WTUL's Juliana Stricklen and Catalina Gallagher interview Hector Flores of Las Cafeteras, a six-piece band that originally started as group of students at Eastside Cafe, a community space in East Los Angeles, where they learned to play son jarocho, a traditional music style from Veracruz, Mexico. All of the band's members are children of immigrants and often weave their family and personal stories into the music, rewriting many traditional songs with their own music and compositions. They will play Friday, March 2 at Hi Ho Lounge with Orkestra Mendoza of Tuscon, AZ.
Listen to the interview with Las Cafeteras on the WTUL Soundcloud here.
The group features traditional Mexican folk instruments including the jarana, an 8-string guitar; the quijada, a donkey jawbone (which serves as a percussive scraper) and a tarima, a wooden platform for dancing zapateado, and often use other influences of hip hop and rock to ground their music in a unique sound.
We talked to them about their origins, connections to New Orleans history, stories from their tour with Orkestra Mendoza, instruments they play, and the role of music in creating societal change.
You can check out their show tonight at Hi Ho Lounge:
www.facebook.com/events/341826756316340/
And more about Las Cafeteras here:
lascafeteras.com/