Las Cafeteras: Bringing Song and Dance to the Struggle
By Lucy Guanuna
May 28, 2013
L.A. Activist
A band born out of the immigrant’s rights movement in Los Angeles is reinvigorating the struggle, providing uplifting and empowering music for people to dance to.
Las Cafeteras, a seven-piece band, produces music that embodies the transnational identities of LA by taking the afro-indigenous influences of Son Jarocho, folk music from Veracruz, Mexico, and mixing it with genres that spring from its urban roots, including hip-hop and indie rock.
The band’s music is uniquely LA, and has been adopted as anthems by many in social justice movements.
Hector Flores, singer and requinto guitarist, said the band members never had the intention to become a band but he’s glad it happened.
“We started playing informally at different events and eventually people started noticing us and saying ‘Ay, here comes Los Cafeteros,’” he said. “At that point we needed to accept that we actually were a band and we needed an official name. We ended up keeping the feminine form of what people were already referring to us as, ‘Las Cafeteras,’ to challenge patriarchy.”
The band formed in 2005 out of the Eastside Cafe, an autonomous community center in El Sereno, after the members began taking Son Jarocho music classes together. They have since toured across the U.S., at universities, marches, conferences, as well as large- and small-scale concerts.
Las Cafeteras released its first studio album, “It’s Time,” in the Fall of 2012, and has since been busy with performances and events. The band has opened for Grammy award-winning Lila Downs and Ozomatli, among other notable artists.
Jose Cano, the band’s percussionist, said although they enjoy performing at big shows with well-known artists, he prefers smaller more intimate gigs.
“Playing on a big stage with a lot of lights and people is fun, but sometimes we play in a living room, a community garden or a small community center where it’s more intimate and there’s no lights or anything to cover you,” he said. “It’s really nice to be playing and to have somebody right next to you, watching and asking questions.”
Prior to becoming a band, the members were already close as family and friends who had met while organizing, which makes their bond much stronger because they all have a mutual respect for each other, said Cano.
Singer and jarana guitarist, Denise Carlos, and Cano met as students at Cal State LA through the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan de CSUN, or MEChA, a student organization that promotes higher education, culture and Chicano history.
“I met Hector at a march. I met Daniel at another march. Lots of us met in the struggle [to save] the South Central Farm, a large community garden [from demolition],” said Cano.
Cal State Northridge’s MEChA students got a chance to see Las Cafeteras in 2010 at a Dia de los Muertos event hosted by the Chicano House, a center for Latino studies.
“Their message is positive,” said Luis Mendoza, 24-year-old senior and Chicano studies major. “It’s about peace, love, empowerment, and cultural identity. They were giving back to the community. I noticed they incorporated a lot of current events that affected the Latino community into their songs.”
The members of the band take pride in being Chicanos and being from East LA, and this is echoed through many of the songs, as they tell their stories which reflect those of workers, activists, immigrants and those who grow and thrive in an urban landscape.
“What we sing about is our reality,” said marimbolera, Annette Torres. “My mom and siblings came from Mexico and crossed the border. They dealt with discrimination here. My older sister stayed in Mexico and took care of six kids while my mom worked and made money under the table to send to Mexico and eventually they came over here. We speak the truth of our own experiences.”
What Las Cafeteras do is sing about the beauty of being in the struggle, said Flores. He believes people see themselves in the stories they tell.
“We try to revive the history and legacy that arose out of East LA as a struggle that’s going on today,” he said. “Los Angeles is a movement shaker. If East LA moves, Los Angeles moves, and if LA moves, the country moves. This city is a critical part of the country and the country is a critical part of the world.”
View on L.A. Activist>
Las Cafeteras, a seven-piece band, produces music that embodies the transnational identities of LA by taking the afro-indigenous influences of Son Jarocho, folk music from Veracruz, Mexico, and mixing it with genres that spring from its urban roots, including hip-hop and indie rock.
The band’s music is uniquely LA, and has been adopted as anthems by many in social justice movements.
Hector Flores, singer and requinto guitarist, said the band members never had the intention to become a band but he’s glad it happened.
“We started playing informally at different events and eventually people started noticing us and saying ‘Ay, here comes Los Cafeteros,’” he said. “At that point we needed to accept that we actually were a band and we needed an official name. We ended up keeping the feminine form of what people were already referring to us as, ‘Las Cafeteras,’ to challenge patriarchy.”
The band formed in 2005 out of the Eastside Cafe, an autonomous community center in El Sereno, after the members began taking Son Jarocho music classes together. They have since toured across the U.S., at universities, marches, conferences, as well as large- and small-scale concerts.
Las Cafeteras released its first studio album, “It’s Time,” in the Fall of 2012, and has since been busy with performances and events. The band has opened for Grammy award-winning Lila Downs and Ozomatli, among other notable artists.
Jose Cano, the band’s percussionist, said although they enjoy performing at big shows with well-known artists, he prefers smaller more intimate gigs.
“Playing on a big stage with a lot of lights and people is fun, but sometimes we play in a living room, a community garden or a small community center where it’s more intimate and there’s no lights or anything to cover you,” he said. “It’s really nice to be playing and to have somebody right next to you, watching and asking questions.”
Prior to becoming a band, the members were already close as family and friends who had met while organizing, which makes their bond much stronger because they all have a mutual respect for each other, said Cano.
Singer and jarana guitarist, Denise Carlos, and Cano met as students at Cal State LA through the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan de CSUN, or MEChA, a student organization that promotes higher education, culture and Chicano history.
“I met Hector at a march. I met Daniel at another march. Lots of us met in the struggle [to save] the South Central Farm, a large community garden [from demolition],” said Cano.
Cal State Northridge’s MEChA students got a chance to see Las Cafeteras in 2010 at a Dia de los Muertos event hosted by the Chicano House, a center for Latino studies.
“Their message is positive,” said Luis Mendoza, 24-year-old senior and Chicano studies major. “It’s about peace, love, empowerment, and cultural identity. They were giving back to the community. I noticed they incorporated a lot of current events that affected the Latino community into their songs.”
The members of the band take pride in being Chicanos and being from East LA, and this is echoed through many of the songs, as they tell their stories which reflect those of workers, activists, immigrants and those who grow and thrive in an urban landscape.
“What we sing about is our reality,” said marimbolera, Annette Torres. “My mom and siblings came from Mexico and crossed the border. They dealt with discrimination here. My older sister stayed in Mexico and took care of six kids while my mom worked and made money under the table to send to Mexico and eventually they came over here. We speak the truth of our own experiences.”
What Las Cafeteras do is sing about the beauty of being in the struggle, said Flores. He believes people see themselves in the stories they tell.
“We try to revive the history and legacy that arose out of East LA as a struggle that’s going on today,” he said. “Los Angeles is a movement shaker. If East LA moves, Los Angeles moves, and if LA moves, the country moves. This city is a critical part of the country and the country is a critical part of the world.”
View on L.A. Activist>