- Wrote countless mood pieces for various television shows.
- Was incapacitated in an accident in Mexico while visiting his brother. He fell from a taxi and broke his hip, aggrivating an old spinal injury.
- A film about Mr. Esquivel, starring John Leguizamo and directed by Alexander Payne, is being developed by Fox Studios.
- In 2004, a clip from his composition "Miniskirt" was used in a US TV commercial for the Chevrolet Equinox SUV.
- During his live performances in the 1960s, he incorporated lighting effects to add to the mood of the music, years before psychedlic rock bands did. He was also known to change tuxedos as many as twelve times during a performance.
- Coined the term "sonorama" to describe his musical arrangements that were designed especially for recording in stereo.
- Recorded music in a distinctly original way, with unorthodox composition and arrangement styles, often incoroprating Chinese bells, jaw harp, bass accordion, organ, harpsichord, a mariachi string band, a chorus shouting out nonsensical scat in harmony, and bongos with a traditional big band setting.
- His style of music has been called "Spage Age Pop" and "Space Age Batchelor Pad Music".
- Reviewers and critics have called him "a pop avant-gardist" and "the Busby Berkley of Cocktail Music".
- A prolific composer, his eccentric recorded work nearly fell into obscurity. He is now held in very high regard by the followers of "lounge culture". His fans include John Zorn, Fred Schneider (of the B-52's), and Michael "The Millionare" Cudahy (of Combustable Edison).
- Co-composed the Revue/Universal Studios TV jingle with Stanley Wilson.
- Esquivel was married a total of six times; his last marriage was to his 25-year-old health care aide, Carin Osorio, in May 2001, when he was 83.
- Esquivel and his Orchestra often played Las Vegas casinos as the opening act for Frank Sinatra.
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