Adelina García is consider to be the most renowned singer of the Mexican bolero movement of the 1930s and 1940s. Adelina García had a wide following throughout the United States, Mexico and Latin America. She began her singing career in 1937 at the age of 15 and continued to enjoy success all the way through the late 1950's. Throughout her career she was fortunate enough to work with many of her contemporaries and tour all around the the United States and Latin America. The Adelina García Collection contains 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 seven 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.

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 United States. Her singing career continued until the late 1950’s.

1.0 linear feet (1 document box and 1 oversize box, Also listed are songs that the library has as records and digital files.)

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.

The collection is open for research.