JOAN BÁEZ
The famous folk singer and activist’s father, Albert Vinicio Báez, was born in Puebla, Mexico. He was a prominent Mexican-American physicist and co-inventor of the X-Ray microscope. Joan Báez became famous in the late 60s as a folk singer. As an activist, Joan Báez was a critic of the Vietnam War and of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. In 1974 she released the Spanish-language album titled, Gracias a la Vida, (the title song was composed by Chilean Violeta Parra), which was a big hit in Latin America. Báez never shied away from her Latino heritage as eloquently stated in the dedication to the album: “This record is dedicated to my father who gave me my Latin name and whatever optimism about life I may claim to have.”
