hello and welcome to comunidad del ville. i'm damian trujillo. he's a living legend, we're celebrating my keen sinara. it is your comunidad dell ville. with the mercury news, i was probably ten or 12-year-old back in greenfield, california, and i'm watching tv, the nba on tv.

the lakers against celtics. a 10 and 12-year-old that i would flip the channel to because they were talking about latino issues. the show was called comunidad del ville. it intrigued me because i had never seen a show hosted by latinos. i go back to the nba and i'd flip it back to channel 11 because i was intrigued. this is -- when i was doing the farm work i wanted to be a tractor driver, not a journalist. but here i am. you've been so gracious enough to allow me into your homes every sunday for a half hour. i'm so appreciative. we're celebrating queen sinara. but here a look back at those 15 years. buenos dias. we have a surprise for you this morning. for 15 years you've allowed me into your homes every sunday on your comunidad del ville. fortunate to be joined in a decade and a half by grassroots community leaders, celebrities,

and world leaders. some have been funny. >> yeah you could tell latinos apart from each other? >> the way that they dance. >> that's right. ricardo will show us. we will show with a dance, showing us how latinos or mexicans dance the salsa actually. >> they always flap their arms. >> i say they look like little chickens. americanos. puerto ricans look like they're thinking, did i leave the iron on? >> how about white people, man? how do white people dance? >> white people do the riverdance. >> we have about 30 seconds. website, you guyses have a website. >> culture clash -- www.cultureclash zmoom a lot has changed suns i first start mide career in television. mainly my appearance but today on my quincenara. thanks to my hundreds of guests.

thank you to the viewers who allowed me into your homes and kntv who put up the man with very little patience for putting heavyweight of an iconic show. your humble host for believing in this former farm worker. it is with great honor they carry out the duties of hosting comunidad del ville. thank you for celebrating my quincenara with me. ladies and gentlemen, i'm so honored because he was a guest on communeiddal del ville when i began hosting this program that's been on for 30, 40 years we don't even. joe hernandez of little joe. it's such an honor to have you back on this show. >> my pleasure. my honor. and congratulations. >> thank you. >> 15 years. >> yeah. [ speaking spanish ] >> well, you have children, right. >> yeah, that's it. >> but congratulations, and you

know you're on because people loch you and appreciate you. you have a big heart. you do great things for the public, for the community and the people and we know it and feel that, damian, god has blessed you and by doing that, he's blessed us all. so really. >> thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> for the great work that you do, man. >> i appreciate it. i'm a california kid. but i love -- music. what is it about it that kind of turns at our hearts a little bit from chicano land. i guess we're all from chicano land. >> i think it is the spirits of going along with the music. no, in my case it's just music. it's entertainment and i've been real fortunate with what music's done for me. it's taken me around the world couple of times and you get to meet so many different people from so many different walks of life, many cultures, but the one thing that the common

denominator, music you know. >>ally willie nelson goetz say i get to play with -- >> yeah, my grandson reminds me. grandpa, grandpa, you remember who willie met me? >> well, joe is going to be on for the entire half hour here on "comunidad del ville." actual flee town. there you go. there is more information. we'll be there. it will be a big patchanga. come out and join some great tex-mex. whatever you want to call it. we'll be back with joe. stay wit.

we're back. little joe of familia here on "comunidad del valle" celebrating my quinceanera 15 years. what is it that has kept you going, joe? because when i first saw you 15, 20 years ago you sound like you do now. i mean it's your love of the

music. >> it's an unknown secret. no, the love for the people, the audience, and you know it's -- for me there's nothing greater in life than to be able to make people happy. you know to make people -- to see the emotions when i perform, you know, they cry because they're happy and being sad i guess, it touches our soul and it makes us happy. but really it's all about the audience. it's all about the people. and i love music. and you know i have fun with it. i'm not musically trained. i'm formally -- i didn't go to school for music. but maybe that's kind of what saved me. what is it called? ignorance bliss. i do what i feel and it's worked for me.

>> at what point did it become tex-mex? wases it known as chicana music bhauk started? >> that's what i have called it all along. but i really -- the latin labels it's record companies started using different terms for it but for me it was always chicana music and that's been 50 years now. >> but when you use the word chicano, you have to be able to back it up. no, what credentials do you have to say you're a chicano? >> yeah you're so right and in so many cases, we've all been painted with hispanics or latinos with the same brush which is, hey, we're all people. but for me chicano is a way to identify ourselves, you know you get pulled over by the man and you'd say, well, i'm hispanic.

but you could be from argentine acolombia, peru, america, anywhere you know. but when you say i'm chicano, you know that you are mexican-american or you should know and so in a sense, that's an idea way of me to identify myself. and then the music itself is what this mexican-american kid continues to work with and develop and it's bilingual, you know, bicultural, a lot of times if i don't do it right. but chicano's a state of mind. but really to identify mexican-american. because we all latinos, hispanics, puerto rican, cuban or you know we're all hispanics. >> do you think that there is less of us or more of us using that word chicanos? >> i think back in the '70s remember this when the identity crisis and you know the civil

rights and i did a lot of marching behind that. because the schools you know all of the things that happened with schools. and unfortunately a lot of people think that's a derogatory -- >> my mom didn't want us to use the word chicano and it wasn't until i got to college and hey i am chicano. >> yeah. what's wrong with knowing who we are, you know? you can call yourself whatever you want but it's better if you know who you are and be it. but i think a lot of people just really don't understand the word chicano but we should be proud. just like anybody else, we all should be proud of who we are, where we come from and what we do, you know? i just happen to be chicano like -- people to know that, that's what i am. doesn't make me better, worse or that's who i am. >> how many la familia are you bringing to this upcoming concert here in santa clara? >> so eight people on stage.

