Lydia Mendoza wasn't popularly known as "la alondra de la frontera" ("the lark of the border") for nothing. Her guitar-picking and sonorous voice carried generations of traditional Mexican border music boldly into the recording era, establishing Tejano music as northern Mexico's most beloved music. Mendoza's story has particular significance today, as the cultural border of Mexico and the United States becomes increasingly blurred, as Mendoza was in fact born in Houston, and a significant part of her fan base consisted of Mexican-Americans living in Texas. It matters little that Mendoza recorded for Okeh in San Antonio, Texas, as her canciones are subtly gorgeous odes to the Chicana experience. Blues ballads like "Los Besos de mi Negra" and "Palida Luna" are plaintive, eerie evocations of amor en la frontera, while more upbeat and polished productions such as "Delgadina" bespeak a ranchera influence that colors Mendoza's soaring voice brilliantly.
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