Ruben Molina

Ruben Molina is a prominent independent scholar and soul music collector. He holds an extensive collection of Mexican-American and soul music recordings that he has compiled since he was a teenager in 1960s Los Angeles. In 2000, Ruben penned his first book, ‘The Old Barrio Guide to Lowrider Music.’ His first book cataloged the music consumed by Chicanos immersed in ‘70s lowrider culture.   In 2008, he wrote ‘Chicano Soul: Recordings and History of an American Culture,’ which further documented the recordings and history of Mexican-American soul groups and garage bands throughout the Southwest. Ruben Molina also served as co-producer on the documentary Chicano Rock for PBS, worked on the Smithsonian Institute’s traveling American Sabor museum exhibition centric on Latino popular music, and contributed to the film Latin Music USA. Ruben also shares his soul music collection through his DJ sets. In 2011, he became co-founder of Southern California record collective called the Southern Soul Spinners. Most recently, his DJ sets have been enjoyed in New York, Chicago, England, Mexico City, Spain, and Germany. Between 2017 and 2018, Ruben Molina was busy writing and co-producing the documentary short, Soul Of Lincoln Heights. In 2021, Ruben Molina began working with IMG Records, a label founded by Ruben “Cazel” Garcia, and has contributed to various cultural projects around Southern California.