November 3, 2023

Note of Life: Gertie and the T.O. Boyz

As the only female band leader on the Tohono O'odham reservation, Gertie Lopez is a is a celebrated musician who has been a force in Tucson’s music community for decades.
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Gertrude “Gertie” Lopez is a celebrated Tohono O’odham musician who has been a force in Tucson’s music community for decades. She is revered as the only female band leader on the Tohono O'odham reservation, writing and performing a traditional style of music known as ‘waila’, with her band Gertie and the T.O. Boyz. She now inspires a new generation of musicians to preserve waila’s rich history.

Gertrude “Gertie” López es una música célebre Tohono O’odham, cuya ha sido una fuerza en la comunidad musical de Tucson por décadas. Ella es venerada como la única mujer líder de banda en la reservación Tohono O’odham. López compone y toca un estilo tradicional de música conocida como “waila” con su banda “Gertie and the T.O. Boyz”. Ella ahora inspira una nueva generación de músicos que preservarán la rica historia del waila.

Producer: Abraham Cooper
Videographer: Özlem Ayşe Özgür
Editor: Emmanuel Joubeaud
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