The nation's leading Latino legal civil rights organization MALDEF has released a new collection of American patriotic songs recorded in Mexican musical styles by the group Ronstadt Generations to "express the ongoing pride of the Latino community in the United States."

Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of MALDEF said the collection "musically demonstrates that Latinos are among those who regularly defend our nation from those who would undermine our Constitution and our nation."

"Latinos have been an important part of this country for generations, with a long history of patriotic service that extends to today, when many immigrants undertake military and other public service out of devotion to the United States," Saenz said. "This patriotic record continues to the present, as recent immigrants and native-born Latinos take up public service in many forms, including courageously stepping forward to defend our constitutional values against efforts -- such as unfair and discriminatory laws -- that would undermine those unifying national principles."

The songs on "America, Our Home," all performed in English, include "America the Beautiful," "My Country 'Tis of Thee," "Battle Hymn of the Republic," "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "This Land is Your Land."

The songs were recorded in four days and were composed by Michael Ronstadt who said the songs are "original interpretations of American patriotic music that reflect the multicultural roots of my family and of this country."

"We're thrilled to partner with MALDEF on this unique project that expresses our pride in America as well as honors our Mexican ancestry," Ronstadt said.

The original arrangements include musical styles such as bolero, cumbia and son jarocho, which use traditional Mexican instruments such as the 12-string bajo sexto guitar, the Mexican harp, the jarana guitar that resembles a ukelele, and the percussion instrument quijada de burro made from a donkey's jaw. Those instruments were combined with cello, bass, acoustic guitar and saxophone to create a unique style and sound for the recordings.

The music is available for digital download at https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/america-our-home-ep/id540746881.