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A film screening and panel discussion on Nov. 5 will highlight the rich musical history of San Antonio's Chicano community.
The documentary You've Succeeded: The Life & Times of Dimas Garza dives into the life of the San Antonio native, who sang with groups like The Lyrics and The Royal Jesters.
The film is shown in collaboration with West Side Sound Oral History Project, a collection of scholars and community activists who aim to preserve the history of San Antonio’s music scene.
TPR's Marian Navarro spoke with filmmaker Chuco Garcia and with Sylvia Mendoza, a board member of the project.
The film will screen at the Little Carver Civic Center on Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. and will be followed by a panel discussion.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
MENDOZA: It's our intention (at the West Side Sound Oral History Project) to recognize that we have such amazing history, such amazing music history, but just history in regard to our community here in San Antonio — not just collecting records and hosting events and being in community, collecting interviews, but also building relationships with the community and educating the community about the history of the West Side sound and just San Antonio music in general.
It's really great to be able to collaborate together and think about how to make this information more accessible across the city and just, you know, nationwide. We have so many contributions by folks here in the barrio, and we just really want to have that history recorded and preserved for future generations to know.
NAVARRO: What exactly does that West Side Sound sound like? For someone who maybe hasn't heard it or who may be unfamiliar with it, what does the music generally sound like to the ear?
MENDOZA: I think some of the common factors, common denominators, are sort of this kind of like … one of the interviewees, he describes it as a haunting sound. There's like a specific sound quality that's a little bit crackly. There's definitely the existence of horns itself, right? There's sometimes a triplet from an organ. So, folks have different responses in terms of, like, the technical aspects of the music.
Then a lot of folks have a very, I guess, holistic description of the music too, right? It's something that's very Chicano, something that's very Mexican American, something that's very soulful. So, for myself, I feel like the West Side sound is this very sort of like haunting music that is soulful, that reminds me of my dad, who is a musician, it reminds me of my family. So yeah, that's kind of how I connect with it. Chuco probably has a very different definition.
GARCIA: For me, I always say it's puro corazón. I mean, it's coming out from, from the barrios. Very horn driven, has that rhythm and blues. It's like Chicanos just doing rhythm and blues back in the day. It's definitely a big band sound with the little bit of rhythm and blues mixed in there, and just so much going on.
These were younger gente, right, doing the music, and they were just trying to incorporate the African American sound and stuff like that. It definitely reminds me of music that will be played, even like with my abuelos. They would be playing it in the background at a barbecue and stuff. So, that's my connection to it.
NAVARRO: Chuco, you directed the documentary, You've Succeeded: The Life & Times of Dimas Garza, which uses interviews that were conducted as part of the West Side Sound Oral History Project. Who exactly is Dimas Garza?
GARCIA: Dimas Garza, yes, he was part of The Lyrics. Back in the day they pressed a few records on Joe Anthony's Harlem recording label. He was from Lanier High School, graduated from the nearby high school back (in) 58, 59. He was just a singer, a doo-wop singer, and just was immersed in music. From the beginning, he had this talent of being able to write his music.
That's what made him stand out, in my opinion, from others — is that he would write his own music and sing it. He went on to be with the Royal Jesters. And even before that, he was with The Kool-Dip, The Lyrics, like I said. He dipped into the Tejano scene for a little bit. And Dimas, man, he was really a staple here in San Antonio, I feel. He's remembered amongst everybody. I mean, I talked to a lot of the musicians, and I always like to bring up his name, because they always have some sort of connection to him.
NAVARRO: Talk to me a little bit about the impetus behind creating this documentary and really becoming interested in becoming a part of the effort to try and tell these broader stories of San Antonio.
GARCIA: I've always had records here and there. But it wasn't until I met up with this collective of record guys called Animal City Soul Club back in 2015 and the narrative of the whole thing was just their love for 45 records from Texas. And from there, I just, it, just caught the bug, you know? I just like, “Man, I gotta tell the story of what they're doing."
Then also, at the same time, they kind of showed me the ropes of what records I should be looking out for. One of the first records I did end up purchasing at that time was Love Me by Royal Jesters. And it was Dimas singing on the 45. Man, this is such a powerful song. You can hear the crackles on the 45. You can hear just the, like Sylvia said, the haunting sound of his voice. All of that just intrigued me. So, that's kind of what led me on to do the documentary.
NAVARRO: Something that you both have touched on is that, you know, kind of whether it's a big life event or it's just a childhood memory, music ties us to so many moments in time. Silvia, I'm curious, how does the West Side Sound Oral History Project and this documentary highlight the importance of preserving that sound and those memories?
MENDOZA: I think that's one of my favorite things about the project. Our community as Chicano folks, we're storytelling people. We preserve our culture. We preserve our identity and our collective memory through stories and through music. Something that I love as we do the research, or as we think about what posts to put is, if you do go to YouTube, and if you look at a certain song tied to the West Side Sound, people just offer very intimate memories about people who have passed, people in their family. They'll leave a specific name and even a location. Some people will say, “This song reminds me of Brackenridge Park in 1967.” And then they'll name an ancestor, somebody who's really important to them.
I think that's what's my favorite part of the project is not just being active in documenting and preserving these memories and honoring that in a very ethical way, but also kind of reminding our community, too. That it is important for us to document our stories, whatever they are.
GARCIA: We’re going to be screening the film, You’ve Succeeded, and we'll have panelists on the schedule. We have Ray Cabello Pecos records. And we have Mr. Jesus Garcia, a friend of mine, who is a historian and archivist of many sorts of West Side sound artifacts and pictures, just a wealth of knowledge — like an encyclopedia, I like to call him — of the West Side Sound. And then we got the producer, Juan Mendoza, of the film.
We hope to have a good crowd and just inform people more about this music, this genre, the film, the celebration of Dimas, you know, and just hear people's stories and interact with the community.
MENDOZA: I think it's really important to see Chuco, right, having learned how to use film to document our histories. I think that's really inspiring. And I hope that folks recognize we have these skills, and we have such amazing history and we can do this work.
