La onda chicana

A film by Efraín Gutiérrez

USA, Documentary, 1976
17 min, 16mm, Color
Spanglish

Director Efraín Gutiérrez in attendance

Documenting La Revolucion Chicana, the film records a portion of an open-air concert in Port Lavaca, Texas, on July 4, 1976. The concert, which showcased Spanish-language rock and popular Tejano music, featured Little Joe y la Familia, Chacha Jimenez y Los Chachos, Snowball & Company, La Fabrica, Esteban Jordan, and other pioneers of Tex-Mex sound. Gutiérrez was one of the first to coin the term “Tejano” and define this music, but decided to make a statement through his insistent use of the word “Chicano.” This action linked the concert and music to the Chicano civil rights movement, which limited the film’s distribution at the time of its release.

Print Source: 35mm restored print courtesy of the UCLA Film and Television Archive