Rock Archivo LÁ

  Archivo del rock en ñ (y géneros complices) de Los Ángeles. Visual Archive of the Rock Angelino and complicit genres. Submissions welcome:  rockarchivo (at) gmail (.) com

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I am elated to report that the today’s program “Zines & the Los Angeles Latinx Landscape” at CSUCI was great! It was great to meet several of y’all in person, IRL. Plus, I got to talk a bit on the research of 1990s zines and underground publications that were produced in Los Angeles, how these were circulated in Southern California, Mexico, and other cities throughout Latin America. Plus, I showcased the work that current and former students have produced as part of their own zine projects on historical themes in my CSU and CSULA classes. Most importantly, this was a conversation that allow us to place these —now historical 😮— publications as part of the legacies of many, many zinesters carry and expand on with their own current and amazing zines. As it is evident in these picts, this did not only happened literary, but physically as 1990s publications like La Banda Elástica, La Neta, Pub, Perdidos en La Línea, Velocet, Sintétika, and Rock Azteka are sharing the same wall with contemporary zines such as Dirty Girl Zine, HomeGirlz, Chicanas y Calaveras, Cannonball, Brown Body & Brown Earth among others Thanks to all the co-panelists, zinesters, vendors, CSUCI Chicana/o Studies Program Faculty, and of course attendees for making this happen! (at John Spoor Broome Library CSUCI) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnajBpJBtmg/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1gtg4i3ye06fv

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La Neta Magazine began to be published in 1994 in the mold of La Banda Rockera was purposely designed using crude copy and paste text to signify its Mexico City working-class origins. Founded and mostly written by Sergio “Lavis” Peralta. Along with concert and albums reviews La Neta (the term being street slang for “The Truth”) often provided biting commentary to political events taking place in Mexico and LÁ. The editorial line of La Neta was tinged with class-based slights towards more established bands were perceived as “fresas” (urban middle class) as opposed to the rock urbano adherents that understood itself as more working-class from the Mexico City periphery. The cover and page included here were published in 1996. These feature an implicit call for gender equality drawing and text. In addition, the cartoon on the bottom demands for the end of “presos de conciencia” which it alludes that the intetionally rebellious ideas within rock music can be freeing of “old ideas.” La Neta continued to be published until 1999 and it morphed into the Rockalendario. To this date, the La Neta editor, Lavis continues to produce gigs from time to time and it is one of the most profilic collectors and archivists of Rock en Español ephemera and material. Check out his collection and postings on FB as eleyrockycia. #laneta #lanetazine #rockenespañol #RockLatino #rockurbano #LosAngeles #1996 #rockarchivoLA (at Downtown Los Angeles) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnXWMDZhcG9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8kgolae4xxnc

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Sooo this is happening this Thursday! The “DIY ‘Zines and the Los Ángeles Latinx Landscape” Program at CSUCI will feature art-historian Marissa del Toro, zinester (@Marissa_ofthebull) Ziba Perez Zehdar (Long Beach Zine Fest & @ zebraradarzine ) ) and yours truly and we will be talking about the history and the present of Latinx zines. Plus there will be a zine making space, vending by @the_magic_glasses and Puro Pinche Poetry & Razor Cake issues by @ever.a.k.a.thegirlabouttown De lo que me toca, I will be discussing the important and still under looked history of youth culture publishing via transnational zines and magazines such as La Pusmoderna, La Banda Elástica, Al Borde, La Neta, PUB among maaany others that have circulated between Southern California and Latin America. So get ready because in the next days I will be flooding this feed with Rock Angelino and Borderland Zines that have not been exhibited in over 20 years! This is happening on September 6 at 4pm at the CSU Channel Islands Library. Event link in the Bio ⤴️ #rockarchivoLA #zinesandthelosangeslatinxlandescape (at CSU Channel Islands) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnVIsM2h2T-/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1t947d4029mvu

