Mystery solved. Well, sort of.
A few weeks ago, we ran a story about the old KEVT radio station, along with a photo of four unknown musicians.
Almost immediately, the families of two of the musicians came forward. (We're still waiting to hear anything on the other two.)
Our two "found" musicians were Soledad "Chole" Salaz and Gregorio "Goyo" Escalante.
Beginning in the early '30s, they, along with Salaz's brother, Joe, and Lalo Guerrero — all now deceased — performed as Los Carlistas.
Early gigs ranged from Tucson's barrio bars to Hollywood movies, the local Moose Lodge to the "Major Bowes Amateur Hour."
Lalo Guerrero, of course, went on to fame and fortune as "the Father of Chicano Music." Meanwhile, the others carried on, this time as a trio.
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In later years, they would play everywhere from the old Palomino Club — with Cole Porter in attendance — to the Arizona Inn, whose audiences included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Eleanor Roosevelt.
The guitar and their voices were their instruments of choice, singing ballads and folk songs in Spanish and English.
Just don't call it mariachi music.
"My dad detested being identified as a mariachi player," says Frances Salaz Uhrig, daughter of Chole Salaz.
Childhood chums who grew up in the barrio known as El Hoyo, the foursome officially began as Los Carlistas in 1932 with a performance on KVOA radio.
Before that, "they used to go from bar to bar and play for nickels and dimes," says Gil Salaz, Chole's oldest son.
The foursome's venue considerably expanded when they headed for Hollywood to perform in the 1937 oater "Boots and Saddles," starring Gene Autry.
In 1939, they hit the East Coast after the Tucson Chamber of Commerce financed a trip to New York City. There, they performed at the World's Fair and appeared on the "Major Bowes Amateur Hour" radio show, coming in second.
Tucson couldn't have been prouder.
"They set up lights and speakers along Convent and Meyer streets, and broadcast from Jerry's Lee Ho Market," says Gil Salaz. "There must have been 200 or 300 people listening to the program. A lot of people did not have radios back then."
By the early '40s, Guerrero had moved to the West Coast. A 1941 Star story about Los Carlistas called it a trio and does not mention Guerrero's name. It also reported that "Chole Salaz just finished a part in Tyrone Power's 'The Mark of Zorro.' "
During World War II, Joe Salaz served in the Army.
"The USO picked him up and sent him to Europe," says Gil Salaz. "He and Bing Crosby entertained the troops."
Meanwhile, the two remaining Carlistas, Goyo and Chole — a married man who would raise 11 children — gave street performances and sold war bonds, says René Escalante, Goyo's son.
After the war and Joe's return, the trio resumed. Bookings ranged from the old Saddle and Sirloin nightclub to dances at the local country clubs.
"My dad even performed at our assemblies at Safford Junior High when I was there," says Chole's son, Armando Salaz.
To support his large family, Chole Salaz took on a variety of jobs, the last a 23-year career as a deputy Pima County assessor.
"My dad did not know a stranger in town," says Uhrig. "The Anglos called him 'Sol'; the Mexicans called him 'Chole.' He would visit on the street and when we left, I would say, 'Who was that, Dad?' and he would say, 'Beats me.' "
Despite Lalo Guerrero's fame and success, he remained close to his old childhood friends.
"He never came to Tucson without coming to our house," says Uhrig.
"And when we went to California, we would go to Lalo's house," remembers Chole's son, Richard Salaz.
Yet another son, Carlos Salaz, remembers being stationed in California and visiting Guerrero's house. "He always had an open bar."
Family, as well as old friendships, was always important to these men.
"Sunday was our day," says Elize Monette, Goyo Escalante's daughter. "We went to Mass in the morning and then picnics out in the desert."
In time, Joe Salaz moved to Phoenix, and Goyo Escalante and Chole Salaz — with Chole on bass fiddle — teamed up with piano man Bob Auron, calling themselves the Bob Auron Trio with Los Carlistas.
In 1974, Goyo Escalante suffered a devastating stroke. A 1977 Star story reported that Chole Salaz was Los Carlistas' "last locally performing member."
Even so, Monette says her father recuperated enough to sing once again with his old friend Chole.
Gregorio "Goyo" Escalante died in 1979. Joe Salaz died in Phoenix in 1984. And in 1988, Soledad "Chole" Salaz died after complications of open heart surgery.
In 2005, Lalo Guerrero died — the last of a group of boyhood amigos who once sang and harmonized from the barrio and beyond as Los Carlistas.
DID YOU KNOW
Barrio El Hoyo, south of the Tucson Convention Center, is home to El Tiradito, the Wishing Shrine.
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