UnPacked: A History Talks Podcast from History Colorado José Ortega

Manuel Gonzalez, Jr. is the son of Manny Gonzalez of the Northern New Mexico band, Manny and the Casanovas. Manny and the Casanovas were originators and pioneers of what is considered to be “New Mexico Music" --- music that has a unique and original sound and history. In this lecture, Manuel Jr delved into how the music and culture of northern New Mexico has inspired him as a poet. Manuel Jr shared his work, family stories, and a writing prompt so we can each explore our own roots and inspirations.

This special evening with legendary chanteuse Lannie Garrett was recorded on November 22, 2019, at the History Colorado Center in Denver. Denver fans and periodicals have voted her “Favorite Female Singer” many times over, and in 2016 Lannie was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame to cap her amazing, decades-long career. A veritable chameleon of an entertainer and singer, Lannie switches easily from a glamorous, sequined chanteuse to a blues/rock "get down” gal to a comedy spoof—as she dons a rodeo-girl costume and wig as big as a tumbleweed to transform herself into an ole-time country singer, as seen in her popular "The Patsy DeCline Show."

National discourses about the border continue to generalize, stereotype and invisibilize the history of communities along the region. But many are unaware that borderland identities have emerged throughout history as a result of the loss of territory, immigrations, exile and deterritorialization.

Borderlands Archives Cartography was created to visualize, document and analyze the junction of several cultures and the diverse histories of borderlands “to embrace our past and honor the multiple experiences of our communities.” The project uses a digital map to display a U.S.-Mexico border cartography that records the geographic locations of 19th- and mid-20th-century periodicals in order to conceptualize this region before and after the current division line. BAC’s objective is to understand the complexity of borderlands history, identities and cultures to resist the continuing discourses against this extensive region.

This talk was recorded at El Pueblo History Museum on November 7, 2019.