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This is from one of the rare performances of rock argentine icon Charly García in Los Angeles. Guillotina from México (¿que andaban haciendo acá?) and LÁs own María Fatal opened up for el Charly. During the 1970s Charly García’s music was pivotal and necessary for South American youth to get through life. As journalist Enrique Lopetegui wrote in the L.A. Times about this concert, “Charly Garcia's Palace show [was] a return for his fans to a time the beauty of Argentine rock was the only means of communication in a continent plagued by military dictatorships.” This happened in October 1993 at The Hollywood Palace, now the Avalon and it is likely that Charly has yet to come back to LÁ ever since then. #charlygarcia #suigeneris #lamachinadehacerpajaros #serugiran #rockargentino #thehollywoodpalace #thehollywoodavalon #guillotina #rockmexicano #mariafatal #rockangelino #1993 #rockarchivoLA (at Hollywood Palace)

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This is the Invierno 1997 Issue of Retila. Following up on the publication post, long before La Vibra appeared inside La Opinión every Thursday, there was Retila. Originally Retila was acronym that meant “Rock En Tú Idioma Los Angeles” (RETILA), pero luego a todo mundo se le olvidó. It was a pocket size magazine, intended for you to get it outside a club and put in your pocket. It was glossy, a bit too fresa at times, but at times it had some solid rock critics in its staff. Unfortunately, the magazine went out business for trying to outdo itself with a huge anniversary show in December 1998 at The Olympic Auditorium with a line-up featuring: Divididos (Argentina), Los Prisioneros (Chile, pero no llegaron), Cuca (México), and LÁs María Fatal and Las 15 Letras. • #retila # RockEnTúIdiomaLosAngeles #rocklatino #rockenespañol #rockangelino #victimasdeldrcerebro #LosAngeles (at Los Angeles, California)

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Los Olvidados Music is FINALLY on Spotify! Link in Bio for the next 24 hours! ⬆️ What does the young immigrant want? To make it Los Angeles but also to party it up! Los Olvidados (del Norte)’s song captured the young immigrant existence and dilemma of the late 20th century; days of grueling physical work, with self-indulging wild weekends discovering LÁ’s streets to reward or forget about their exploitative labor conditions. Yet, the immigrant she/he is besieged with the guilt of not sending enough money to the parents back in the homeland. Formed in Los Angeles in 1992 by (then) young Mexican immigrants, Los Olvidados (del Norte) became the chroniclers of the 1990s young immigrant experience in the 1990s as they captured the mood(s) of the city from their unique vantage point. (at Los Angeles, California)

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Here’s a demo cassette of one of the pioneering Rock Angelino bands: Los Olvidados. While there emerging out of the “Rock en Español” scene of the early 1990s, the nucleus of the band started even earlier in whole different country and context. Jorge and Eduardo Infante, along with Héctor “Tucupa” Delgado grew up in Tampico and as teenagers they aspired to be the loudest metal band. In a 1996 interview with Spin Magazine (fancy!), Tucupa said, “Back in Mexico, we used to play deadly heavy metal…but the shock of immigration made us realize that we could find our roots in other musical currents.” Migrating to LÁ and experiencing the hardships of being immigrants and treated inhumanely or worse being forgotten altogether, radically changed the Infantes and Tucupa’s perception of life and what their music should sound. Understanding themselves as part of a larger global community of diasporic, migrant musicians, they gathered back in LÁ to refound the band and named it Los Olvidados, an ode to the classic Luis Buñuel film, but also how they felt at the time: already forgotten by the Mexican society in which they grew up and also neglected and ignored by U.S. society. In this early 1992 six-song demo, Los Olvidados mixed a bit of punk, metal, and ska with a ton of other rhythms learned from other musicians from the Global South such as Algerian Raï, Soukous from the Congo or Trinitarian Calypso. The band would go on to record a full-length CD in 1997. Thanks to @x_pogo64_x for sharing this pic of a rare find. (at Los Angeles, California)

