By Mike Kinney
The founder of the award-winning Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy has released a new book, which he discussed in a lively presentation at the San Pablo Library on Monday.
Eugene Rodriguez’s “Bird of Four Hundred Voices: A Mexican Memoir of Music and Belonging” shines a light on the San Pablo-based academy that provides music education for Bay Area youth as well as an outlet for underrepresented cultural traditions. Rodriguez describes the book as a memoir of the last 35 years of Los Cenzontles, and more broadly as an opportunity to “show how important culture is to everyone.”
Cenzontles was an Aztec word for mockingbird that translated to mean ‘Bird of four hundred voices.’
The book is described as detailing the academy’s journey in connecting youth with their ancestral roots, resurrecting lost mariachi tradition, and spreading the music worldwide with blockbuster collaborations with luminaries like Linda Ronstadt, Taj Mahal and Los Lobos. Rodriguez was nominated for a Grammy Award for his production of Papa’s Dream, a children’s album by Los Lobos and Lalo Guerrero, in 1994.
In a critique of the book, Roxsy Lin of the Los Angeles Times praised Rodriguez for defying “the rigidity of formal education” and for “revealing how music can transcend boundaries and heal historical wounds.”
Monday’s book discussion did not occur without a lively musical performance by Rodriguez and fellow members of Los Cenzontles. Rodriguez noted the important meaning behind his book’s title.
“Cenzontles was an Aztec word for mockingbird that translated to mean ‘Bird of four hundred voices,'” Rodriguez said.
He said more books are planned about the academy, along with a documentary film.
“I continue to believe that our best path forward is to be visible and to affirm our right to be ourselves,” he said. In a representational, multicultural democracy, cultural engagement is as important as voting. Bigots who understand the power of culture use it as a weapon for darkness, so we must use culture to assert a vision of light.”
