Collective Songwriting in Boyle Heights

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Justice Never Dies Lyric Video by Quetzal

As we rebuild the world around us As others still fight and die We keep doing all we can “We don’t just survive We wanna thrive!” Music by Quetzal @quetzalmusic, @quetzaleastla Artwork by Jose Ramirez @joseramirezart Recorded and Mixed by Alberto Lopez @belumusic at TropicoUnion Studios @tropicounion Video by Sara Aguilar @cipotapower and Quetzal Flores Martha Gonzalez-vocals @marthafromquetzal Sandino Gonzalez Flores-backing vocals Tylana Enomoto-violins @trenku Quincy McCrary-keyboards and vocals @qemistrymusik Quetzal Flores-guitars @quetzalmusic Juan Perez-bass Alberto Lopez-percussion @belumusic Evan Greer-Drums @evancristo Letra En Español Abrázame. Conforme estalle la bomba Abrázame. Mientras las flores mueren Bésame cuando el río se seque […]

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Toro Ayotzinapa by Quetzal at the 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Videography: David Barnes, Charlie Weber, Helen Lehrer, W.N. McNair, Gary Francis, Andrea Curran, Caleb Hamilton Sound Recordist: David Walker Editing: Alexis Ligon

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Pillow People by Quetzal

‘The Eternal Getdown,’ released on March 10th, 2017, features 18 original compositions performed by a total of 22 musicians, including guests such as Aloe Blacc, Ramón Gutiérrez, Rocío Marrón, César Castro, and Joey De Léon, to name a few. ‘The Eternal Getdown’ follows Imaginaries, Quetzal’s 5th album release and first for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, which was recognized by the Recording Academy with a Grammy Award for “Best Latin Rock, or Urban, or Alternative Album” in 2013.

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Todo Lo Que Tengo (All That I Have) by Quetzal

Inspired by traditional son jarocho music of Veracruz, Mexico, and spiked with urban rhythms, rock and R&B, East LA Chicano group Quetzal will release ‘Imaginaries’, its 5th album and 1st for Smithsonian Folkways, on Feb. 28, 2012. Quetzal, called “provocative, heartfelt and strikingly original” by the LA Times and founded by guitarist Quetzal Flores, rose from the ashes of uprisings in LA in 1992 as a vehicle for social commentary and activism. ‘Imaginaries’ begins with the dark but lively “2+0+1+2=Five,” about a barren landscape ruined by environmental abuse; set in 5/4 time, the composition is punctuated by lush strings, organs […]

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Quetzal: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

The Southern California band Quetzal recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with a blowout concert that seemed to attract as many musicians as regular people. The band has maintained such a strong presence in the SoCal Chicano music scene that its members could be considered padrinos and madrinas of that free-flowing musical community.Quetzal is respected and admired as much for its commitment to social justice, activism and education — lead singer Martha Gonzalez has a Ph.D — as for its folk-infused music, which gets a marvelous showcase in this Tiny Desk Concert. While the instrumentation is stripped down, the sound is […]

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Chican@ Artivistas: Music, Community, and Transborder Tactics in East Los Angeles by Martha Gonzalez

Chican@ Artivistas: Music, Community and Transborder Tactics in East Los Angeles

My new book; Chican@ Artivista: Music, Community and Transborder Tactics in East Los Angeles will be out soon. Check out the blurb on UT Austin press (July 27th, 2020). As the lead singer of the Grammy Award–winning rock band Quetzal and a scholar of Chicana/o and Latina/o studies, Martha Gonzalez is uniquely positioned to articulate the ways in which creative expression can serve the dual roles of political commentary and community building. Drawing on postcolonial, Chicana, black feminist, and performance theories, Chican@ Artivistas explores the visual, musical, and performance art produced in East Los Angeles since the inception of NAFTA […]

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