This one really bums me out. Such a pioneering guy in the history of Chicano rock/jazz/soul. Wish I had gotten the chance to talk to him before he passed at only 60.
Felix Contreras has a great memorial piece up at NPR about him.
Here’s a 2009 interview with him by Jesus Velo of Los Illegals.
And here’s a killer clip of El Chicano performing their big hit, “Viva Tirado” from 1971:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUEWRp4zrdk