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Collective Songwriting in Boyle Heights

Administrator — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 23:10:31 +0000

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Justice Never Dies Lyric Video by Quetzal

Administrator — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 22:07:34 +0000

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
Creo que tus labios son todo lo que necesito
No tendré sed, no me esconderé

Mientras el mundo termina a nuestro alrededor
Mientras otros pelean y mueren
Sabemos que hemos hecho todo lo posible
Abrázame ahora, no lloraré
Porque incluso al final
Me siento fuerte a tu lado
Porque hemos amado con intensidad
¡Somos victoriosos!
¡La justicia nunca muere!

El polvo se ha asentado
Abre tus ojos todavía estamos vivos
Algunos se evaporaron, se agotaron
Se rindió, o simplemente se quedó ciego.
Pero podemos ver, y mira!
Todo lo que hemos construido está intacto.
La forma en que amamos y celebramos
La forma en que nos reímos.

Mientras reconstruimos el mundo que nos rodea
Como otros aún luchan y mueren
Seguimos haciendo todo lo que podemos
No solo sobrevivimos
¡Queremos prosperar!
Porque en este nuevo comienzo
Me siento fuerte a tu lado
Porque mientras hayamos amado
¡Somos victoriosos!
¡Y la justicia nunca muere!
¡Nuestros amores nunca mueren!
¡Nuestras visiones nunca mueren!
¡Nuestras esperanzas nunca mueren!

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Toro Ayotzinapa by Quetzal at the 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Administrator — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 22:00:07 +0000

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

Administrator — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 21:57:21 +0000

‘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

Administrator — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 21:54:46 +0000

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 and eerie vocals. It sets the tone for a fiery, innovative, percussive and bilingual album that fuses many touchstones of the East LA plurality―including the title track, a taut mix of rock and R&B, and the Veracruz-informed “Tragafuegos.”

Listen to “Imaginaries”: http://snd.sc/vITVjX

Listen to “Tragafuegos” (Fire Breathers): http://snd.sc/sMDeUs

“Imaginaries” is the 35th release in the Smithsonian Folkways Tradiciones/Traditions series since 2002. The series, a co-production with the Smithsonian Latino Center, showcases the diverse musical heritage of the 50 million Latinos living in the USA.

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Quetzal: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Administrator — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 21:49:20 +0000

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 full; the music penetrates the intellect even as it makes your hips sway.The group runs a tight ship musically: Gonzalez’s voice could be heard well past the confines of the Tiny Desk, all the way to our web-designing neighbors; guitarist Quetzal Flores unplugged and worked the Mexican Jarana for both rhythm and melody, often at the same time; violinist Rocio Marron wove blues licks into Mexican folk runs; bassist Juan Perez provided a nimble and melodic bottom end.Add it all up and you get a glimpse into a musical vision that inspires as much as it entertains. If you didn’t know Quetzal before this video, now’s the time to catch up. If you’re a fan like me, you’ve already got a head start on looking forward to the next 20 years. –FELIX CONTRERAS

Set List:
“Palomo Vagabundo”
“Tragafuegor”
“Todo Lo Que Tengo”

Credits:
Producers: Felix Contreras, Denise DeBelius; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Denise DeBelius, Colin Marshall; Production Assistant: Sarah Tilotta; photo by Sarah Tilotta/NPR

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

martha — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 00:49:26 +0000

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 and the subsequent anti-immigration rhetoric of the 1990s.

Showcasing the social impact made by key artist-activists on their communities and on the mainstream art world and music industry, Gonzalez charts the evolution of a now-canonical body of work that took its inspiration from the Zapatista movement, particularly its masked indigenous participants, and that responded to efforts to impose systems of labor exploitation and social subjugation. Incorporating Gonzalez’s memories of the Mexican nationalist music of her childhood and her band’s journey to Chiapas, the book captures the mobilizing music, poetry, dance, and art that emerged in pre-gentrification corners of downtown Los Angeles and that went on to inspire flourishing networks of bold, innovative artivistas.

To purchase from UT Press use “GONCHI” as promo code!

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