University of California, Santa Barbara
Davidson Library

Department of Special Collections

California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives

 

GARCIA, ADELINA COLLECTION,

1939-1978

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Collection Number:  CEMA 23.   Size Collection:  1 linear foot (one document box and one oversize box).   Acquisition Information:  Acquired in 1997.   Access restrictions: None.   Use Restriction: Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB.  All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections.  Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.    Processing Information: Salvador Güereña, Michelle Wilder, January 15,  2004.

Click here to listen to Adelina Garcia singing Un Gran Amor, a bolero performed with la orquesta de Rafael Mendez, recorded in Los Angeles Calif. on the Azteca record label.

Related Collections: Charles Rojo Collection (CEMA 91).   Location:  Del Norte (boxes), Performing Arts (sound recordings).

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BIOGRAPHY

 

Adelina García is considered to be the most renowned singer of the golden era of the Mexican romantic bolero. Aficionados of this genre of music are found far and wide throughout the United States, Mexico, and Latin America.  Originally from Cuidad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, Adelina García made her debut on radio station XEP in that city.  It did not take long for her singing talent to become known throughout the region and soon after she was offered a professional  contract. Her singing career was launched in earnest in 1937.  She sang live on radio stations throughout the U.S. that broadcast to the Latino community. Her blossoming singing career went from one hit song to another on record labels such as Columbia and RCA Victor. Among her most well-known songs recorded in the 1940’s were “Muchachita”, “Vereda Tropical” and “Desesperadamente.”  She made Los Angeles her permanent home in 1938. It was then, at the age of fifteen, that she landed her first recording contract on the Columbia label.   Following a successful tour of Brazil, her many live performances on Radio Station XEW in Mexico City gave her broad exposure in that country, and that helped to extend her fame throughout Latin America.  Adelina García collaborated with many composers and artists, one of whom was the popular Mexican composer Gonzalo Curiel.  Her tours took her to many Latin American countries. She also toured throughout the southwest U.S. and California. Her singing career continued until the late 1950’s.

SCOPE NOTE

 

The Adelina Garcia Collection represents a small gathering of biographical documents and a large selection of printed and published material about or including the singer.  The collection spans two boxes (one document box and one oversize box) occupying almost 1 linear foot of space.  The archival material includes photographs, playbills and programs, posters, magazines, sheet music and a few biographical documents.  Each of the six series are arranged alphabetically by folder title. An assortment of sound recordings were acquired over the years and while these were not originally part of the collection a listing of these have been added as Series VII as a convenience to the researcher. 

 

SERIES DESCRIPTION

 

 

Series I: Biographical, 1949-1952.  This series contains only 3 folders.  Of particular interest is the selection of newspaper clippings from Cuba, all of which are in Spanish, dating from 1949.

 

Series II: Photographs, 1941, 1944, n.d.  The photographs, mostly performances and publicity stills, are delineated by year, radio station or purpose (postcards) and are grouped in separate folders to preserve apparent distinctions within the photographs. 

 

Series III: Playbills and Programs, 1945, 1978, n.d.   This series contains a selection of playbills and programs from various geographic locations.

 

Series IV: Posters, 1940-1944.  Series IV is a small selection of performance posters. 

 

Series V: Publications, 1939-1956, n.d.   This series contains a variety of magazines in which Adelina was featured, along with a couple of record catalogs and an unsigned autograph book.

 

Series VI: Sheet Music, 1950.  These are songs for which Adelina wrote neither words or lyrics, however these songs became famous because of Adelina’s exceptional talent, and were therefore printed with her photograph on the cover.

 

Series VII: Sound Recordings.  There are four 78 rpm discs produced by Azteca Records, representing eight songs sung by Adelina Garcia, all with Rafael Mendez and his orchestra. Additionally a separate audio-tape with four songs was later added, recordings that originally were on two 78 rpm discs (Rendido – tango, Ruleta – fox, Misterio – bolero, Melancolia – bolero) all with the Orquesta de Manuel S. Acuña.  These latter songs are believed to be among her earliest recorded songs for Columbia Records.  Therefore, as of January 2004, there are a total of 14 songs in the collection.

 

 

CONTAINER LIST

SERIES I: BIOGRAPHICAL

Box   Folder                 Content

1        1                           Certificate of Appreciation from Cruzada Nacional Contra la Tuberculosis, 1950

1        2                           Correspondence from U.S. Embassy, 1952

1        3                           Newspaper clippings, Cuba, 1949

 

SERIES II: PHOTOGRAPHS 

Box   Folder                 Content

1        4                           El Patio, 1944

1        5                           Photographs, n.d.

1        6                           Postcards

1        7                           Radio XEMR, n.d.

1        8                           Radio XEP, n.d.

1        9                           Radio XEW, n.d.

1        10                         Teatro Municipal, San Paulo Brasil, September 22, 1941

 

SERIES III: PLAYBILLS AND PROGRAMS

 Box   Folder                 Content

1        11                         21 Club, Tijuana, n.d.

1        12                         Club Social Avalos Chihuahua Inc., 1978

1        13                         Jockey Club, Brasil, 1945

1        14                         “Show,” n.d.

1        15                         Tipica Revue at Liberty Hall, El Paso, handbill, n.d.

1        16                         Tipica Revue souvenir program, n.d.

 

SERIES IV: POSTERS

 Box   Folder                 Content

2        1                           “An Evening in Mazatlan and in person… Adelina Garcia”, 1940

2        2                           “An Evening in Santa Fe presenting in person… Adelina Garcia”, 1944

2        3                           RCA Victor, New Records Poster, 1944

 

SERIES V: PUBLICATIONS

 Box   Folder                 Content

 1        17                         Autograph Book, unsigned, n.d.

1        18                         Cinema, circa 1950

1        19                         Columbia Recording Corporation General Catalog of Records, n.d.

1        20                         Couplets (Cancionero Popular), 1949

1        21                         Espectaculos, No, 325, 326, 328, 329, 330 & 346, 1950

1        22                         Figuras Del Arte, 1944

1        23                         Folklore, 1949

1        24                         La Novella Cinegrafica, two different issues, both lack covers, 1956

1        25                         Maracas…Álbum Melódico de Cuba, 1949

1        26                         Novelas Del Radio, No. 74 & 97, 1956

1        27                         O Copacabana, Brasil, 1949

2        4                           Parada Musical, April, 1950

1        28                         Progreso, cover only, (photo of young Adelina), 1939

1        29                         Radio Nacional (Brasil), 1945

1        30                         Radiolandia, No. 177, 337, 345, 500, 1946 & 1951

1        31                         RCA Victor Mexicana, New Records brochure, Aug-Sept 1944

SERIES VI: SHEET MUSIC

 Box   Folder                 Content

1        32                         Hipócrita, Lyrics and Music by Carlos Crespo, 1950

1        33                         Malos Pensamientos, Lyrics and Music by Alberto Domínguez, 1950

1        34                         Vida, Lyrics by Ricardo López Méndez, Music by Gabriel Ruíz, 1950

SERIES VII: SOUND RECORDINGS

 Call #                            Title

Azteca 255                   Aventura/ Por la Cruz

Vocalion 9221              La Borracha/ Morena Linda

Azteca 248                   Conozco a los Dos/ Alma llanera

Azteca 254                   Mi tormento/ Un Gran Amor

Columbia 6062-x          Misterio/ Melancolía

Columbia 6107-x          Rendido/ Ruleta

Azteca 249                   Ya No Me Acuerdo/ Deuda