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Here's a flyer for a 1994 tocada with María Fatal, Los Olvidados, and Excel Nova (Pastilla) at the mythical Hong Kong Low in Chinatown. What is remarkable about this flyer is the use of the “Hoyo Funky” designation for the tocada (or the production entity that put it together). So what’s an Hoyo Funky. This is a term that was coined by Mexican beat/onda writer Parménides García Saldaña to define the clandestine improvised venues where rock and roll adherents shows took refuge in the outskirts of Mexico City after 1968. The violent suppression of the students protests of in the Tlatelolco plaza by the Mexican government in October 2nd, 1968 began a forbidding period of constant surveillance, censorship, and suppression to most of what could be considered youth culture, particularly rock and roll concerts. It is also illuminating to see that this 2018 there are events, gigs, tocadas here in Southern California that are being put together this summer that also employed the name “Hoyo Funky” as it connects these youth culture historical legacies from Mexico and Latin America to contemporary music and happenings taking place in LÁ’s present. For Rock Angelino participants, the “hoyos funky” morphed into “ephemeral forums.” These were improvised venues that functioned for one night or had a longer run. In Southern California, we can think of joints like Hong Kong Low, El Pirata, Las Pampas, The Allen Theater, The Black Castle. These in addition to the countless backyard shows and emulated and evoked the conditions of the Hoyos Funky: The more marginalized neighborhoods these venues were, that harder the rock, punk, or ska blasted! Which is your favorite “Hoyo Funky/Ephemeral Venue”? (at Chinatown Central Plaza)

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Here's a flyer for a 1994 tocada with María Fatal, Los Olvidados, and Excel Nova (Pastilla) at the mythical Hong Kong Low in Chinatown. What is remarkable about this flyer is the use of the “Hoyo Funky” designation for the tocada (or the production entity that put it together). So what’s an Hoyo Funky. This is a term that was coined by Mexican beat/onda writer Parménides García Saldaña to define the clandestine improvised venues where rock and roll adherents shows took refuge in the outskirts of Mexico City after 1968. The violent suppression of the students protests of in the Tlatelolco plaza by the Mexican government in October 2nd, 1968 began a forbidding period of constant surveillance, censorship, and suppression to most of what could be considered youth culture, particularly rock and roll concerts. It is also illuminating to see that this 2018 there are events, gigs, tocadas here in Southern California that are being put together this summer that also employed the name “Hoyo Funky” as it connects these youth culture historical legacies from Mexico and Latin America to contemporary music and happenings taking place in LÁ’s present. For Rock Angelino participants, the “hoyos funky” morphed into “ephemeral forums.” These were improvised venues that functioned for one night or had a longer run. In Southern California, we can think of joints like Hong Kong Low, El Pirata, Las Pampas, The Allen Theater, The Black Castle. These in addition to the countless backyard shows and emulated and evoked the conditions of the Hoyos Funky: The more marginalized neighborhoods these venues were, that harder the rock, punk, or ska blasted! Which is your favorite “Hoyo Funky/Ephemeral Venue”? (at Chinatown Central Plaza)

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Fernando Ramírez (singer for María Fatal) performing with a winged luchador (painted by @sergioarau) in the background. Hollywood, 1994 or so. Photo from the María Fatal archives kept by keyboardist César Hernández.#mariafatal #sergioarau #hollywood #rockangelino #1994 #rockarchivoLA (at Hollywood)

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Here’s Excel Nova performing their underground hit "Miedo" at the “The Stage is Yours” event produced by Illegal Interns at the yard of the Old Lincoln Heights Jail. So why do the Excel Nova members look so familiar? Excel Nova was the band with the same Juana La Loca and Pastilla members: Víctor “Chicles” Monroy, Adrián Monroy, and Eric Rubalcava. After the trio decided to abandoned the Juana La Local moniker (había muchas bandas con ese nombre all over Latin American, plus they began to shred the dark/gothic style), they gigged around with the Excel Nova name, which meant Excel(entes) Nova(tos) until they settled for Pastilla in 1996. According to Flavio of Illegal Interns, the performance stage was his dad’s flatbed truck. There were live performances by Quetzal, Psycho Realm, Excel Nova, and Goddess 13. FYI Goddess 13 was a folksy/alternative band composed by punk rock chicanas Teresa Covarrubias (The Brat) and Alice Bag. Plus, there was a surprise attendee, Huell Howser from KCET/PBS’ memorable show “California’s Gold.” Check out the full videos of both Excel Nova (Pastilla) and Goddess 13 performances on the Illegal Interns Vimeo page. #illegalinterns #pastilla #lincolnheightsoldjail #lincolnheights #TheStageisYours #Goddess13 #excelnova #LosAngeles #rockarchivoLA (at Lincoln Heights Jail)

