Quetzal (band)
Encyclopedia
Quetzal is a bilingual (Spanish
-English
) Chicano rock
band
from East Los Angeles, California
.
and Afro-Cuban
rhythms, jazz
, rhythm and blues
, and rock music
, supercharged by the dynamic vocals of the singer Martha Gonzalez. Their commitment to using art as a tool for social change is informed and inspired by global grassroots movements
. They have also been instrumental in developing Fandango Sin Fronteras, a dialog between Chicanos from California and Jarocho
s (musicians from Veracruz, Mexico
). Quetzal was featured in the soundtrack to the 2004 short film, Stand Up For Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story
, from Visual Communications (VC)
.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
-English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) Chicano rock
Chicano rock
Chicano rock is rock music performed by Mexican American groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. Chicano Rock, to a great extent, does not refer to any single style or approach. Some of these groups do not sing in Spanish at all, or use many specifically Latin instruments or sounds...
band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
from East Los Angeles, California
East Los Angeles, California
East Los Angeles is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States...
.
Biography
The band was founded by Quetzal Flores, with the intention of pushing the boundaries of chicano music and is currently one of Los Angeles' most important and successful groups. They play a mix of MexicanMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Afro-Cuban
Afro-Cuban
The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans of Sub Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community...
rhythms, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, and rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, supercharged by the dynamic vocals of the singer Martha Gonzalez. Their commitment to using art as a tool for social change is informed and inspired by global grassroots movements
Grassroots democracy
Grassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes where as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest geographic level of organization: principle of subsidiarity....
. They have also been instrumental in developing Fandango Sin Fronteras, a dialog between Chicanos from California and Jarocho
Jarocho
A jarocho is a person, item or style of music from Veracruz, Mexico.One explanation of the origin of the term jarocho is that it evolved from an old Spanish word meaning brusque or disordered. There are many other theories....
s (musicians from Veracruz, Mexico
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
). Quetzal was featured in the soundtrack to the 2004 short film, Stand Up For Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story
Stand Up for Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story
Stand Up For Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story is an educational narrative short film, co-produced by Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress and Visual Communications .- Background :...
, from Visual Communications (VC)
Visual Communications (VC)
Visual Communications – also known as VC – is a community-based non-profit media arts organization in Los Angeles, dedicated to creating, preserving and presenting Asian Pacific American history and culture through the media arts...
.
Current band members
- Martha Gonzalez — lead and backing vocals, congas, chekere, tarima, cajonCajónA cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front face with the hands.-Origins and evolution:...
, tap danceTap danceTap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the... - Cesar Castro — lead and backing vocals, jarana jarocha, Requinto Jarocho, Leona, Pandero, Tarima
- Juan Perez — electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, baby bass, double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Quetzal Flores — jarana jarocha, requinto jarocho, bajo sextoBajo sextoA bajo sexto is a musical instrument with 12 strings in 6 double courses, used in Mexican music. It is used primarily in norteño music of northern Mexico and across the border in the music of south Texas known as "Tex-Mex", "conjunto, or "música mexicana-tejana".A similar instrument with five...
, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Quincy McCrary — lead and backing vocals, Rhodes pianoRhodes pianoThe Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
, Hammond B3, keyboardElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:... - Andy Mendoza — drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, cajonCajónA cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front face with the hands.-Origins and evolution:...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
Past Band Members
- Gabriel Tenorio
- Gabriel Gonzalez
- Daphne Chen
- Kiko Cornejo Jr.
- Dante Pascuzzo
- Edson Gianesi
- Danilo Torres
- Camilo Landau
- Rocio Marron
- Ray Sandoval
- Yunior Terry
Discography
- Die Cowboy Die 2006
- Worksongs 2003 Produced by Steve Berlin (ASIN B00009Y3NG)
- Sing The Real 2002 produced by Greg LandauGreg LandauGreg Landau is a San Francisco-based music and video producer, and an instructor of music and Latin American Studies focused on the social movements that produced revolutionary music and art. He is a five-time Grammy nominee who has produced over 40 CDs and numerous film scores including serving as...
(http://www.amazon.com/Sing-Real-Quetzal/dp/B000060OXJ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/104-7135804-0947162?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1176392929&sr=1-3) - A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/afairforgery) (features Quetzal covering Pink FloydPink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's song MotherMother (Pink Floyd song)"Mother" is a song by Pink Floyd. It appeared on The Wall album in 1979. The song is notable for its varied use of time signatures.-Composition:...
) - Quetzal 1998 (ASIN B00004R5Z1)