México rocks Coachella with a band close to home
By: Patrick O’Heffernan
Regional Mexican bands and Latin Acts were shot through the program at Coachella Music and Art Festival last week– twenty Latin acts including four regional Mexican bands.
Near the top was Banda MS from nearby Mazatlán, which got the packed crowd moving with their first hit El Mechón», followed by songs like » El Color de Tus Ojos», «Hermosa Experiencia» and bit of «Qué Maldición», originally recorded with Snoop Dog. Much of the crowd seemed to know the lyrics pretty well, at least from the YouTube videos I have watched (I wasn’t there) .
Latin-Grammy winners Groupo Firme from Tijuana energized a screaming crowd of thousands with their hit “El Toxico” on Day 2. Sunday was the Coachella debut of Natanael Cano, who combines rock, rap and pop and corridos, and Ed Maverick from Chihuahuan with his singer-songwriter folk, alternative and rock music mashups.
Other Latin acts included Karol G, Niki Nicole, Anitta, Alaina Castillo, Nathy Peluso, and the Latin-Canadian Jessica Reyes along with American- Mexican bands Chicago Batman, Cuco, Ela Minus, Omar Apollo, Pabllo Vittar, and The Marias .
So why all the Latin acts and four Mexican regional bands at Coachella this year? A few Latino artists have performed at Coachella since its inception in 2001, including Café Tacvba, Julieta Venegas, Nortec Collective and Los Ángeles Azules, but they really broke through in 2019 with the flamenco fusion artist Rosalía, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin in Main Stage prime spots.
The numbers tell us why Mexican and Latin acts were there this year. MRC, which tracks music trends, revealed in its 2021 Year End Report that Latin music album consumption in the U.S. grew by 21.1% in 2021, more than any other core music genre. The number of Latin albums bought and streamed in the US hit 48.2 million and generated more than US$886.1 million, making Latin music the #5 most-consumed music genre NOB.
Latin bands are now for everyone. Whether it’s Bad Bunny, Karol G, Banda MS, or anyone playing reggaeton, research shows the audiences are of mixed cultures. Spanish lyrics are not a deterrent – people love the Latin beats even if they don’t get the lyrics.
Mexican/Spanish music has been around the US since before there was a US, when colonists from Mexico introduced the guitar to Florida and the Southwest of what is now the US. By the 1930’s California radio stations were playing norteño and mariachi for farm workers. Cuban music landed in New York City in the 40’s with Arsenio Rodríguez, Desi Arnez , and La Lupe. During the rock revolution Latinos were there with songs like “La Bomba”, and “Tequila”, and bossa nova.
This year the regional Mexican band Groupo Firme sold out 7 nights at Staples Center in LA, only one night shy of the record set by Adele, a sign that American music audiences – especially younger fans –resonate with Mexican regional sounds.
So the regional Mexican and Latin bands on the program at Coachella last week were following, not leading, the audience. Coachella2022 was another footstep in the progress of music sin fronteras – music without borders. !Viva musica de Mexico!
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