Letting Music Pave The Way

The Influence of Our Past into Music

    On the most recent segment of Latino USA, titled "How I Made It: Las Cafeteras," host Maria Hinojas sits down with some members of the band. Las Cafeteras are a band out of East LA that met while doing community services. As they began playing at a cafe, they discovered Son Jarocho, which is a traditional Afro-Mexican genre of music from Veracruz. "Las Cafeteras made a name for themselves with their politically charged lyrics," speaking out against the "realities they see everyday in their communities" (Latino USA 2:30-2:50). 

The Las Cafeteras band members

    I really enjoyed how they explained that "the music [they] create is influenced by the way [they] grew up." (Latino USA 4:50-4:55). I personally love to make music, and expressing myself into beats and music is something I can relate to doing daily.

Music as a Language

    After reading a separate article about the impact of Steven Loza on Latino music, the connection between the two pieces are definitely shown. Growing up in LA, "he knows firsthand the musical culture of Mexican Americans down in Los Angeles" (Campbell 45). Loza expressed himself as well through music, and was able to truly connect with his listeners through his musical expressions. Both Steven Loza and Las Cafeteras have proven that music is not only a form of sound, but it is another language that we as humans can communicate and express ourselves in.

Leading a Wave of New Sounds

    Both Loza and Las Cafeteras have such a big voice in this world that they are leaders without knowing it. Especially for Las Cafeteras, as most of their music revolves around speaking out against politics.

The voices of those who can make a change,
need to be utilized correctly

 They would definitely be able to have a bigger voice than most people, and help make a change for not only thier listeners, but anyone around the world who relates to how they feel. As my theme for the class goes, leaders should be the ones to listen to their people and make changes for the better.

 

Works Cited

Campbell, Patricia Shehan. “Steven Loza on Latino Music.” Music Educators Journal, vol. 82, no. 2,                  [Sage Publications, Inc., MENC: The National Association for Music Education], 1995, pp. 45–52,           https://doi.org/10.2307/3398869.

USA, Latino. “Latino USA - How I Made It: Las Cafeteras.” Latino USA, 26 Nov. 2021, https://www.latinousa.org/.