Las Cafeteras will launch a national tour on Aug. 21 with a performance at the Los Angeles Music Center that is part of Summer SoundWaves, the venue’s new outdoor music series that will take place at its Jerry Moss Plaza. 

The band promises to offer an L.A. concert that will showcase its musical evolution, mixing songs from their three past albums along with tracks from their upcoming EP born out of the pandemic. It will also feature guest musicians and a folkloric dance ensemble. Additionally, not surprisingly for a band that is known to be activist and community-oriented, Las Cafeteras will also offer a vaccine clinic for people to get anti-Covid shots.

CREATING MUSIC IN THE PANDEMIC
“Las Cafeteras has been working hard this whole year, and the one thing that we do appreciate is that we never stopped working in this quarantine year,” says Denise Carlos, vocalist and founding member of the band. “We did a lot of work internally for the health of the band for the health of the individuals, but we were also given the opportunity to write new music…and to see the purpose of our music in a new light. And so we are having a show here in our hometown.” 

Offering immunization shots against the coronavirus is something that goes along with the group’s music and message, according to Carlos. “This is really a family event,” she says. “And so, when we think of Las Cafeteras, we think of familias. We think of healthy communities. We also think of joy and revolution and so you will hear your favorites, ‘La Bamba,’ ‘Rebelde,’ ‘Luna Lovers,’ because we always know that our audience craves those songs. But we also have new music and new energy.” New means collaborations with artists like Crisia Regalado, Jesus Gonzalez and Moises Baqueiro, who will perform with Las Cafeteras at the Music Center show. The band is also bringing on stage Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles, a group of which Carlos is also a member.

FOUNDED ON FRIENDSHIP
Las Cafeteras started as a group of friends who studied the traditional form of son jarocho, a traditional Afro-Mexican rhythm from the state of Veracruz, at a community center called the Eastside Cafe. Most were U.S.-born children of Mexican immigrants who had never played any instruments but wanted to learn more about their cultural roots. “Most of us didn’t even really speak Spanish in our day-to-day lives,” recalls Carlos. The Eastside Cafe changed them forever, with the music neophytes eventually turning into a popular band that sings primarily in their parents’ language, shows pride in their cultural legacy and also gives back by teaching music and other arts in their barrios. 

At Eastside Cafe they learned about the Zapatistas, a revolutionary group born in Chiapas, Mexico, to defend indigenous communities that have been oppressed and discriminated against for centuries. “(They) said you have everything in your power to rise up and to have the life that you want,” states Carlos. She and her friends decided to do just that by forming Los Cafeteros in 2005. The name was later changed to honor the band’s feminine spirit. (Cafetero means coffee drinker or coffee grower in Spanish.)

FROM TRADITIONAL SOUNDS TO ECLECTIC FUSION
Powered by jarocho sound in the early years, the band made a name for itself performing in Southern California and in 2009 recorded Live at Mucho Wednesday at La Cita, a famed nightclub in downtown L.A.

Their following album, It’s Time in 2012, brought them national recognition allowing them to perform alongside prominent stars like Cafe Tacuba and Lila Downs as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. “It’s (the album) a call for action, it is time to make a difference in this world,” says Carlos. Their third album Tastes Like L.A. in 2017 delivered a more definite eclectic sound that fused traditional rhythms with rock, hip hop and other modern genres. “Our music is evolving, just like we are,” states the band’s founding member. 

While previous works range from traditional and fusion and even political, an upcoming EP might be more romantic, according to Carlos. “Now, our music is so much about love and so much about joy… We’re kind of playing around with this love song called ‘Thinking About You,’ which we’re going to actually play for the first time that day.” At the Los Angeles Music Center concert, Las Cafeteras will also play “Oaxaca Love Song,” a new track that will be released in September, paying tribute to the ballad music their parents played at home during the band members’ childhood.

NEW SONGS FOR THE ROAD
Energized with new music, Las Cafeteras will visit nearly a dozen cities in California, Illinois, Indianapolis, Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin as well as Toronto, Canada. In addition to Carlos, the other band members are Leah Rose Gallegos, Jose Guadalupe Cruz Cano, David Jesus Flores, Hector Paul Flores, Daniel Joel Jesus French and Xocoyotzin Moraza.

