“A lot of times people ask us, ‘what do y’all sound like?’ and we say we don’t know,” Hector Flores of Las Cafeteras told Seattle radio station KEXP with a laugh. “So we have to tell people, you know we sound like we’re from LA.”
“If you go to LA there’s a smell, there’s a taste, there’s a sound, and it’s a mix and it’s not one thing,” he elaborated. “For us we say we taste like we’re from Los Angeles. If you listen to us you get a lot of different flavors.”
Las Cafeteras have taken the music world by storm with infectious live performances that cross genres and musical borders, and Denver audiences can see them on Tuesday, July 30 at Denver Botanic Gardens with Flor de Toloache as part of the Denver Botanic Gardens Summer Concert Series presented by UMB Bank.
TICKETS: See Las Cafeteras and Flor de Toloache at Denver Botanic Gardens on July 30
The lauded band recently released their third full-length studio album, A Night In Nepantla, featuring a synth-laden fusion of traditional Mexican folk and electronic dance beats for fans of Latinx music to enjoy. The lead single, “Cumbia de Mi Barrio,” is a hybrid of electro-pop, Afro-Colombian beats, and Peruvian Huayno-inspired Cumbia for an explosion of sounds, stories and memories that defines the eclectic soundscapes of their new album. Their electric sound and energy has taken them around the world playing shows from Bonnaroo to the Hollywood Bowl, WOMAD New Zealand to Montreal Jazz, and beyond.
VIDEO: Watch the official video for “Cumbia de Mi Barrio” by Las Cafeteras
“Las Cafeteras is a band I’ve been following for a while and their music is an absolute, glorious party,” Roger Menell, who books the Summer Concert Series for its producing partner Swallow Hill Music, said. “And yet the messaging is touching on really important stories.”
This reflects how the band remixes roots music and tells modern day stories by creating a vibrant musical fusion with a unique East LA sound and positive message. Their Afro-Mexican beats, rhythms, and rhymes deliver inspiring lyrics that document stories of a community seeking love and justice in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles.
Flores, the band’s frontperson and singer, said, “As a band, we deeply resonate with the land of ‘Nepantla’ and feel that we live in the middle of multiple worlds, sounds and identities, and this album brings people together to sonically join us in our joy, grief, struggle, and liberation in Nepantla.”
Las Cafeteras stand at the nexus of where that tradition evolves.
“There are a lot of contemporary connections to what’s happening in Denver in regard to immigration,” Menell said, “and what happens to people when they arrive in this country. Las Cafeteras has always been amazing at weaving that into their musical storytelling, but their delivery system is sheer delight.” Menell said the band’s ability to confront controversial and even divisive issues head on through music is inspiring and reminds him of artists like Michael Franti & Spearhead, and even Bob Marley. “This is where issues and protests and activism can meet music,” he said.
Las Cafeteras use music as a vehicle to build bridges among different cultures and communities, and create “a world where many worlds fit.” The band uses traditional Son Jarocho instruments like the jarana, requinto, quijada (donkey jawbone) and tarima (a wooden platform), while singing in English, Spanish, and Spanglish, and add a remix of sounds, from rock to hip-hop to rancheras.