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Artist
Ester Hernandez, born 1944
Sitter
Lydia Mendoza, 31 May 1916 - 20 Dec 2007
Date
1987
Type
Print
Medium
Screenprint on paper
Dimensions
Image: 53.5 × 71 cm (21 1/16 × 27 15/16")
Sheet: 58.8 × 76.5 cm (23 1/8 × 30 1/8")
Topic
Music\Musical instrument\Guitar
Lydia Mendoza: Female
Lydia Mendoza: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician
Lydia Mendoza: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
Lydia Mendoza: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Guitarist
Lydia Mendoza: Visual arts awards\NEA Fellowship
Lydia Mendoza: Visual arts awards\National Medal of Arts
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center
Nicknamed La alondra de la frontera (the lark of the border), Lydia Mendoza was an icon of Tejano music, whose rich, heartfelt sound reverberated for decades throughout the Americas. Mendoza recorded her first album at age twelve with her family’s Cuarteto Carta Blanca. In the early 1930s, the family established itself in San Antonio, where they performed and passed the hat in restaurants and on plazas. Mendoza was soon “discovered” by the radio show Voz Latina, and she quickly became the family’s star and breadwinner. She recorded her first solo hit in 1934 with the song “Mal Hombre” (Evil Man). In the 1940s and 1950s, Mendozaa delighted packed theaters in Mexico, Cuba, and Colombia with her twelve-string guitar and mezzo-soprano voice. She continued performing until the late 1980s.
Ester Hernández based this portrait of her “artistic godmother” on a historic radio publicity image of Mendoza taken in Ciudad
Nacida en Houston, Texas
Apodada “la alondra de la frontera”, Lydia Mendoza fue un ícono de la música tejana cuya voz melodiosa y sentida resonó por décadas en las Américas. Grabó su primer disco a la edad de 12 años con el cuarteto Carta Blanca, compuesto por miembros de su familia. A principios de la década de 1930, la familia se estableció en San Antonio, donde actuaban pasando el sombrero en restaurantes y plazas. A Mendoza pronto la “descubrieron” en el programa radial Voz latina, y se convirtió en la estrella y proveedora de la familia. Grabó su primer éxito como solista en 1934 con la canción “Mal hombre”. En las décadas de 1940 y 1950 deleitó al público que llenaba los teatros en México, Cuba y Colombia con su guitarra de 12 cuerdas y su voz de mezzosoprano. Siguió presentándose hasta fines de los ochenta.
Ester Hernández basó este retrato de su “madrina artística” en una histórica foto de publicidad para la radio, tomada en Ciudad Juárez, México.
