Lalo Guerrero has been lauded as the "father of Chicano music." Beginning in the 1930s, he wrote songs in the big band and swing genres that were popular at the time. He expanded his repertoire to include songs written in traditional genres of Mexican music, and during the farmworkers' rights campaign, wrote music in support of César Chávez and the United Farm Workers. Jeffrey Lee Pierce of The Gun Club often spoke about being half-Mexican and growing up with the Chicano culture.