Ballet Folklórico de México

I first got to know this disc in 1964 when a family from Guadalajara who had just taken up residence several doors from where I was living in my southwest American town was kind enough to share it with me. In the Wikipedia article quoted below it's described as a "Living Stereo LP", but the "Living Stereo" logo appears neither on the jacket nor on the label (perhaps for licensing reasons). The sound of this LP, however, gives enough evidence of a "Living Stereo" recording. While this particular copy is a reissue from the 1970s, the jacket remains that of the original. This pressing is also a "dynaflex" LP – and this RCA trademark also does not appear.*

From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet_Folkl%C3%B3rico_de_M%C3%A9xico):

"Ballet Folklórico de México is a folkloric ballet ensemble in Mexico City. For five decades it has presented dances in costumes that reflect the traditional culture of Mexico. The ensemble has appeared under the name, Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández.

The ballet works and musical pieces reflect various regions and folk music genres of Mexico. Many of the ensemble's works reflect the traditions of indigenous Mesoamerican culture. Numbers of performers in individual dance numbers range from two to over thirty-five. From the group's founding by Amalia Hernández in 1952, the group grew from eight performers to a fifty piece ensemble by the end of the decade. In 1959 the group officially represented Mexico at the Pan American Games in Chicago. Under Hernández the group was a pioneer of Baile Folklórico in Mexico....

The ensemble performs three times weekly at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City. Additionally, it has toured widely in the US and has appeared in over 80 other countries.

There are three types of Ballet Folklorico. Danza, Mestizo, and Bailes Rejionales.

In 1963 [the Ballet Folklórico de México] issued a "Living Stereo" LP, Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, on RCA Records of Mexico, RCA Victor MKS-1530. (Supervisory personnel at time of release of RCA record: Amalia Sarabia, general director and choreography, Ramon Noble, musical coordination, Celestino Gogorostiza, general supervision.)"

Ballet Folklórico de México

Side 1:

1. Los Dioses

 2. Michoacan

3. Revolución

4. La Huasteca

5. Los Tarascos

Side 2:

6. Fiesta en Veracruz

7. Danza de los Quetzales

8. Boda en Tehuantepec

9. Los Sonajeros de Tuxpan

10. Zafra en Tamaulipas

11. La Danza del Venado

12. Jalisco

Amalia Sarabia, general director and choreography

Ramon Noble, musical coordination

Celestino Gogorostiza, general supervision  

(LP transfer; RCA, 1963)

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*One reads on the back of US issues of "dynaflex" LP's from the early 1970's: 

"dynaflex is the RCA trademark for a new development [sic] in record manufacturing that provides a smoother, quieter surface and improved ability to reproduce musical sound. This lightweight record also virtually eliminates warpage and turntable slippage." 

Of course, none of this was ever true. It was not a "development", but an early "shock doctrine" attempt to offset an increase in oil prices during the so-called "petroleum crisis" of the early 1970's (petroleum being used in vinyl production) by marketing a cheapened, inferior product as an "innovation" (in short, the correct term is "fraud"). "Dynaflex" discs are exceedingly thin and flimsy, i.e., less the thickness of standard LP's thus costing less to manufacture because less vinyl is needed. The ironic twist was that dynaflex LP's were marketed as "virtually eliminating warpage" when exactly the opposite was the case.

A number of US "dynaflex" pressings in my possession are so badly warped (from when I bought them new, c. 1971), that they need to be fixed by an adhesive to the turntable in order to avoid that they slip; and they must must be carefully played in order to prevent sound distortion resulting from the general level of warpage. When these LP's revolve on the turntable, they remind one of large waves on the ocean, viewed from the horizon. "Dynaflex", then, was a small, comparatively "insignificant" foretaste of the "normal" world we now live in...

(Fortunately, the Ballet Folklórico de México LP is not warped.)