When Joshue Josué began making music, the idea of Chicano rock didn’t have a foothold in Portland. Josué’s bilingual sound, rooted in both sides of the border, takes inspiration from rock and roll artists, like Johnny Cash and Ritchie Valens, as well as mariachi musicians, like Vicente Fernandez.
“I found my musical voice in those two worlds.” Josué said. “I think that there’s a lot of Latinos like myself who grew up speaking very poor Spanish trying to find a place to fit in that maybe didn’t fit into the camp of being Mexican, but didn’t fit into the camp of being white.”
That genre blending has led him to where he is now: a Chicano rocker, as he calls himself, under the label Electric Chololand Records, a grassroots record company started by Josué’s close friend, Marco “Shorty” Delgado.
The label, which has been active for a year, has already signed three musical acts and released three albums under the distinctive Chicano genre. To celebrate, Electric Chololand Records will host a showcase and video release party on Dec. 17 at Landmark Saloon, with doors opening at 8 p.m. The event will include three musical performances and the music video premiere of “Away from the Lonely Heart” by Ghost of James Jones, off his most recent album, Day of the Dead.
“Right now, it’s an important thing to have Chicano voices being in the forefront,” Delgado said. “When we have different circumstances of people being pulled off the streets based on the color of their skin, I think it’s an important thing right now to be able to elevate the visibility of Chicano people in general.”
Chicano originated as a derogatory term for a person of Mexican descent born in the United States but has since been reclaimed as a mixed cultural identity. For Electric Chololand Records, the term encompassess more of an identity than a sound.
“I’m able to embrace so many different aspects of my culture and write about them,” Josué said. “The label of Chicano rock just facilitates me being able to explore so many avenues and not be tied down to a genre like Texas blues or alternative rock.”
While Electric Chololand gave Chicano music a home, the genre was already alive in Portland’s music scene. Musicians like Josué and James Jones — who had been creating music long before the label launched — joined the roster alongside Delgado’s project, Delgado y Los Conejos de Amor. All three are now releasing Chicano music through the label. For Jones, the decision to join the label was a natural extension of the community he already felt part of.
“This idea of Chicano rockers coming together intrigued me,” Jones said. “There’s no hard rules with the style of the music. I think it’s just more of this mentality and the awareness of where we come from.”
That collaboration and camaraderie ultimately led to the creation of the record label. Delgado had planned to independently release his most recent album, “Tin Corazón,” under the nickname of his home studio, “Electric Chololand.” During a night out with Josué, the pair floated the idea of Josué releasing his upcoming album, “Beneath the Sand,” under Delgado’s label.
“At the time, I had a couple of drinks and I busted out laughing, and thought, ‘Dude, that’s the best idea ever,’” Delgado said. “It was kind of a joke initially, and the next day, after having some coffee, we started texting each other, and he said, ‘Well, I’m actually kind of serious about this.’”
The decision kicked off a symbiotic relationship between Delgado, Jones and Josué, informed by Delgado’s previous work with Alligator Records, an independent blues label in Chicago.
“When he spoke about the label, it was very evident that he knew a lot of ins and outs about the music industry that had crossed my mind,” Josué said. “And I thought that my connections and work that I’ve done with some of those artists could also benefit him.”
The working relationship has also deepened the pre-existing friendships between the musicians, Josué said, giving them more experience collaborating creatively. For Delgado, keeping artists and their music at the forefront of the label was his priority.
“I’m likely never going to make a cent off of this,” Delgado said. “So I want to be able to make an impact in a positive way on the scene and the careers of these artists.”
Those involved have found the label creates a home for Chicano rock, giving it a space to thrive in Portland. For a still-emerging genre, Delgado, Jones and Josué have found the broad interpretation has allowed them to create music authentically without expectations.
“I want it to be a bit of a meld, an amalgam of different musicians who have different strengths,” Delgado said. “There are so many different things happening in the music scene right now that I don’t want to pigeonhole us into being one thing.”
See Joshua Josué, Ghost of James Jones and Delgado Y Los Conejos De Amor perform live at Landmark Saloon, 4847 S.E. Division St., on Dec. 17. Doors open at 8 p.m. with a suggested donation $7 at the door.
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