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"The (First) Ten Years" Nana Pancha Tour in the US, which included a show at the Knitting Factory. This July 3, 2007 event was a ska show produced by Pure Underground that for once it wasn't a 10-band marathon! Along with México's Nana Pacha, the lineup included Almalafa (Tijuana) and LÁs Raskahuele & Ekolekua. ¿Tienes flyers/volantes/fotos/videos de las escenas de LÁ? ¡Comparte please! Use the hashtag #rockarchivoLA or tag @RockArchivoLA on the 'gram! Let's continue to grow the collective Southern California music scene(s) archive. (at Knitting Factory Hollywood)

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Here’s some shaky, yet still incredible footage from a likely November 1995 Café Tacvba performance at JC Fandango in Anaheim shot by Illegal Interns. Check out the Rubén Albarrán sporting a Selena shirt while belting out the lyrics of Ixtepec! Selena had died a few months earlier (March 1995) and this was Café Tacuba way of paying homage to the Queen of Tejano Music. Now don’t walk, run! (cybernetically speaking) to check out a ton of video from the Illegal Interns Vault that are up in their Vimeo channel! @instacvba @illegal06 @flaviocafe @rubenalbarran18 🐿️: Where did you first see Café Tacuba? (at Jc Fandango Nightclub)

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Here’s the audio/intro for what arguably was the most “rock en español/latino” dedicated station in the 1990s. Ritmo 98.3 FM. Shared by Aaron, who is an archivist in his own right @rocksinfronteras ¡Gracias mil! As you will find out, cuando escuchen escuchen el clip the Ritmo albeit leaning on the rock-pop side, definitely staked its claim as a rockero station. The signal broadcasted from West Covina, therefore it was easier to listen in the San Gabriel Valley, The Inland Empire, and the OC. Unluckily, while the station sought to claim its own turf among the Mexican regional station, the experiment only lasted about a year as the station was sold in 1997. After that Southern California was stuck with the rather bland Super Estrella for almost 20 years! Y sí, al final tenián un programa de rock bueno y ha habido otros. But these were shows, not the whole signaled dedicated to the genre. A note on the “rock en español/latinoamericano” term. I have always been conflicted with most labels as I find these rather inadequate. How do you name a “genre” that is actually a vast collection of music and lyrical styles from artists from Latin American and Spain without being reductive? Anyhooow, did you get to listen to Ritmo 98.3? #Ritmo983 #rockenespanol #rocklatino #LAradio #losangeles #SanGabriel #1997 #rockarchivoLA (at West Covina, California)

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“Are you wondering what the hell are you going to do this weekend? Well you’r(e) problem has been solved!” This is another hand-drawn flyer for a ska backyard party for a girl name Sussy. It was her 16th birthday and she decided to celebrate with a ska house party in Watts. march 2002. According to Richard Sánchez, Sussy was a rude girl who was a frequent presence in the early 2000s ska scene. She later went to the dark side, I mean the psychobilly scene. Check all the marvelous text and artwork in this elaborated flyer. “No Snappers!” Anyone remember which bands played this gig? 📸: Shared by @r1ch4rd_s Thanks! (at Watts, Los Angeles)

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#Repost SF Valley backyard flyer posted by @the_phunky_drummer • • • • • Behold! A few originals from my collection. Back when paper flyers were a thing because social media wasn't really used.. A show From 2007!. Penney street shows were always sick yo!. 🙄 #themusicmuseum #OGs #timecapsule #flashback #throwback #007 #ska #core #punk #818 #history #underground #scene #HxC #backyard #sanfernandovalley (at San Fernando, California)

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"Wassup (90s Mexican) Rockers?" José, Lalo & José Ska of Los Olvidados at a soundcheck at The Roxy. February, 1995. 📷: @infanted (at The Roxy Theatre)