LACMA

1977 Arlington, Texas Texas businessman Frank Liberto invents the conces- sionaire nacho. His user-friendly Tex-Mex concoction of crispy tortilla chips covered with gooey yellow cheese served in a disposable paper container (jalapeños free) revolutionizes the food industry. Called Ricos Nachos, the tasty concession snack soon sells at three-quarters of all movie theaters in the United States as well as in the concession stands of sports venues in more than twenty- three countries. Liberto's hybrid invention has yet to be recognized at the Festival Internacional del Nacho held every October 19 in Piedras Negras, Mexico. LATE 1970S Unknown South Texas nightclub Esteban Jordan, conjunto accordionist, the half-blind son of migrant field workers, nicknamed "El Parche," attaches a rock 'n' roll effects pedal to his Hohner button accordion. Beer joints across South Texas, more familiar with tradi- tional Mexican American working-class music of polkas and corridos, suddenly fill with the sounds of ten-minute jazzlike improv solos, of crazed renditions of traditional conjunto songs combining scat, bebop, zydeco, and rock. Within a year, Jordan is known by a new nickname, "the Jimi Hendrix of the accordion." 1975 Venice, California In the rundown beachside neighborhood known as Dogtown, the Z-Boys skate team is formed. They revolu- tionize the sport with a dazzling athleticism and attention to style totally new in the skateboard world. And while it is Stacy Peralta and Tony Alva who have Latino surnames, it is fellow team members and whiteboys Jay Adams and Nathan Pratt (above) who eventually adopt a more cholo look. 1976 South Texas After a failed attempt at a Hollywood acting career—his lone credit a bit part on the TV show Car 54, Where Are You?—Efraín Gutiérrez returns to San Antonio. He cowrites, produces, and directs Please, Don't Bury Me Alive!, the first Chicano feature-length film. Driving his dusty station wagon from town to town, he shows the film to sellout Raza crowds eager to see brown faces on the screen. At a San Antonio barrio theater, Gutierrez's film outsells a recently released Hollywood movie: All the President's Men. 224

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