The Poetry of Record Digging

During a lecture in Berlin, Audre Lorde said she was “committed to poetry not only as an art but as a way of life,” and that it is “through poetry that we give name to those ideas which are, until the poem, nameless and formless.”

When I dig through crates and hold a vinyl record, I feel as though I’ve found someone’s poetry. Each record carries stories, artwork, memory, experiences, and history waiting for a new listener to carry its story forward.

That sense of discovery is what keeps me returning to record shops and swap meets all throughout California and Baja California. I can spend hours digging through crates, carefully examining album covers, reading liner notes, and taking photos to reference later. More often than not, I leave with records from the $5 and under bin or the $100 pesos and under section in Mexico. I’ve always been drawn to the records others overlook, dismiss, or undervalue.

It was through these forgotten records that I began uncovering the stories of ranchera women singers, their histories, and the ways they were valued, or undervalued, by audiences and by the men who shaped the music industry around them. What began as record collecting became a way of tracing cultural memory and searching for voices that deserve to be heard and recognized in music history.

Many of the songs on this record were passed on through my father to me, and others I have learned through my continuing interest in the great traditions of Mexico. These songs comprise a tradition both of my family and of a country which has made profound contributions to the world of music. They are a living memory of heartfelt experience.
— L. Ronstadt, Canciones de mi Padre (1987)

So, I wanted to share a few of my favorite cities to dig for records (with record shops recommendation), and hopefully inspire you to discover a piece of history, memory, or music that speaks to your own story.

If you visit any of these record shops, I’d love to see what you uncover. Send me photos of the Latin records that find their way into your collection. Every record carries a story, and perhaps the one you discover will eventually find its way into the archive, continuing its journey from one listener to the next.