Historical Portrait
Leon Ponce, half-length portrait, photograph
Archive record
Photograph caption: "Mr. Ponce is half Indian. His only language is English." Forms part of a group of field materials documenting Leon Ponce performing Anglo-American music on July 17, 18, and 31, 1939, collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Columbia, Tuolumne County, California.
About this photograph
Leon Ponce was photographed in Columbia, Tuolumne County, California as part of the W.P.A. California Folk Music Project's documentation of traditional musicians across Northern California. Sidney Robertson Cowell, who directed the project between 1938 and 1940, recorded Ponce performing Anglo-American music on three occasions in July 1939.
The photograph's original caption notes that Ponce is half Indian and speaks only English. This detail was recorded alongside similar information about other performers' backgrounds as Cowell worked deliberately across immigrant and ethnic communities rather than focusing on a single tradition.
The field materials from these sessions, including this portrait and the recordings made on July 17, 18, and 31, are held by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.
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