On March 26 the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, UCLA Library, legendary norteno band Los Tigres Del Norte, and the Arhoolie Foundation held a press conference to announce the public launch of the Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings, the largest online digital archive of its kind.
The collection currently contains approximately 41,000 selections, including 32,000 taken from 78 rpm recordings. In 2000 the Los Tigres del Norte Foundation donated $500,000 to UCLA to help fund the digitization of these discs, which were recorded from approximately 1905 to 1955. Music Library staff advised on technical and descriptive aspects of the project. The UCLA Library's Digital Library Program manages the data and Web site and coordinates the longterm preservation of the digitized recordings.
Various historical gems include the first recordings in 1908 in Mexico City of a mariachi known as Cuarteto Coculense, the first recordings in 1928 by Tejano music legend Lydia Mendoza, and the first disc recordings in 1937 by accordion pioneer Narciso Martinez. The archive also features a diverse range of Mexican and Mexican American music including corridos, boleros, sones, patriotic speeches, and comedy skits.