voice will be remembered through the ages. Such a contribution of corazon can never be erased from the fabric of what makes us whole and human.

Lydia Mendoza, ¡presente!

[posted by Sylvia/M; check here for more info about me]