Lorenzo Trujillo
Traditional Hispanic Violin - Music and Dance of Colorado and New Mexico
Articles
Lorenzo Trujillo: A Man On A Musical Mission
Preserving the music of early Colorado and New Mexico has been musician Lorenzo Trujillo's life mission. But in the age of rap and hip hop, it's unclear if the next generation will be as zealous as he is of sounds that go back almost two centuries.
"It's not something that is popular out there. It's a niche area of music," said Trujillo, an award- winning violinist. "It's from a time in history that people don't necessarily relate to."
Music of the Rio Grande of Colorado and New Mexico
Traditional Río Grande Chicano/Hispano music and dance in Colorado and New Mexico are influenced from many cultures of the world. Indigenous peoples, European settlers, and recent Mexican and Latino immigrants have all created a unique expression in music and dance among the Río Grande peoples. This article provides an insight into the many influences in the traditions, old and new, that we hear and see. More importantly, it presents common themes of culture transmission through many generations. The music and dance of Hispano populations of Colorado and New Mexico have developed over the last 600 plus years. The evolution begins and moves through various hallmark periods in time: the medieval period (1100 – 1400), the conquest of Mexico (1500 – 1600), the early explorations into New Mexico and Colorado (1700-1800), the early 1900’s into the last half of the 1900’s, to today.
Heart of Culture
Music, tradition drive successful educator-lawyer Lorenzo Trujillo
By Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News
August 19, 2004As a boy growing up in Denver and on a ranch outside Taos, N.M., Lorenzo A. Trujillo was surrounded by music.
His father played guitar, his mother danced and his aunt sang to him the songs of his people - melodies, he would later discover, that went back two and three centuries.
Today, Trujillo, 53, holds a couple of impressive titles - assistant dean of the University of Colorado Law School and President of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association. But his heart and soul rest with the cultural traditions of early Colorado and New Mexico.
Heritage in Harmony
Hispanic family trying to keep old songs aliveBy Richard Johnson, The Denver Post
March 27, 1993"The priest asked the bride and groom to say if they wanted to be married, and all the people in the church heard them when they both said 'Yes.'"
When those verses are sung in Spanish at Hispanic wedding receptions, some guests inevitably begin to cry.
"The lyrics are tender," explained Lorenzo Trujillo, "and people are not only moved with joy for the bride and groom, but they also feel deep emotions in celebrating an ancient tradition, which the song represents."
La Entriega de los Novios
By Lorenzo A. Trujillo and Marie Oralia Trujillo
1998La Entriega de los Novios is the final part of the traditional wedding ceremony of the people of Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. It is a custom that has its roots originating during the Middle Ages in the royal courts of Spain. Historically, minstrels would sing verses to inform and to teach the bridal couple and their guests the values of the community. As a final act of the wedding rite, La Entriega de los Novios provides a system to give advice to the newlyweds regarding their obligations and responsibilities to each other and to serve as a reminder of the importance of the state of matrimony.
Ayer y Hoy en Taos
Yesterday and Today in Taos County and Northern New MexicoA publication of the Taos County Historical Society
Hispanic Tradition: Folkloric Music and Dance by Lorenzo A. Trujillo, Spring 1992The Hispanic folkloric tradition of Colorado and New Mexico had its beginnings in the 1500's and 1600's when this area was colonized by the Spaniards. The survival of the manito culture of Colorado and New Mexico has occurred because of special circumstances.
The "Masculine" Mexican Folk Dance
By Lorenzo A. Trujillo, 1974
This article is in reply to an article by Jeanette L. Goodwin, titled "Jose Limon." The article appeared in the May, 1974 issue of the "Journal of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation." In the article the author states that Jose Limon "saw no future in the 'feminine'' dances," referring to the Mexican dance form. The purpose of the following article is to bring about a realization of what is truly represented by the Mexican folk dance.
History and Significance of the Hispanic Dance Expression
By Lorenzo A. Trujillo
A presentation to the Presidential Task Force on Hispanic American Arts, April 1979Dance has become a major force of expression among Hispanics in the U.S. serving the functions of ethnic unity, identity, and cultural expression. As a result, it is increasingly important to define and understand its development and history. More importantly, it is a phenomenon that is causing significant impact upon thousands of Hispanic Americans. Therefor, an understanding of its power as a language beyond words is a viable and important concern.
