Sin musica no hay revolución

QUITAPENAS — all caps, four syllables — is an Afro-Latin combo with a tropical groove aka música tropical y bailable. They honed their chops in LA and are revered as “modern day urban Latinx curanderos, healers with mystical musical second sight, giving their creative output a restorative power that touches their audiences wherever and whenever they encounter them. This tropical Afro-Latin combo has a lot of catchy hooks that seem effortless and, at first glance, appear to be tailored for easy-going evening fiestas full of unity and enjoyment at the beach.”

Friday July 21 at the Solar Center, 9 NM 150, Roots and Wires and Daleee Productions keeps the Latin Go, summer dance party groove going with QUITAPENAS at 7 p.m. Concepto Tambor opens and tickets are available at the door for $15.

Daniel Gómez, the charismatic frontman, talked to Tempo from his Riverside/San Bernardino Valley casa, surrounded by mountains and palm trees in the blazing Cali sun — “One hour east of LA, two hours if you are in that traffic.“

All band members are first-generation immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala. How does this inform your music?

Being first-generation has informed our music . Our families introduced us to different styles growing up that would later blend with our own preferences and influence the music we would create. From the kitchen to the car to the family get together, we heard cumbias, banda, corridos, nortenas, rancheras, boleros and quebraditas.

As teenagers and young adults, we found rock, hip-hop, jazz, indie, punk. By the time we were together as a band, we wanted to blend these genres together. Like our families, we wanted to cross the borders of sound and music. We longed to create something different, but also, to pay our respects and a salute to our culture. Much of the time we speak in English and talk to the crowd in English but our songs are in Spanish. It felt right and there was something about the way the language and syllables fit in the rhythm. The blend of both languages seems natural to us.

Because of the internet, we could go even further and fell in love with music from Colombia, Brazil, Ghana, Peru, Angola, and the list goes on. We learned as much as we could, we studied, we read and took notes and shared songs and ideas. We realized that a lot of this music had common ingredients. It told stories about struggles and love and about where they came from. It was catchy and made people dance. We saw it brought people together, to enjoy themselves, to relate, and to feel good, even for just a few minutes. It was almost like our childhood again except this time we were the music; we were the party.

How has the LA music scene shaped you as a group?

LA has provided many opportunities, which we are always grateful for. It is where we played some of our very first shows. With bands like Chicano Batman, Buyepongo, La Chamba, they showed us that there was a family already happening. They extended their space to us and we never stopped since. From this scene, we discovered an audience that loves music, and cultures, and sharing the space with others. Playing the music we do, places can get intimate fast. People come and pay to dance and have fun. It gets full — it gets hot and sweaty, and people dance with each other. LA has many venues and coordinators that bring out bands from all over, DJs that are alongside the bands showing the people where we get the inspiration and it’s still thriving.

Have you played Taos before? What are you looking forward to?

Never played Taos before, but we know it won’t be the last. We are looking forward to seeing all the smiling faces and dancing feet. We are excited to meet beautiful, kind people and have conversations about what they liked, what it made them feel, the nostalgia they have, and that we made their day better.

Can art and music save us?

Art and music can save us and, I think, it is a big reason we are still around and why people do great things. It creates communities and shared ideas. It speaks louder than just a person’s voice. With every campaign, protest, flyer, message, there is visual artwork and there is song and there is art. It continues to inspire and evolve and with it creates people who do great things. I always think about “sin musica no hay revolución” — “without music there is no revolution” and Alan Moore’s quote of “a revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having.” Even if it does not save us, it at least makes our day a little easier to get through.

What is the consensus of the group about chile? Red. Green. Or Christmas?

Both are always good. Green for flavor, red for spice!