Until her recent death, singer Rita Vidaurri (1924–2019) stood as the last surviving star of what is considered a Golden Age of female vocalists from San Antonio, during the 1930s and ’40s. Like her contemporaries Eva Garza (1917-1966), Rosita Fernandez (1919-2006), and Lydia Mendoza (1916-2007), Vidaurri relied on the Alamo City’s vibrant Mexican-American music scene to launch an international career, sharing world stages with superstars such as Nat “King” Cole, Pedro Infante, and Celia Cruz.
A joint project of
the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center,
the Arhoolie Foundation,
and the UCLA Digital Library
the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center,
the Arhoolie Foundation,
and the UCLA Digital Library
Made possible by the UCLA Los Tigres del Norte Fund, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the GRAMMY Foundation, the Fund for Folk Culture, Arhoolie Records, Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Littlefield Jr., the Edmund & Jeannik Littlefield Foundation, and others.