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Guide to the Adelina García collection
CEMA 23
CEMA 23
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Table of contents
Title: Adelina García collection
Identifier/Call Number: CEMA 23
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1.0 linear feet
(1 document box and 1 oversize box, Also listed are songs that the library has as records and digital files.)
Date (inclusive): 1938-1978
Abstract: 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.
Physical Location: CEMA stacks in Del Norte, digital sound files are on the Library server and 78s are in Special Collections Performing Arts
stacks.
creator:
Garcia, Adelina, 1923-1999
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.
Some of the materials purchased from Yolanda Retter Books, Encino, California, 1997. Charles Rojo donated a CD along with
several 78s. Records were also purchased from various record dealers and two were donated by Brandon McGrath in 2010.
[Identification of Item], Adelina Garcia collection, CEMA 23. Department of Special Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library,
University of California, Santa Barbara.
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.
Charles Rojo collection (CEMA 91)
The Adelina García Collection consists of of 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 six 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.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Series I: Biographical, 1949-1952. This series contains only 3 folders. Of particular interest is the selection of newspaper clippings from Cuba, all of which
are in Spanish, dating from 1949.
Series II: Photographs, 1941, 1944, n.d. The photographs, mostly performances and publicity stills, are delineated by year, radio station or purpose and are grouped
in separate folders to preserve apparent distinctions within the photographs.
Series III: Playbills and Programs, 1945, 1978, n.d. This series contains a selection of playbills and programs from various geographic locations.
Series IV: Posters, 1940-1944. Series IV is a small selection of performance posters.
Series V: Publications, 1939-1956, n.d. This series contains a variety of magazines in which Adelina was featured, along with a couple of record catalogs and an
unsigned autograph book.
Series VI: Sheet Music, 1950. These are songs for which Adelina wrote neither words or lyrics, however these songs became famous because of Adelina’s exceptional
talent, and were therefore printed with her photograph on the cover.
Series VII: Sound Recordings. There are four 78 rpm discs produced by Azteca Records, representing eight songs sung by Adelina Garcia, all with Rafael
Mendez and his orchestra. Additionally a separate audio-tape with four songs was later added, recordings that originally were
on two 78 rpm discs (Rendido – tango, Ruleta – fox, Misterio – bolero, Melancolia – bolero) all with the Orquesta de Manuel
S. Acuña. These latter songs are believed to be among her earliest recorded songs for Columbia Records. There are twelve 78
rpm (two songs per disc, in Special Collections Performing Arts as well as 16 digital recordings on the library server.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Boleros (Music)
Mexican Americans -- Music
Photographs
Playbills
Popular music -- Mexico
Posters
Sound recordings