Alonzo Cruz

A sidewalk busker in Oaxaca, this unknown singer was captured on a tape which eventually made its way into the hands of Smithsonian Folkways. It's an improbable road to fame, and most likely Cruz will never be anything but a passing footnote in the history of Mexican music. But his ethereal voice deserves a place in that history. On "Small Girl Full Of Pride," you can almost hear in his vocal inflections traces of Arab music which traveled, via Andalusia, to Mexico. And immediately following, he sounds fully Mexican, nearly yodeling on "Pretty Bird, Do Me A Favor." Besides, who wouldn't love a guy who sings a song called "Far From My Land Of Sunshine"?