1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,520 Speaker 1: We know. La Bamba is a song that's over four 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:06,440 Speaker 1: hundred years old. That song survived because people sang that song. 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 1: They didn't know how to read. They know how to write, 4 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:11,559 Speaker 1: but they just passed it on. How are people going 5 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: to know our story at Chicano's mestizos, brown kids, mixed kids. 6 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: If we don't tell our story, how are we going 7 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: to survive for four hundred years? In every art form, 8 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,439 Speaker 1: there's people who hold on to what they believe is tradition, 9 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: and then there's people who are trying to evolve with it. 10 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: Don't let a conversation or those ideas of what tradition 11 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: is keep you from telling who you are. 12 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 2: From Futuro Media, It's Latino Usa. 13 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 3: I'm Maria Nojosa today one of our How I Made 14 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 3: It segments with East La band Las Caffidiras. Los Caffidira's 15 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 3: made a name for themselves with their politically charged lyrics 16 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 3: set to traditional Mexicans and Afro Mexican instrumentation. 17 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 2: The group from East La fused a bass. 18 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 3: Of sonarrocho with rock, ska, spoken word, and hip hop, 19 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 3: telling the stories they grew up with and the realities 20 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 3: they still see every day in their communities and. 21 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:22,919 Speaker 1: Nineteen Black and Brown fighting together. 22 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 3: I'm always singing in English, Spanish and in Spanish. Their 23 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 3: message has reached the ears of listeners all over the world, 24 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 3: from the stages of the Hollywood Bowl all the way 25 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 3: to New Zealand. On today's edition of our How I 26 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 3: Made It Series, we check in with three members of 27 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 3: the group, LEAs Cafetiras, Denise Carlos, Ector Flores and Danielle French. 28 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 3: They tell us about their beginnings, how they preserve telling 29 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 3: brown stories, and they're going to break down one of 30 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 3: their latest songs. I'm not your puppet. 31 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 4: I'm Daniel French. I play harana keys, I sing, and 32 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 4: I spit and whatever else the band tells me to do. 33 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: My name is Ecto Floris. I play harana terreceta, I 34 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: dance a patiado and I sing with a little bit 35 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: of spoken word and rap rap rat Hi. 36 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 5: I'm Denise Carlos and I play the harana primera. 37 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 2: I sing and I dance a patiano. 38 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 5: We are las Coetera. 39 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: I always tell people who don't know confidettas. I always say, 40 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: if Leela. 41 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 2: Downs and go go. 42 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:39,919 Speaker 1: Bordello had a baby in East La that would be 43 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:40,839 Speaker 1: last confadettas. 44 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 4: It's La music. It's all the things that reflect the 45 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 4: way we grew up. 46 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: What we're doing is carrying immigrant stories, Chicano stories, Brown stories, 47 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: and that's what we want to keep on doing. 48 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 5: We offer a reimagination of what it means to luck Mexican, 49 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 5: to sound Mexican, to speak Mexican, because even in Las Cafeterras, 50 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 5: the experience varies, the language style varies, the self imposed 51 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 5: identity varies. 52 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 4: In a way, I think it reflects the pressure cooker 53 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 4: of life in La and so of course the music 54 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 4: we create is influenced by how we grew up, the 55 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 4: sounds we heard, the foods we ate at other people's houses. 56 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 5: You see us, and we don't look like Mexicans. We 57 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 5: don't look like Spili Gonzalez, right. We speak English, we 58 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 5: speak Spanglish, we speak Spanish. We dance, you know, Narteno style, 59 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 5: We do staff atiallo, but then we also do ska 60 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 5: and cumbia and you know rock. And I think what 61 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 5: we offer is a discomfort and a reimagination of what 62 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 5: it means to be American, to look American, what that 63 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 5: sound is, what that story is. 64 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: Pass comes from the East side cafe. It's the space 65 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: that Denise and Jose Gano, the drummer and percussionists in 66 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: our band. They were part of a bunch of students 67 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: who helped found the space, and so when we were 68 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: starting to play music there, we would go play everywhere 69 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 1: coffee shops, on the streets and the corners or wherever, 70 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: and people would say, oh, here the caffeteros from the cafe. 71 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: But we had women and the crew, and they're like, 72 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: we're not calfedeos, we're caffedettas. And we're like, yeah, even 73 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: though we have men in the group, let's take on 74 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: the feminine identity because we all come from a woman, 75 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:44,039 Speaker 1: so it's a great way to honor that we all 76 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: have feminine inside of us. We fell in love with 77 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,479 Speaker 1: the style of music called so which is in Afro 78 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 1: Mexican style of music. 