Juan Reynoso Portillo

Juan Reynoso Portillo (Ancón de Santo Domingo, Guerrero; June 24 1912 – Riva Palacio, Michoacán; January 18, 2007) was Mexican fiddler who plays Mexico's Tierra Caliente (music) style. First recorded in the 1940s, his popularity was limited exclusively to Mexico until the mid-1990s, when his popularity in the United States grew, playing several times in the US at Centrums Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington.

Life

Juan Reynoso Portillo was born in the village of Ancón de Santo Domingo in the municipality of Coyuca de Catalán, Guerrero, on June 24 1912. Since he was born during the Mexican Revolution, he did not attend school. When he was young he played at local parties and gatherings. In the 1940s he worked for about a year at a radio station in Mexico City, but then he returned to the country.

It wasn't until the 1990s that he became well known in the U.S. In 1996 he taught and played at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes for the first time. He continued to play every year at Fiddle Tunes for eight years. Here he taught the traditional sons, gustos, pasodobles and waltzes he had learned by ear in his homeland of the Tierra Caliente. In 1997 he was awarded Mexico's National Prize of Arts and Sciences.

Recordings

Juan Reynoso has four recordings by Swing Cat Enterprises and one by Arhoolie Productions.

External links

* [http://www.DosTradiciones.com Dos Tradiciones]

Resources

* Dos Traditiones Magazine- Sept., 2004 Director Lindajoy Fenley, Editor Erika Tamayo and April 1998 Editor Linajoy Fenley