“Western Union…” Western Union telegram confirming an engagement of the Trio Los Conquistadores at the Fleur de Lis Club, Huntsville, Alabama, October 7, 1966

Archival materials received from James Broadway, mariachi musician and student of Benjamin Valdez. Materials date from the late 1930s-2021 and are comprised primarily of manuscript copies and research materials for a memoir of Benjamin Valdez, founding member of the seminal music group Los Conquistadores (active late 1930s-1970s) with Jose Morante and Enrique Rodriguez. Materials include handwritten stories, song lyrics, music notation, artifacts, ephemera, photographs of notable musicians/groups (Trio Los Conquistadores, Rosita Fernandez, Tito Guizar, Jesse Orta, Geraldine Orta-Charles, James Broadway, Mariachi del Alamo and Mariachi y Coro de Colores), clippings pertaining to mariachi musicians and the mariachi mass tradition at Mission San Jose along with memorials and obituaries of mariachi musicians including Valdez, Jesse Orta and Geraldine Orta-Charles. Fragile audiovisual media within this collection include cassette tapes, CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes.