El Chicano

Comparisons to Santana have long attached themselves to El Chicano, and clear parallels exist between the two. Each originated in California, each features Mexican-American leadership, each issued recordings in English along with Spanish, and each pursued an unpredictable fusion that drew from rock, soul, funk, jazz, blues, and Afro-Cuban salsa. El Chicano, whose Spanish name translates as “the Chicano” or “the Mexican-American,” absorbed substantial influence from Carlos Santana’s ensemble, yet the group cultivated its own identity and drew from additional sources. Chicano soul acts such as Cannibal & the Headhunters and Thee Midniters left their mark, as did Latin soul-jazz stylist Pucho and salsa figures Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, and Mongo Santamaria. The musicians absorbed the Mexican-American experience while remaining attuned to developments among Cuban and Puerto Rican artists on the East Coast and throughout the Caribbean.

Formed in East Los Angeles, a predominantly Mexican-American district, during the late ’60s, the group began under the name the V.I.P.’s. Its founding lineup comprised co-founder and leader Bobby Espinosa on organ, electric keyboards, acoustic piano, and vocals, Freddie Sanchez on bass and vocals, Mickey Lespron on lead guitar and vocals, Andre Baeza on congas, and John De Luna on drums. Numerous personnel shifts followed; musicians who entered during the ’70s included Ersi Arvizu on lead vocals, Hector “Rudy” Regalado on timbales and vocals, Max Garduno on congas, Danny Lamonte on drums, Brian Magness on bass, Joe Perreira on bass, Jerry Salas on lead vocals and guitar, Rudy Salas on guitar, and Steve Salas on lead vocals, among others. The Salas brothers later joined another East L.A. outfit, Tierra—an El Chicano spinoff best known for its hit 1980 cover of the Intruders’ Philadelphia soul ballad “Together.”

After generating local excitement in East L.A. during the late ’60s, El Chicano signed with MCA in 1970 and released its debut album, Viva Tirado. The instrumental title track, composed by jazz pianist Gerald Wilson, appeared as a single and became the band’s largest success, climbing to number 28 on Billboard’s pop singles chart and number 20 on its R&B singles chart. In regional Los Angeles listings, “Viva Tirado” held the top position for roughly twelve weeks. Inspired by Mexican bullfighter Jose Ramon Tirado, the recording stood out; jazz instrumentals of any stripe—straight-ahead, fusion, soul-jazz, or otherwise—rarely ascended so high on national Billboard charts during the ’60s and ’70s, making such pop or R&B breakthroughs exceptions rather than norms. Although the single did not elevate El Chicano to national superstardom on the level of Santana, the band secured a devoted cult audience, particularly within Mexican-American communities across the southwestern United States.

Following the Viva Tirado LP, the group continued with MCA on several subsequent releases: 1971’s Revolucion, 1972’s Celebration, 1973’s El Chicano, 1974’s Cinco, 1975’s The Best of Everything, and 1976’s Pyramid of Love & Friends. Its second-largest hit arrived in 1973 when MCA issued the brown-eyed soul classic “Tell Her She’s Lovely” as a single. The track, which showcases Jerry Salas on lead vocals, reached only number 40 on Billboard’s pop singles chart and number 98 on the magazine’s R&B singles chart nationally, yet it resonated powerfully in Mexican-American neighborhoods, especially among Chicano Baby Boomers, attaining popularity comparable to War’s major ’70s recordings.

The MCA contract concluded in 1976, the same year the band issued its first post-MCA album, This Is...El Chicano, on the independent Shady Brooke label, where the L.A. residents exercised greater creative control than during their prior six years with the major. Look of Love followed on Musidisc in 1977; in the early ’80s, El Chicano recorded briefly for Columbia, which released the romantic blue-eyed soul number “Do You Want Me” as a single in 1983. Though it failed to register as a national chart success, the song achieved modest regional traction, chiefly in Mexican-American markets. Recording activity remained limited through the ’80s and ’90s until the band returned to the studio for 1998’s Painting the Moment on Thump, an album that welcomed back original lead guitarist Mickey Lespron after an absence dating to the ’70s. Rudy Salas, who had played guitar with El Chicano prior to co-founding Tierra, died on December 29, 2020 at the age of 72.