Dan Guerrero Papers
Scope and Content
This collection includes ephemera, press kits, clippings, photographs, and audio visual materials documenting Mr. Guerrero's successful career as a Chicano activist, producer, and performance artist. Also included are materials reflecting the life and career of his father Lalo Guerrero and his dear friend, artist Carlos Almaraz. This collection complements the existing archival collection housed at the University of California, Santa Barbara Department of Special Collections California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives (CEMA). Under their stewardship are both Mr. Guerrero's personal papers as well as his father's, Lalo Guerrero.
Dates
- Creation: 1930 - 2009
Creator
- Guerrero, Dan (Person)
Access
Open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. All requests for permission to publish must be submitted in writing to the Chicano Studies Research Center Library. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Biography
Dan Guerrero began his entertainment career in New York where he was a successful theatrical agent with clients in the original casts of countless Broadway musicals. He returned home to Los Angeles for an equally successful time as a casting director for stage and television before turning his talents to producing and directing.
Guerrero has been widely acclaimed as a highly creative independent producer of diverse programming for network and cable television in both English and Spanish including talk shows and music specials for NBC, PBS, HBO, FOX, Univision and Telemundo.
At the same time, he has produced and staged spectacular international arts and culture events at such prestigious venues as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque and the Cite de la Musique in Paris, France. Kennedy Center credits include the Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World concert in the Opera House; the AmericArtes Gala in the Concert Hall; Pablo Neruda: A Centenary Celebration in the Terrace Theatre; and Japan! Culture + Hyper Culture in the Roof Top Gallery.
Other live, non-broadcast productions include the world premiere of Concierto para Mendez for the Los Angeles Opera; the San Jose Mariachi & Mexican Heritage Festival Gala for artistic director Linda Ronstadt; the United States Artists Fellows Celebration at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago; The Maravilla Concert to inaugurate the Roy E. Disney Performing Arts Center at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, the opening ceremonies for the city-wide Artes de Mexico Festival with more than 300 musical performers and costumed participants on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall; the Placido Domingo Awards at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the inaugural NCLR Alma Awards at the Biltmore Millennium Hotel; the Imagen Awards at the Beverly Hilton International Ballroom and the Concerte Chicano et Tex Mex at the Cite de la Musique in Paris. Recent plays with music include Raisin' Cane, a solo show about the Harlem Renaissance starring Jasmine Guy and the Avery Sharp Jazz Trio that toured nationally before a bow at New York's storied Apollo Theatre and Still Life, a two character play with cello and guitar about Georgia O'Keeffe and Frida Kahlo. Guerrero began his TV production career at Guber-Peters Television as head writer and co-producer of the long-running late night talk/variety program, El Show de Paul Rodriguez. The landmark show hosted by the comic actor aired nationally on Univision and internationally throughout Latin America bringing the biggest U.S. and Latin American stars together in a groundbreaking bilingual format.
He eventually headed Paul Rodriguez Productions with El Show colleagues where the team produced four "docu-comedy" specials for FOX: Paul Rodriguez: Behind Bars, Crossing Gang Lines, Back to School and Born to Ride. The highly rated programs were a unique mix of documentary footage, music performances and stand-up comedy taped at locations from San Quentin prison to the Black Hills of South Dakota and the barrios of East LA and South Central.
Guerrero later served as executive producer of another successful talk/variety show, Al Dia con Maria Conchita. The Spanish-language daily talker aired nationally on Telemundo with Maria Conchita Alonso hosting top music and film guests from Latin America.
He also co-produced the PBS Kennedy Center Concert of the Americas with Quincy Jones/David Saltzman Entertainment featuring the biggest names from the U.S., Mexico, Latin America, Canada and the Caribbean. The concert at the James L. Knight Convention Center in Miami celebrated the Summit of the Americas and was attended by President Bill Clinton and thirty-four leaders of Western Hemisphere countries. Guerrero went on to produce the star-studded NBC Vida Awards, the CNBC J.D. Power Global Automotive Awards hosted by Tim Allen and the national PBS music special, Vikki Carr: Memories/Memorias that featured Carr, Arturo Sandoval, Mexican superstar Pepe Aguilar and Jack Jones. The bilingual program included a video and CD release.
An earlier bilingual Christmas special produced for Buena Vista International also created a best-selling CD topping the Billboard Top 50 Latin Albums chart. Navidad en las Americas was taped at Disneyland and aired on Univision with Ricky Martin, Chayanne, Jose Feliciano, Pedro Fernandez and Luis Enrique among the TV guest performers.
Guerrero co-produced and co-wrote Lalo Guerrero: The Original Chicano, an award-winning documentary on his late father, Chicano music icon Lalo Guerrero. The film aired nationally on PBS stations in the Voces series hosted by Edward James Olmos and included a DVD/CD release. It has also screened at national and international Film Festivals including the Turks & Caicos International Film Festival where the film garnered awards for Best Documentary, Best Director and Best Song. The eclectic producer/director has been twice honored by the distinguished Imagen Foundation for his positive portrayal of the Latino culture in his work and Hispanic Magazine recognized him as "one of the 25 most powerful Latinos in Hollywood." The Dan Guerrero Collection on Latino Entertainment and the Arts has been established in the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Extent
4 linear feet
Language of Materials
English
Spanish; Castilian
French
Abstract
The Dan Guerrero Papers include ephemera, press kits, clippings, photographs, and audiovisual materials documenting Mr. Guerrero's successful career as a Chicano activist, producer, and performance artist. Also included are materials reflecting the life and career of his father Lalo Guerrero and his dear friend, artist Carlos Almaraz. This collection complements the existing archival collection housed at the University of California, Santa Barbara Department of Special Collections California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives (CEMA). Under their stewardship are both Mr. Guerrero's personal papers as well as his father's.
Physical Location
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library for paging information.
Acquisition Information
Materials were donated to the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center in 2009 by Dan Guerrero. Deed of Gift is on file in the archives office.
Subject
- Guerrero, Lalo (19161224-20050317) (Person)
- Almaraz, Carlos (1941-10-05-1989-12-11) (Person)
- Rodriguez, Paul (Person)
- Carr, Vikki (1941-07-19) (Person)
- Title
- Finding Aid for the Dan Guerrero Papers, 1930-2009
- Author
- Processed by Lizette Guerra and Connie Tong.
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Chicano Studies Research Center Library Repository
144 Haines Hall
Box 951544
Los Angeles California 90095-1544 United States
(310) 206-6052
(310) 206-1784 (Fax)
librarian@chicano.ucla.edu