Enhancement of Self-Concept and Academic Achievement Through Ethnic Dance
By Lorenzo A. Trujillo, InterAmerica Research Associates, Inc.
University of Colorado, Boulder - Monograph Series, School of Education, Vol. 2, #2, 1981This study examined the relationship of participation in a Hispanic Ethnic Dance Curriculum to various aspects of behavior and to gain in knowledge of specific aspects of Hispanic culture.
Dance has been defined "as contributing to the development of a positive self-concept" (American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, 1974, p.4). This study was conducted because it was felt that an investigation of the correlation between ethnic dance and its effect on high school students would be appropriate and important.
Address to the Colorado Music Educators Association
Music in the Schools Week CelebrationBy Lorenzo A. Trujillo
Denver Center for the Performing Arts, March 12, 1988The arts are forever. They will outlast all of our temporal conflicts and fleeting time periods. It is a pleasure to address you this afternoon and to welcome you. This celebration in honor of music in the schools presents a showcase of the fine talented young musicians that we haven in our schools. The numerous hours that are invested by each student translate into a majestic pageantry of sound that illuminates and raises the glory of the human spirit.
Hispanic Tradition: Folkloric Music and Dance
by Lorenzo A. Trujillo, 1981
The Hispanic folkloric tradition of Colorado and New Mexico had its beginnings in the 1500's and 1600's when this area was colonized by the Spaniards. The survival of the manito culture of Colorado and New Mexico has occurred because of special circumstances.
Chicano Hispanic Arts Philanthropy
A Statement on the State of the Artby Lorenzo A. Trujillo, October 1980
The Chicano artistic community is and has been a viable and totally functioning entity since the first settlements in the Americas. The various art forms among the Chicano have served as basic forms of total expression for the people through changing times and situations. Art expression for the Chicano has acted in a role of educating our people; as a factor of ethnic solidarity; for establishing and maintaining a sense of self identity; as a means of communication and for unity; as inner group therapy; to pass on the true history of the people; and, to promote a positive sense of self integrity and well being. These characteristic benefits of the arts are not unique to the Chicano aesthetic but are universal to man.
Teaching Culture: The Myth and the Reality
Among good teachers, the idea persists that teaching is about transmitting cultureBy Lorenzo A. Trujillo
Kappan Connection, A Publication of Jefferson County Colorado Phi Delta Kappa Vol. 3, No. 1, September 1988Often culture is taught through simplicities and stereotypes. However, for learning to be meaningful, the transfer of knowledge must have validity. Teachers of culture must stretch beyond the simple to the complex in their approaches to the subject. Language is the fundamental basis for in-depth understanding of social structure and world view.
Arts Administration
Script from a presentation delivered in Phoenix, ArizonaBy Lorenzo A. Trujillo
February, 1982The human spirit - what is the human spirit? Obviously, President Kennedy felt it to be the highest level of altruism to which man strives. Artists, by the very nature of our work, live to the glory of the fulfillment of the human spirit. But obviously, a bowl full of human spirit for breakfast will not fill your stomach nor pay the rent.
Good morning, I am here today to address the disciplines of arts management and fund raising.
Marketing: An Organizational Approach
By Lorenzo A. Trujillo
September, 1981The subject of this seminar is "Marketing: An Organizational Approach." Marketing means "to offer for sale" (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 1973). Specifically, I will refer to an organizational approach to marketing.
Before beginning, take a piece of paper and:
1. Draw yourself
2. On the upper right hand corner of the paper, write in:
a. your age
b. your occupation
c. what you want most in life (in one word)
d. how you feel right now (in one word)
Dr. Lorenzo Trujillo: Retiring from Colorado Law
By Wayne Trujillo, Freelance Writer, Cultural Observer
April 20, 2010Latinos are losing a potent presence in Colorado higher education. The University of Colorado Law School is saluting Lorenzo Trujillo with a farewell gathering today. Since 2004, Trujillo, positioned as the Assistant Dean for Students and Professional Programs, has imagined, implemented and effected changes at the state's law school. Among those changes, as he wrote in an email message to me, are an "increased focus on diversity at Colorado Law and the climate of inclusion and respect."
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