79 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 4: So it comes from this mix of West Africa, the 80 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 4: Mecca and the indigenous peoples of southern Vera Cruz and 81 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 4: the Sotavento region, and you have the Spanish and Arab influences. 82 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:22,279 Speaker 4: About telling stories, it's about call and response. I tell 83 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:24,360 Speaker 4: a verse and you sing it back to me. So 84 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 4: we make sure we're listening to each other. We talk 85 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:39,719 Speaker 4: about the real things going on in our life. And 86 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 4: I think that's where Las Cafetra's story takes flight, because 87 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 4: then we say, Okay, they're telling their stories. But we 88 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 4: didn't grow up in Vera Cruz. We grew up here 89 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,600 Speaker 4: in La So what happens when we tell our story? 90 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 4: What happens when we let the music reflect our experience 91 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 4: and where we live. 92 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 5: As a Chicana was being told that the way I 93 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 5: placed on Harocho wasn't correct and it was disrespectful because 94 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 5: I spoke Spanglish because I didn't understand everything I was 95 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:14,719 Speaker 5: singing about. 96 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 1: We used to dress up like harochos. We used to 97 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 1: dress up in our why weather sombreros, but we stopped 98 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: doing that because we're not had o chos. We're not 99 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: from Betakruz. We don't say we placed on Harocho music. 100 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: We are grounded in Harorocho, which taught us your story 101 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: is important and vital. Taught us that we are valid 102 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: right and for that we are forever grateful, But we 103 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: are not had Chos. 104 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 5: In Las Cafeterra, and through son Hacho, I was given 105 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:51,280 Speaker 5: this platform and this vehicle to no longer be ashamed 106 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:53,360 Speaker 5: to be able, to be proud, and to be able 107 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 5: to make connections with people all over the world. 108 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,159 Speaker 4: The more we create that space in our band where 109 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 4: everyone can expect themselves and be who they are, the 110 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,480 Speaker 4: more I feel like we've created this space outside on 111 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 4: stage for the listeners to say, hey, no matter where 112 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:09,160 Speaker 4: you're from, homie, like, get up and dance. There ain't 113 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 4: no wrong way, you know. And I think because we've 114 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 4: been told that we were doing it the wrong way, 115 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 4: we learned to shed our concern for what people thought 116 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 4: and to acknowledge that we respectfully are going to go 117 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 4: our own path and let our paths reflect who we are. 118 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,000 Speaker 5: That's such a powerful thing for young people of color 119 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 5: to be able to do, and to do it in 120 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 5: a way that we're not apologizing for do it in 121 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 5: a way we're not ashamed, but being proud of our 122 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 5: own existence and our own stories and focus almost. 123 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:44,679 Speaker 2: Focus. 124 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: We recorded a song called I'm Not Your Puppet, which 125 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: is based on a song called I'm Your Puppet, which 126 00:07:55,760 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: we love, but we just added one word not I don't. 127 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: When I think about oldies and now there are tragic 128 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: love songs, but a lot of the stuff is about, 129 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: you know, really unhealthy relationships. So we were strategic and 130 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: trying to pick songs that we loved and that could 131 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: be flipped a little bit. 132 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 4: I'm just a too. Just the oldies are something. I 133 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 4: guarantee you that no matter whether you're black, white, brown, Asian, 134 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 4: wherever you're from, if you've been in America that long, 135 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 4: like you have that story, you have that connection to 136 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 4: this song. 137 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 2: Dude, just what I'm told. 138 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,960 Speaker 4: I do anything for you, but I'm not your. 139 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: Part of the things that we do in Blast Calfeeta 140 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 1: is we always like to perform spoken word, we like 141 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: to do perform hip hop pieces. 142 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 2: Anything you know, everything you need. 143 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: I knew all that this is yo, get down on 144 00:08:57,280 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: one knee. 145 00:08:58,160 --> 00:08:58,720 Speaker 6: It could be a. 146 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,600 Speaker 1: Kermit decided to try little piece just to include something different. 