How an East LA band fuses Mexican tradition with urban rhythms
Experience the sonic landscape of Quetzal, an East LA Chicano group that blends traditional son jarocho music from Veracruz with rock, R&B, and urban beats to explore themes of social activism and environmental change.
Founded by guitarist Quetzal Flores, the band emerged from the 1992 Los Angeles uprisings as a medium for social commentary. Their album 'Imaginaries', released on February 28, 2012, represents their fifth studio work and their first for Smithsonian Folkways.
The music traverses diverse textures, from the 5/4 time signature of '2+0+1+2=Five'—a piece addressing environmental destruction—to the rock and R&B influences found in the title track. This collection is part of the Smithsonian Folkways Tradiciones/Traditions series, a project co-produced with the Smithsonian Latino Center to highlight the musical heritage of the 50 million Latinos in the United States.
Source: "Todo Lo Que Tengo (All That I Have)" by Quetzal from "Imaginaries"
