Orozco, José-Luis 1948-

views updated

Orozco, José-Luis 1948-

Personal

Born May 6, 1948, in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico; immigrated to United States, c. 1967; children: four children. Education: University of California, Berkeley, B.A.; University of San Francisco, M.A.

Addresses

Home—P.O. Box 461900, Los Angeles, CA 90046. E-mail—info@joseluisorozco.com.

Career

Author, songwriter, and performer. Recordings include Lirica Infantil: Latin-American Children's Music (thirteen volumes), and José-Luis Orozco canta 160 años de corrido mexicano y chicano, 1981. Speaker and consultant at conferences and seminars.

Awards, Honors

Congressional Hispanic Caucus honor, 2003.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

(Selector, arranger, and translator) De Colores, and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children, illustrated by Elisa Kleven, Dutton (New York, NY), 1994.

(Selector, arranger, and translator) Diez deditos: Ten Little Fingers, and Other Play Rhymes and Action Songs from Latin America, illustrated by Elisa Kleven, Dutton (New York, NY), 1997.

(Selector, arranger, and translator) Fiestas: A Year of Latin-American Songs of Celebration (includes compact disc), illustrated by Elisa Kleven, Dutton (New York, NY), 2002.

Cantamos y apprendemos con José-Luis Orozco/Singing and Learning with José-Luis Orozco (DVD), 2003.

Rin, Rin, Rin … Do, Re, Mi: libro ilustrado en español e inglés: A Picture Book in Spanish and English, illustrated by David Diaz, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Sidelights

José-Luis Orozco has built a successful career doing what he truly enjoys: singing for children. In addition to recording the thirteen-volume song collection Lirica Infantil: Latin-American Children's Music, he has written several books weaving story and song, as well as producing Fiestas: A Year of Latin-American Songs of Celebration, which contains an accompanying compact

[Image not available for copyright reasons]

disc. Born in Mexico City, Mexico, Orozco learned many traditional songs from his paternal grandmother. At age eight, he joined the Mexico City Boys Choir, and toured with them throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. From his tour around the world, he gained the fascination for different cultures that would inspire his adult career. In an acknowledgment of Orozco's work promoting Latin culture among young people, the author and musician was invited to participate in the 2003 National Book Festival organized by First Lady Laura Bush.

Fiestas contains bilingual versions of over twenty celebration songs and rhymes gathered from a number of Spanish-speaking countries, allowing young listeners to celebrate with music throughout the year, while De Colores, and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children contains twenty-seven folk songs that Booklist reviewer Annie Ayres dubbed "truly a musical treasure." Also featuring a Latin flavor, the animated DVD Cantamos y apprendemos con José-Luis Orozco/Singing and Learning with José-Luis Orozco also motivates children to learn about the Spanish language and the rich tradition of Latin-American children's music. Noting the value of Fiestas in teaching Spanish to younger children, a Kirkus Reviews contributor maintained that "Orozco's community activism and social beliefs are demonstrated throughout the … attractive songbook." Horn Book contributor Maeve Visser Knoth described De Colores, and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children as a "lovely and useful resource [that] will have children and adults singing, clapping, and dancing along," while Rudine Sims Bishop added in the same periodical that the book "can serve to enrich and expand the musical repertoire of children and teachers alike."

In the bilingual Rin, Rin, Rin … Do, Re, Mi: libro ilustrado en español e inglés: A Picture Book in Spanish and English Orozco tells the story of a young boy who enjoys counting, singing, practicing the alphabet, and reading with other members of his family. Featuring illustrations by award-winning illustrator David Diaz, the book was designed to build literacy skills among Latino children. Praising the book's "powerful, arresting" art by Diaz, School Library Journal contributor Maria Otero-Boisvert dubbed Rin, Rin, Rin … Do, Re, Mi a "romping, rhyming picture book."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 15, 1994, Annie Ayres, review of De Colores, and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children, p. 750; January 1, 1998, Karen Morgan, re- view of Diez dedidos: Ten Little Fingers, and Other Play Rhymes and Action Songs from Latin America, p. 819; September 15, 2002, Linda Perkins, review of Fiestas: A Year of Latin-American Songs of Celebration, p. 229.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, March, 1998, review of Diez dedidos, p. 254.

Hispanic, June-July, 2005, Ambar Hernandez, review of Rin, Rin, Rin … Do, Re, Mi: libro ilustrado en español e inglés: A Picture Book in Spanish and English, p. 68.

Horn Book, January-February, 1995, Maeve Visser Knoth, review of De Colores, and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children, p. 66; May-June, 1995, Rudine Sims Bishop, review of De Colores, and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children, p. 316; March-April, 1998, Elena Abos, review of Diez dedidos, p. 231.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2002, review of Fiestas, p. 131; May 1, 2005, review of Rin, Rin, Rin … Do, Re, Mi, p. 543.

Publishers Weekly, December 8, 1997, review of Diez dedidos, p. 819; August 23, 1999, review of De Colores, and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children, p. 61.

School Library Journal, November, 2002, Ann Welton, review of Fiestas, p. 153: June, 2003, Maria Otero-Boisvert, review of Fiestas, p. 71; February, 2006, Maria Otero-Boisvert, review of Rin, Rin, Rin … Do, Re, Mi, p. 127.