147 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: Will be Sillyn't be your soul man and listen to 148 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:07,719 Speaker 1: ro Man show you how to slow this. 149 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:12,719 Speaker 4: I think it kind of expresses this connection between Detroit 150 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 4: and the folks who created that music, and Los Angeles 151 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 4: and Mexico, and it kind of unites this continent and 152 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 4: unites our stories and reminds us it's just a thin 153 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 4: line between our cultures. 154 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:29,439 Speaker 5: I think saying I'm not your puppet. I can love you, 155 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 5: I can scherish you, and I also expect the same back. 156 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:35,840 Speaker 5: It's just hoping that people listen to this song and 157 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 5: say you can love fiercely, but remember to love yourself 158 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:43,199 Speaker 5: fiercely and never to just be held by anybody's strings. 159 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 4: No matter what happens. We got to remember to do 160 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:55,439 Speaker 4: the things that give us joy. And we can critique 161 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 4: the people in power. We can critique each other and ourselves, 162 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 4: talk about what matters and do it in a way 163 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 4: that still gives us energy and life and motivates us 164 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 4: to not just say what's wrong, but to go make 165 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:24,960 Speaker 4: things right. We can't just preach to the choir. And 166 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,960 Speaker 4: also we can take a message that we never thought 167 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 4: would resonate with somebody who has a different color of skin, 168 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:35,440 Speaker 4: different upbringing. We say, you should love who you are, 169 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:38,320 Speaker 4: you should love the person next to you, and we 170 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 4: get the party cracking, and then we slip in these 171 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 4: little messages we hit them with. You know, if I 172 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:43,880 Speaker 4: was president. 173 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:47,200 Speaker 6: If I was president sleeves as a phrase the congregations, 174 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 6: the first thing I do is. 175 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 2: Re education, And every third period. 176 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 4: We talk about the things that are going on and 177 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 4: in our country and our world, and we see that 178 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:57,640 Speaker 4: those words bounce back at us. 179 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 6: Black and brown strikes and when they get out so 180 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 6: they can rite to their future, back to their past. 181 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 5: And some spaces appreciate that more than other spaces. We've 182 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:13,679 Speaker 5: been told to stop playing and stopping political and people 183 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:17,440 Speaker 5: have walked out of our shows. Making people uncomfortable is 184 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:22,240 Speaker 5: not the goal. Making people reflect on why they're uncomfortable 185 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:24,199 Speaker 5: is what's valuable. 186 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:28,960 Speaker 1: Conflict is a natural thing, you know, how we deal 187 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,080 Speaker 1: with conflict becomes the unnatural thing. 188 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,560 Speaker 5: Growth is always going to be uncomfortable, and so what 189 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 5: I'm hoping for with our music is not that we 190 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 5: make people angry or that people walk out of our shows, 191 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 5: is that we're able to end the discomfort growth. 192 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 3: The voices of Denise Carlos, Ector Flories, and Danielle French 193 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:19,199 Speaker 3: from the East La Band Las Cafeterres. This episode was 194 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:23,120 Speaker 3: produced by Gini Montalbo and edited by Miel Massias. The 195 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:28,720 Speaker 3: Latino USA team includes Luis Trees, Andrea Lopez Cruzzano, Julieta Martinelli, 196 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:33,440 Speaker 3: Alises Carse and Alejandra Salasad, with help from Raulbes our 197 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 3: engineers are Stephanie Lebau, Julia Caruso, Liah Shaw without from 198 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 3: Elishava Itto. Our director of Programming in Operations is Natalia Fiedelholz. 199 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 3: Our digital editor is Louise Luna. Our New York Women's 200 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 3: Foundation Ignite fellow is Julia Rocha. Our interns are Himera Vilcero, 201 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,960 Speaker 3: Emil Sequiros and Gabriel La Bayez. Our theme music was 202 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:56,719 Speaker 3: composed by Sea Rubinos. If you like the music you 203 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 3: heard on this episode, stop by Latino Usa dot org 204 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:02,720 Speaker 3: and check out our weekly Spotify playlist. I'm your host 205 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:06,679 Speaker 3: and executive producer Marieojosa. Join us again on our next episode, 206 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 3: and in the meantime, look for us on all of 207 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 3: your social media. 208 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 2: Hi los BeO. That's the Laproxima Choo. 209 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 7: Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment, 210 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,360 Speaker 7: building a strong state by improving the health of all Californians. 211 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 7: The wind Coat Foundation and funding for Latino USA is 212 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 7: Coverage of a culture of health is made possible in 213 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 7: part by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 214 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 3: I'm Marieojosa next time on Latino USA. Two pivotal but 215 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:49,640 Speaker 3: different states in the twenty twenty presidential election. We zero 216 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:54,440 Speaker 3: in on Arizona, Florida and Latinos and Latina voters. That's 217 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,960 Speaker 3: next time on Latino USA.