“We’re happy and blessed to say (to) our folks… it’s going to be a busy fall tour and you know, after not touring, after a year of not performing live,” says Carlos. “This is a blessing for us and we hope that it can give a little joy to the world. Because we’ve all been living this really hard roller coaster of a year now.”

For tickets and more information about the Summer Soundwaves concert on Aug. 21, visit www.musiccenter.org.

For more information about the band and its tour, visit www.lascafeteras.com.

Featured Photo: Las Cafeteras (Credit: Farah Sosa)

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Thousands of Latin music and pop culture fans will descend on Las Vegas for FANTASMA: THE AWAKENING scheduled November 1-3, at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. FANTASMA is a three-dady convergence of pop and Latino culture that fuses socially conscious Music, Art, Comedy and Spoken Word into an “awakening” of mind, body and soul! Tickets ($25-$175) are available at www.FANTASMAusa.com.

With the holiday Día De Los Muertos as a cultural backdrop, FANTASMA will deliver the ultimate sensory experience, mixing a fanfare expo, inspiring sessions, and a new age spiritual journey, together with a fest of eclectic talent across musical genres. Among the first talent to be announced includes: Ozomatli, El Gran Silencio, Metalachi, Las Cafeteras, Los Rakas, Making Movies, Tequila Rock Revolution, Marujah, Luchador Blue Demon, Jr., actor Efren Ramirez (Napoleon Dynamite), actor J.W. Cortes (Gotham), Jovan Armand (Shazam!),and Brooklyn St Patrick, Inked Magazine 2018 Cover Model.

FANTASMA highlights include the Ritual Xpo & Fanfare, a playground of cool attractions and meaningful experiences, including:

• Rad-Rods Pavilion – Groovy vehicles including Spawn, Scooby Doo, Deathstroke, and Rick and Morty
• The Zocalo – The hub for meet n’ greets with your favorite pop culture stars
• The Fan Pit – A series of face and body art photo shoots
• Prophecy – Discover your future with palm readers, tarot cards and fortune-telling
• Calaverita & Altar Wall – Cultural altar display and messaging wall
• Word Vegas – Socio-culturalspoken word performances
• Cosplay Performances – All your favorite pop culture characters come alive

Other event highlights are:

• Boulevard Nights Screening – 40^th Anniversary screening of the iconic movie and a cast reunion of Richard Yniguez, Danny De La Paz & Betty Carvalho
• Día de los Muertos Masquerade Ball – A rockin’ spectacle of parade and performances, complete with Red Carpet arrivals
• Sessions – Cultural, holistic spirituality, and Latino content creators

There will be a Ritual Xpo is designed around fans senses of sight, sound and feelings!  FANTASMA Ritual Xpo highlights include: Rad-Rods Pavilion; Music & Cosplay stages, The Zocalo Celebrity Meet & Greets; The Pit Fan Photoshoots; Cultural Arts Exhibition; Content Creators and Prophecy Zones, The Portal featuring the Altar Wall and Calaveritas!

Among some of the special Guests Rick & Morty Illustrator David Angelo Roman, Efren Ramirez (Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite), J.W. Cortes (Detective Alvarez from Gotham), Jovan Armand (Pedro of Shazam), and Brooklyn St Patrick (Inked Magazine July Cover Model).  Athlete appearances include luchadores (Mexican wrestlers), Blue Demon, Jr., Vampiro, and two-time light middleweight world champion boxer Fernando Vargas!  Music performers include: Ozomatli, El Gran Silencio, Metalachi, Las Cafeteras, Los Rakas, Making Movies, Marujah, and Tequila Rock Revolution.  Wrapping up FANTASMA is fan sessions, the 40^th Anniversary of the movie Boulevard Nights (cast and screening), and the Masquerade Ball with Red Carpet Arrivals.

Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino is the host hotel. Call 888-746-6955 for special room rates of $99, with code SRFAN9! For other inquires, call 913-397-8850. FANTASMA is sponsored by Southwest Airlines and Soldiercon.

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