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Los Madrugadores: Early-Morning Radio Stars

A vibrant musical community for Mexican music emerged in southern California in the 1920s and 1930s with the growth of the Mexican population, the arrival of immigrant musicians, and the rise of radio. Los Angeles commercial radio stations featured many hours of Spanish-language programming, often aired in the “dead” early-morning hours of the radio schedule. Longshoreman Pedro J. Gonzalez (in the center of the photograph) formed Los Madrugadores (“The Early Risers”) with other Mexican immigrants. As the group’s name suggested, its music reached an audience of working people as they prepared for early-morning work shifts.

Source: From the Pedro J. Gonzalez Papers, Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles.

Who Built America? An Open Educational Resource has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and funding from The Ford Foundation, Digital Scholar, and the City University of New York Central Office of Library Services. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this Open Educational Resource, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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