Las Cafeteras grooves their way to the East Bay
What do we get when we combine storytelling about topics ranging from immigration to racial and gender injustice to the possibilities of a more inclusive world, with global beats, hip-hop and “son jarocho”—a style of folk music and dance rooted in Veracruz, Mexico—with the passion and talent of six Latinx organizers-turned-musicians-and-artists? We get the six-person band Las Cafeteras.
When California-based band Las Cafeteras found themselves on the East Coast just as folks in Philadelphia were rallying to spare their Chinatown from gentrification and shield it from being replaced with the 76ers arena, the group didn’t think twice before accepting the invitation to sing, dance and play music in solidarity with the cause.
“The organizers knew we were coming to town; they reached out to us,” Hector Flores, the band’s vocalist and instrumentalist, said. “The rally was in the morning. Our show was that night. We traveled three states to get there, we made it and we played.”
Why? “It’s what we do!” Flores said with an ear-to-ear grin at six in the morning after a late night East Coast show, with his bandmate Denise Carlos at his side.
As Las Cafateras made their way back across the country to the East Bay, where they were scheduled to perform at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts, their pitch was pretty straightforward.
“We’re the best band you’ve never heard of. Our albums and our music videos are one thing, but we’re a whole different thing live,” Flores said. “We’ll take you on a journey from Afro-Mexican-inspired music through the Americas, with son jarocho and hip-hop, and bring you from the past to the future. If you’re down with that, we’ll see you on the dance floor. And if you’re not, stay home.”
Something noteworthy for listeners, dancers, appreciators and budding fans of Las Cafeteras for this particular tour is that as the band is playing their already established hits such as La Bamba Rebelde and If I Was President, they’re trying out their new material and perfecting their songs for their next album, set to be released in 2024.
The group met in college while doing community activist work. Collectively the members organized around gender justice, immigrant rights, racial justice and other rights. And when the members discovered the particular style of music known as son jarocho, their world opened up even further, and so did their capacity to reach broader audiences.
“The music allowed us to sing traditional folk songs and write our own verses relating to the organizing work that we were already doing,” Flores said. “Music has always been a part of movement work all over the world—whether it’s fighting apartheid in South Africa, singing gospel songs and hymns as a form of resistance in the South or fighting injustice in Latin America with Victor Jara. And we’re excited to be part of that legacy.”
Flores remembers resisting the label of “band” early on in the group’s musical journey.
“We used to say it on the mic,” he said. “We’re not a band, we’re a collective.”
Denise Carlos, a vocalist and folkdancer in the group, chimed in with a smile, describing an identity crisis that brought the group from a place of resistance to a place of accepting the term “band.” The journey to deciding and then owning that they were in fact a band happened when they were offered an opportunity they couldn’t resist. Somewhere between 2008 and 2010—depending on who is asked—when Las Cafeteras opened for Carla Morrison, they were invited by a Japanese promoter to up their musical game.
“We were approached by someone who takes Chicano bands to Japan. He asked us if we had a website, a music video and an album. We said, ‘No.’ He told us to give him those three things and we’d go to Japan,” Flores said. “We decided to record four songs and go to Japan. Long story short: We never went to Japan, but we ended up here.”
Even if the group never did go to Japan, Flores said the promoter gave the group the nudge that sent them in the direction they needed to go.
“At the time, Denise [Carlos] was the director of a gender and sexuality center. I was the co-director of youth organizing in East Los Angeles at a nonprofit,” Flores said. “We were all involved with community organizing for the Zapatista community. It wasn’t until someone told us to put a product together that we realized our potential. We had never thought of our music as a product or thought of recording it.”
While Carlos regards the experience as a happy accident, Flores, who feels it was inevitable, said, “If it hadn’t been that invitation, it might have been another one.”
Nevertheless, the group seems to agree that the nudge from the promoter in some way led to this version of the musical collective-turned-band known as Las Cafeteras.
While the origin stories of the individuals in the band may be rooted in their desire to challenge the injustices of the world through organizing, they now organize through music that weaves storytelling and performance together. They are clear that the ability or willingness to protest is not universally synonymous with songwriting and production, and believe strongly in having a respect for the art.
“Just because you can protest doesn’t mean you can write good songs. I think we’ve evolved as songwriters, musicians and storytellers to be responsible with the art,” Flores said. “It’s not just about the struggle and all that immigrants go through. We also want you to dance until three in the morning. There can be so much anger and tension around politics and difference. But you get on the dance floor and you see we’re so much more alike than we are different. Everybody wants to feel good.”
