implacable, PhD

Oh, the kids grow up so fast that it makes you cry at their quince! JK! Here’s the whole video of @elmariachimanchester performing The Smith’s “This Charming Man” at my niece’s Penelope quinceañera. They are all accomplished musicians. Their set was done, pero fui de pediche por el “pilón”. They had never performed it live. However, they were kind enough to play it. In just a few moments, they had the chords, assigned them to instruments, decided who would sing it and off they went! I requested this song, as for me it’s a quintessential LÁ song. A fall in the winter of 2022 led to my father’s hospitalization. At one point, his condition was so serious that he required intubation. So yes, we feared the worst. Despite being in the thick of it, I could not shed many tears during those endless 18 days. I was likely emotionally stunted and blocked as a form of defense. I was anxious, drained, but the tears would simply not come out. That was until I decided to do a very LÁ thing: blast this song while driving on the L.A. freeways. Driving reminded me of our family’s trip from Guadalajara to Los Angeles. How difficult it was to migrate to LÁ. I was reminded how my father has found life in this city quite perplexing. Yet has figured ways to make quick and long-lasting friendships with his outward charm, which at times have made me well…squeamish as I am introvert. As the song played, I mentally substituted the lyrics “a jumped-up pantry boy” with “a country boy, who never knew his place.” Those lines describe my father: who as a teenager first moved from a small pueblo in the sur de Jalisco to Guadalajara. Eventually in his middle age moving to LÁ. Yet, never knowing where his true place is. As I was driving around the freeways facing at the L.A. skyline and the hills in the Eastside, I heard The Moz chant: “Oh, la-la, la-la, la-la, this charming man,” and the dam broke into countless tears. Fast forward to April 2026. Thanks to Rubén and Mickey’s musical taste. We were honored to be in this beautiful celebration, and I got to listen to the live mariachi version of this song in the presence of my father and mother who are still in this earth…tears and all.

Penelope’s Quinceañera this past weekend was a memorable & joyous occasion by the Medina-Frutos family. I am thankful that the universe made us family. Beginning in Jiquilpan, Jalisco, —un pueblo del que escribió Juan Rulfo en el llano en llamas— the Larios family now spans across generations and borders. My first experience with a Rodriguez-Larios quinceañera was at my cousin Alma’s in 1980s Guadalajara when I was a kid. Now we are gathering again acá in 2026. Our families have migrated since the 1960s, moving from Jiquilpan to Guadalajara and then to Southern California. But thanks to these celebrations, we can come together as we add new members to the family, by birth and by choosing. This is how Rubén, P’s dad and I became family. Seeing Ruben and his amazing fatherhood with my nieces is always wonderful. And to think that we met inside a jail… One night in the late 1990s, at a gig inside the old Lincoln Heights Jail, I unexpectedly encountered my cousin Michelle, who was holding court by the stage. Mickey was there acompañando her now-husband Rubén. He was part of the original Left Alone line-up. Rubén moved on to raise his family, but Elvis keeps the @leftaloneofficial legend going. BTW, Elvis made a cameo at the quince! Penelope’s celebration was rooted in the multifaceted Mexican American experience of LA’s South Bay/Harbor region. There was Ballet folklorico, bilingual speeches, music, and a special performance by @elMariachiManchester led by the masters Moi and Dr. Jess, all expertly produced by the one and only Denise along with the Frutos siblings, Robert as the MC and Claudia and fam as team effort. The Smiths/Moz songs are part of the LÁ soundtrack, even when MOZ is 🤨 Asi que abusando de la confianza, I asked them to perform “This Charming Man,” as I thought of this song when my father was in the hospital a couple of years back. I am fortunate that my dad was very much present along with my mom at the quince. She lives with Alzheimer’s, but the music and seeing family kept her happy and in the moment during the whole evening. Gracias a mis hermanas por compartir el cuidado de mis padres. Y a toda la familia ¡siempre es una alegría verles!

Yesterday, I was invited to an appreciation lunch by our university' Graduate Division for faculty who have mentored graduate and grad school-bound students. We were also given this certificate of recognition. It was a nice surprise that I very much welcome. For me the most significant part of mentoring or guiding and supporting student is that is a generative, reciprocal, and longitudinal endeavor. The best reward is to be able to support folks in their journeys, gain confidence, accomplish their goals and even go beyond, so they can then guide those who will come next. PS: I was also lucky that my dear grad school friend, the literary scholar with the most exquisite vocabulary Dr. Crystal Pérez is in the IE for her sabbatical, so she helped me celebrate.

