[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 124 (Thursday, September 19, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1347]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING RAFAEL ``CHAPITO'' CHAVARRIA ON HIS YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE 
                   PHOENIX MEXICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ED PASTOR

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 19, 2013

  Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Rafael 
Chavarria on the upcoming documentary chronicling his culturally 
impactful life and career as a musician in the State of Arizona. Rafael 
Chavarria was born in April 1914, in Solomonville, Arizona.
   For more than 60 years, Rafael Chavarria, affectionately known as 
``Chapito'' by all who know him, contributed his style of music to the 
Hispanic community of Phoenix, Arizona, providing a cultural 
cohesiveness for Hispanics in Arizona at a time when many 
establishments openly discriminated against them.
   Mr. Chavarria's illustrious career started in 1923 at the tender age 
of nine years old when he began playing with his father's band at 
weddings. Mr. Chavarria's style of music highlights the influences of 
Latin music and Mexican culture that he was exposed to when he was 
growing up in East Los Angeles during the 1930s. Mr. Chavarria's most 
important contribution to the genre was incorporating aspects of 
American swing and the jitterbug to the tropical rhythms that were 
popular in Mexico City during the 1940s and '50s.
   Thanks to Mr. Chavarria's tireless efforts, genres of music from the 
waltz, polka, and bolero to the cha-cha, and rumba, among others, 
became popularized in Arizona.
   Despite experiencing a childhood full of discrimination and 
segregation, when the country went to war in World War II, Mr. 
Chavarria, like many in his generation, served his country. He was 
drafted as a firefighter for the Army Air Corp in 1943 and served in 
the South Pacific--eventually earning the Good Conduct Medal, American 
Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II 
Victory Medal for his service.
   Through his music, Mr. Chavarria became one of most important 
cultural icons for the State of Arizona, serving as the catalyst that 
brought together the Arizona Hispanic community--helping to maintain 
their culture and arts.
   Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Rafael ``Chapito'' Chavarria on 
his documental debut highlighting his contribution to the vibrant 
history of the Hispanic community in Arizona and ask my colleagues to 
join me in praising his commitment to his music, his family, and his 
community.

                          ____________________