Flores weighed in on the criticism artists such as Kendrick Lamar faced during Black Lives Matter protests for not being present in the streets.
“I remember someone saying, ‘Kendrick Lamar is in the studio creating music so that we can feel proud walking down the streets and we can chant and sing his songs,’” Flores said. “I think that’s dope. In the movement, they sometimes want you to do everything. But everybody has a role and a strength. Once you’re clear on your role, do that and don’t worry about other folks.”
Carlos, who brings a vibrancy to the stage with her brightly colored hair, her costumes and her stage presence as she sings and dances, said she’s been passionate about Mexican folk dancing for as long as she can remember. But she believes there’s a greater force at play when it comes to performing.
“When I was a lot younger, people would tell me, ‘tu tienes el don’—’you have the spirit/the thing.’ I started with this [Las Cafateras] in my mid-20s. I didn’t necessarily think I was the most talented or the most skilled. But I do think there’s a calling for what I do and for what we do,” Carlos said. “We always say we’re storytellers before we’re musicians and so we really feel like music somehow serves as our invitation into storytelling through music. I think that’s guided us to be a part of a legacy of artists looking to impact social change.”
Along with the group’s dedication to and respect for son jarocho, the art of their music, the craft of their songs and the spirit of their performance, comes a deep sense of humility and connection with their roots.
“We’re able to reflect on our upbringing and our undocumented immigrant families,” Carlos said. “Through those experiences and lenses, we’re able to imagine a world where our families are able to live freely and joyfully. Yes, we know protest is necessary, but we want to offer stories and imagination in our music. I think that’s what we’re meant to do.”
Depending on the time of the day and the venue, one might find a blend of adults, college students, activists and corporate or blue collar professionals partaking in a Las Cafeteras concert, looking for a good time and a way to wind down and have fun. One might also find an intergenerational crowd ranging in age from young children to parents and grandparents. One of Carlos’ favorite things that often happens when performing in front of an intergenerational crowd is being approached by little girls who see themselves and their own potential in her performance and in her presence on stage.
“It’s the best feeling when there are little girls waiting for me after a show,” she said. “As a Latina woman, I didn’t see a lot of examples of people that looked like me on stage or hear them making music.”
Just a day ahead of her interview with East Bay Express, Carlos met a little girl named Sonora with Mexican lineage.
“I told her that I was born in Sonora and that my parents were married there and that there’s a delicious taco place called Sonora. The little girl was so happy, and her mom told me it was the first time her daughter had met someone that had known the meaning of her name,” Carlos said, radiating joy as she retold the story.
“These are the moments that matter,” she added. “Our fans see us being fierce and happy and running around, and they receive this softness and an offering of love with our music. It’s like somebody knows me and I don’t have to explain myself.”
Flores said that along with having access to many progressive or politically liberal platforms and states, the band visits and plays for a lot of red states or areas that are known for their conservatism. The message, though, is always the same.
“We come with open hearts and minds and a loving agenda, which is peace, love, justice. And sometimes that seems to be just the thing that people need,” he said. “If people come to our shows to party and they have a great time listening to our music, we’re super down with that. If they leave and they say they loved the message, we’re down with that, too. If they do both, that’s the ultimate sweet spot.”
As the popularity of and demand for Las Cafeteras’ music, concerts, merchandise, albums and workshops on topics like “artivism” steadily increases, the band members have, for the most part, left behind their day jobs and risen to the occasion of being full-time musicians, artists and “gardeners.”
“I like the idea of planting seeds. I feel like we’re fucking gardeners and we’re planting our seeds all over the country,” Flores said with an ear-to-ear smile. “Maybe we’re not going to see the fruit from those seeds or the tree. But hopefully down the line the seed produces a fruit or a conversation that is fruitful for human beings.”
Lorena Villafan-Perez, a Latinx mother of three, is a case manager at the Berkeley YMCA Head Start program and the daughter of immigrant parents who were also agricultural workers. She said she loves everything about Las Cafeteras and tries to attend their shows, with her husband, whenever she has a chance.
“I think they’re a really fun band. I love the sound of their music and the fact that they incorporate son jarocho,” Villafan-Perez said. “Even my kids—who are 8, 14 and 18—love their music.”
Las Cafeteras will play at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek on Saturday, June 24, at 7:30pm. To purchase tickets, learn more about the band and their forthcoming gigs or pick up some of their social justice oriented merchandise, visit https://lascafeteras.com/
