On April 30th, 2000 while backstage at centerstage amidst some very talented artists I had the pleasure of Interviewing Cesar Rosas from Los Lobos. As you know Los Lobos has been around the Los Angeles music scene for a good 25 years and the band has a new album out called This Time. We all know them in the English market but here is some news. Los Lobos is crossing over to an all Spanish Album! Here it is and get ready for more great music.
[Cheryl Fallon] Cesar, I understand you are releasing an album in Spanish in August, can you tell me about it.
[Cesar Rosas] We are re-releasing an album that Los Lobos recorded in 1978 and it was officially our first attempt to do an album and the material consisted of back then, you know when we first formed the group the band was all involved in just purely the traditional subjective folk music, so that sort of depicts that era for us. You know, what we were doing then, it's 11 or 12 songs that are purely in Spanish, and they are all based on Mexican folk music and it's going to be re-released through Hollywood Records in August. At the end of the year we are releasing a 4-CD box set. I think Rhino Records is putting it out. It is a retrospective of the music of Los Lobos of the past 15 to 20 years.
[CF] Now what prompted you to re-release the '78 version as opposed to doing more recent songs or the new album This Time.
[CR] Well, you know it's kinda like very casual for us, we're hoping the people will dig it. I think what happens is that we have had this record, it's been put away in my closet for so many years and we always wanted to release it. We were going to release ourselves but we brought it to the attention of Hollywood Records and they decided that they were interested in it. So we're just putting it out really just for the fun of it and basically, also ultimately, for the Los Lobos fans that go way back - it's quite a collectors piece. Up 'till now it's been a collector item because we only sold 2000 records around East Los Angeles only, so you know, hopefully this will get to the true fans that really dig the record.
[CF] Cesar, I think you're ready to go global on this one!
[CR] Yeah well, we will see what happens.
[CF] Congratulations on the Lifetime Achievement Award, it's about time.
[CR] Thank you, thank you very much.
The City of Los Angeles and the State of California recognized the band's distinguished contributions with proclamations last fall, and the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts will Honor Los Lobos with the prestigious "El Angel Lifetime Achievement Award."
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