I am honored to have been invited to be a panel moderator for the "Spain and the Birth of the United States." This is a transnational and thought-provoking conference at the Huntington Library on Friday & Saturday, April 17 & 18, 2026. "Spain and the Birth of the United States" includes sessions on Spanish California; Biographical Frontiers, Urbanization and Infrastructure in Spanish North America and the United States; Business, Trade, and Migration; and a roundtable plenary session on Spain and the American Revolution. The conference is organized in partnership with the Iberdrola Foundation and the Embassy of Spain, the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies @usc_emsi I look forward to meeting Dr. Emily Berquist (CSULB) @plusultraemily who is conference co-orgenizer. Plus, I also get to catch up with Dr. Bárbara Zepeda Cortés @barbarusf1zc , who is the co-organizer of the conference. She is now an accomplished career as a historian who specializes in the Spanish Empire. But I have not seen her since our grad school days at UCSD!

Soda Stereo, La Ley, Enanitos Verdes, Juan Gabriel, Selena, and Bad Bunny. One word to describe some of the biggest names in Latin music? Make sure to visit the exhibit "A Great Day in East LA: Celebrando the Eastside Sound" at LA Plaza de Cultura y artes, co-curated by Dr. Jorge Leal @implacable @rockarchivola #LatinMusic #JuanGabriel #Selena #BadBunny #RoughCutDiaries

Cumbia! What sound is going to outlive the rest? Dr. Jorge Leal @implacable hopes it’s cumbia, pointing out that the genre is always shape-shifting, moving from traditional beats to iterations like space age and trap cumbia, with groups like El Gran Silencio throwing rock into the mix. @rockarchivola Make sure to check out Jorge's full interview! Link in bio. #Cumbia #MusicEvolution #JorgeLeal #LatinoMusic #ElGranSilencio

"I felt the need to understand its history" A local gig, or tocada, can serve as a gateway to a city's hidden history. For Dr. Jorge Leal @implacable traveling across Southern California’s diverse music scenes prompted him to look beyond the venue and explore the deeper history of its community. @rockarchivola Learn more about the East LA sound in Dr. Jorge's full interview. Link in bio! #LocalMusic #LosAngelesHistory #Southgate #EastLAMusic #RoughCutDiaries

"Los Crudos, Rage Against the Machine, Maldita Vecindad, Negu Gorriak, Todos Tus Muertos..." For music historian Dr. Jorge Leal, listening to socially committed punk rock is a visceral experience. It’s not just about the intensity of the sound; it’s a reminder that past generations have fought similar injustices, and that we aren't alone in the struggle today. @rockarchivola @implacable Check out the full interview now! Link in bio! #PunkRock #SocialJustice #RageAgainstTheMachine #LosCrudos

Ya que como la polola, Blanca es muy modesta y le da pena echarse sus flores, entonces yo lo voy a hacer porque estoy muy orgulloso de ella. Así que están todes ustedes para saberlo y yo para contarlo: Blanca ha sido reconocida y celebrada por el gran ratón por su quinceañera como senior producer on-air promotions en ESPN! ¡Estatuilla de Mickey a lo Oscar incluida!

Three historians meet at the rockero store...JK! It was great to host, historian Bill Deverell, Elizabeth (not pictured) of the @husc_icw the students and teachers of the Los Angeles Service Academy (LASA) students and have a guided exhibit visit of the "A Great Day in East La: celebrando de Eastside Sound," exhibit along with historian and curator Esperanza Sánchez @espykatesanchez at @laplazala

Today in another edition of this Mexican (American) Life: 1970s Airport Layover Photos! Por cierto, mi papá is very much alive and today Febrero 19 is his birthday. Aclarando pues. I recently digitized these photos that were taken during a layover my father had at LAX in November 1975. Nicolás Leal was on his way from our then home city, Guadalajara to Las Vegas, e hizo escala en Los Ángeles. Back when people could just "deplane" and mingle around the airport as there were no security controls. In fact people could park in front of the terminals. At the international/Mexicana gate, he was visited by Carmen mi abuela y su suegra y mi tía Rosa, su cuñada. Check out his 1970s travel outfit! 🕺🏽 Last pic is of his casual birthday outfit last weekend.

Enero 2026: Partiendo la rosca de reyes con las familias Leal-García-López-Marone-Lewis.