Luisa Espinel
A smiling young woman with dark hair and eyes.
Luisa Espinel, from a 1928 newspaper.
Born
Luisa Ronstadt

(1892-12-08)December 8, 1892
Tucson, Arizona
DiedFebruary 2, 1963(1963-02-02) (aged 70)
Los Angeles, California
Occupation(s)Singer, dancer, actress
ParentFederico José María Ronstadt
RelativesLinda Ronstadt (niece)

Luisa Espinel (December 8, 1892 – February 2, 1963), born Luisa Ronstadt, was an American singer, dancer, and actress. She toured, taught, performed in vaudeville, and appeared in a movie with Marlene Dietrich.

Early life

Luisa Ronstadt was born in Tucson, Arizona in 1892, the daughter of Mexican-born businessman and musician Federico José María Ronstadt, and his wife Sara Levin.[1] Her mother died in 1902, from a fever,[2][3] and her father remarried, to Lupe Dalton; one of their granddaughters was singer Linda Ronstadt,[4] who recalled "visits from Aunt Luisa" as "wonderfully exciting."[5][6] Luisa Espinel went to San Francisco, New York, and Paris to study music;[7] she went to Spain to study Spanish music and dance in the 1920s.[8][9]

Career

Espinel toured as a dancer and singer in the western states[10][11][12][13] and in vaudeville.[8] She was a member of the Mexican Players of Claremont, California in the 1930s.[8] She taught music and dance in Los Angeles, toured and gave concerts in folk-inspired costumes,[14][15] and danced in the film The Devil Is a Woman (1935), starring Marlene Dietrich.[7] In 1946 she compiled a book of traditional lyrics, Canciones de mi padre: Spanish Folksongs from Southern Arizona, released by University of Arizona.[8] In the 1950s, she taught Spanish to adults in Pasadena,[16] and was a presenter at the Casa de Adobe, a recreated Californio residence at the Southwest Museum.[17]

Personal life

In 1935,[18] Espinel became the second wife of the American artist Charles Kassler, and was a model for his 1934 mural "Pastoral California", in Fullerton, California.[19] She died in 1963, aged 71, in Los Angeles.[20] Her papers are in the Ronstadt family collections at the University of Arizona and the Arizona Historical Society libraries.[8][3]

References

  1. Griffith, James J. "The Singing Ronstadts and Canciones de mi Padre: A Musical Family". Through Our Parents' Eyes. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  2. Marin, Christine (2009). "Luisa Ronstadt Espinel: Music Ambassador to the World". Arizona Memory Project. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Ronstadt Family Collection, Arizona Historical Society, Tucson AZ.
  4. "Linda Wasn't First in Music or Fame in Ronstadt Family; Luisa Ronstadt Espinel Told World about Spanish Folk Songs". Tucson Citizen. October 10, 1988. p. 24. Retrieved April 20, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  5. Bommersbach, Jana (April 1, 2006). "The First Ronstadt Superstar". True West Magazine. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  6. Ronstadt, Linda (September 2, 2014). Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir. Simon and Schuster. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-4516-6873-5.
  7. 1 2 Sheridan, Thomas E.; Noriega, Joseph (1984). "FROM LUISA ESPINEL TO LALO GUERRERO: Tucson's Mexican Musicians Before World War II". The Journal of Arizona History. 25 (3): 285–300. ISSN 0021-9053. JSTOR 41859599.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Koegel, John (2013). "Espinel, Luisa". Grove Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2262240. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  9. "Luisa Espinel to Sing Original Songs of Spain". El Paso Herald. December 4, 1929. p. 15. Retrieved April 20, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  10. Sheridan, Thomas E. (May 26, 2016). Los Tucsonenses: The Mexican Community in Tucson, 1854–1941. University of Arizona Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-8165-3442-5.
  11. "Luisa Espinel at Temple". Arizona Daily Star. November 26, 1933. p. 14. Retrieved April 20, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "To Present Song Pictures; Senorita to be Heard Tomorrow". Fort Worth Record-Telegram. November 1, 1928. p. 6. Retrieved April 20, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  13. Martínez, Matilde Olarte (November 15, 2017). Luisa Espinel, Rebeca Switzer y Miirrha Alhambra: alma mater de las veladas musicales de la Casa Hispánica en la Universidad de Columbia: EN Liberales, cultivadas y activas: redes culturales, lazos de amistad (in Spanish). Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca.
  14. "Luisa Espinel, Diseuse, assisted by Nino Herschel, Pianist, "Song Pictures of Spain", Grand Ballroom, Multnomah Hotel, January 31, 1929". The Gallery. May 5, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  15. Jones, Isabel Morse (August 13, 1933). "Romantic History of Spain Made Vivid by Luisa Espinel". The Los Angeles Times. p. 31. Retrieved April 19, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  16. "New Spanish Class Benjamin Franklin Adult School". South Pasadena Review. September 10, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved April 20, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Civic Groups to Meet at Museum's Spanish Home". The Los Angeles Times. April 10, 1955. p. 46. Retrieved April 20, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Social Events". Arizona Daily Star. April 26, 1935. p. 9. Retrieved April 20, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  19. Cruz, Mimi Ko (September 7, 1997). "The Renaissance of a Fullerton Mural". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  20. "Luisa R. (Espinel) Kassler death notice". The Los Angeles Times. February 4, 1963. p. 46. Retrieved April 20, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
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