>> very nice. >> seven people and me. >> club avalon in santa clarion on july 29th. the number to call for more in. . back and play some music.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> one of my favorite songs

mi nena. whop introduced the brass the accordian. was that you? >> yeah i will take the blame. yeah it's quite a mixture there but there was a guy who done that before me. obviously my musical life -- i grew up listening to. they all had bands similar to what you just saw right there. and i just never thought that i would ever want to live this long. had i known, i would have taken better care of my pickup. but i was influenced by their music, their performances. they were all great artists. >> and all these new and up and

coming performers, they're not young anymore, but they all credit you. you're the godfather. >> that can be good, it can be bad. i'm honored for that you know? but i was beerntfwas born at a place and an era when music was so different. you know i grew up listening to the big band. you know the crooners, the singers from the '40s and even the '30s. i was born in 1940 but through the '50s and '60s these great talents, great artists. so all of that, people see this show and hear me do a sinatra song or a tony bennett song and i have written a couple of things that are similar to that and the biggest compliment they can pay me is when they say, i

have one song they say -- oh my god, those are my heroes. and you know but i've studied like jimenez, i study his writing. and we can learn if we stop and listen. and so i come from that old school, you know? and where suddenly younger artist, taking up from and i wish -- when they ask me i say listen go to the basics, go back and you learn from the people that actually make this music happen, you know? doesn't matter what genre, you know? when you are talking about big men you talking about bass. those were the teachers. all of the artistsnour so beyond but still the foundation is always, to me very, very

important. >> joe actually flew in from austin this morning. he's going to fly back this afternoon. he flew in just for this special taping but he'll be back july 29th at club avalon in santa clara. come on and put your chonclas on. [ female announcer ] this is the story of joycelin... [ joycelin ] it was a typical morning. i was getting ready for work, and then i got this horrible headache, and then i blacked out. [ female announcer ] ...who thought she had reached the end of her story. [ joycelin ] the doctor told me i had two brain aneurysms and that one of them had ruptured. [ female announcer ] fortunately, she was treated at sutter health's california pacific medical center. [ joycelin ] the nurses and doctors were amazing, and they were like a second family to me. and now i'm back to doing what i love. [ female announcer ] california pacific medical center and sutter health.

our story is you. we're back with little joe, of little joe la familia here on "comunidad del valle" celebrating my quinceanera on my show. and you have an affinity, joe, for the american veteran. i remember yovan, i was never brave enough to sign my name the dotted line. talk to me briefly about your honor and respect toward the american veteran. >> well, i think -- my family has been very military starting with one of my uncles who fought in world war ii, and then my

older brother is in the korean conflict. my second oldest brother did two tours in vietnam and it goes down the line. altogether, my family has served in the military over 400 years. >> wow. >> that's a lot. my nieces and nephews and cousins. i have one sister that had four kids that were all military and three boys and the girl and the girl outranked them all. >> wow. >> yeah. >> the old man in the military. >> yeah. and i don't know, maybe that comes in the gene. my mom's father was [ speaking spanish ] who i'm named after. but like you i never served. and i think back in those days there was one way to get -- to break the cycle of poverty. i read books about so many chicanos that would enlist you know just to get out of the --

the field. and you know wanted to 7 their country, you know they wanted to make a contribution. since the iraq war broke, i started opening up the show with "america the beautiful" which i still do today and i said i will do this till the war's over but you know unfortunately there will always be wars. i just continued it. and we need to pay respect. we owe the veterans. a la the military and their families. but we need to acknowledge veterans, man, because there is no way to pay them what they've -- what we owe them, you know? and unfortunately as rich of the country that we are, we're not living up to our promises to them. so anytime that anybody out there can do anything for the now -- the people in the military now and the veterans, open hand is always welcome

because they should not be on stamps -- food stamps. but that's another story for another sometime that's another entire half hour. real briefly, if you will, you're working on this new project now? >> well, several. >> okay. >> there's a movie. >> something to look forward in the near future. >> yeah. the movie is a comic. it's my third -- my fourth movie. i'm not an actor i can say that but i have three movies to prove i'm not an actor. but this is not da vinci code. you probably blinked to the south and thought this is a da vinci code and what is happening is whoever can decipher the code controls the -- and you can control all of the tequila that flow. it's such a low budget that it doesn't have a name, i'm called the old man and i have a girlfriend whom i loan money, to the producer/director/writer of

the movie but in turn make my girlfriend a star. and in the end it all turns -- it comes back at me. >> i can't wait. i can't wait. tell the folks at home what they can expect when they come to the club avalon on july 29th. >> you can have a great time. it's up to you. the music and the entertainment, i promise, i'll bring the best. i always do my very best. i don't know what kind of seating you'll get but you'll get -- you'll get a great show. you'll get a fun show. just come prepared. >> all right. joe hernandez, you were here 15 years ago, i'm honored that you flew all the way from austin to be with me. >> i had to come congratulate you and i hope 15 years you'll still be here doing what you do best, man. >> thank you. >> and i thank you on behalf of all of the people who didn't get a chance to say hello to you and say gracias. >> thank you. joe hernandez of little joe familia july 29th at club avalon

in santa clara. the number to call for more information. we thank you again for allowing me, joe, and everybody else into your homes on this special sunday. thanks for celebrating my quinceanera with you. we leave you now with more of little joe with little joe la familia. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