Music Review: Ozomatli + Quetzal Guerrero win over Living Earth crowd
By hola | Published | No Comments
With the traditional dances of Michigan’s Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, and the music of She King, Quetzal Guerrero, and the renowned west coast band, Ozomatli, last weekend’s Living Earth Festival had a great display of cultural diversity.
The annual three-day celebration of Mother Earth kicked-off at the National Museum of American Indian on Friday night with the screening of “Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West.” The documentary discusses the Colorado River and its role as a major source of water in the Southwest. Decades of population growth and rising temperatures associated with climate change mean increasing competition over water for drinking, crop irrigation and industry. This documentary explores conservation measure aimed at alleviating water scarcity.
The next day at noon, Los Angeles-based violinist Quetzal Guerrero took the stage with his unique combination of reggae and Latin soul music.
Guerrero has been playing the violin since he was four years old. He says chose the instrument after watching an episode of Sesame Street that featured violinists. But he was also deeply motivated by his mother, Carmen Guerrero, and her passion for music. She played both the piano and the guitar.
“My mom would make me play everyday,” Guerrero recalls. And if it were not for her, Guerrero says he would not be performing on stages around the world today.
He learned using the Suzuki method that is to say: by ear, instead of learning to read music.
“Similar to how you learn to speak,” says Guerrero, “you do not start off learning how to read. You learn by listening to your parents speak, then mimic them.”
He has played the same blue violin, which he calls “Old Blue,” since he was 13 years old. It has traveled the world with him. In fact, Guerrero, who has studied in Japan and Brazil, as well as in the United States, is working on a new album titled, “American Import,” which he says defines his life—and embrace of diversity—through music.
“I feel more like a world citizen,” Guerrero says.
The Pokagon Drum and Dance Troupe followed Guerrero to the stage. The troupe performed songs and dances and invited the audience to hold hands, form a circle, and dance and howl in sync.
On Sunday, the festival continued with an indigenous cooking competition, but the high point of the weekend was Saturday night’s musical showcase. The evening ended with performances by Guerrero, Canadian pop artist She King, followed by the two-time Latin Grammy winners, Ozomatli.
Once Ozomatli took the stage, the crowd began to stand and move forward. As the band played, hips swayed to the rhythm of the night. After a while, Ozomatli invited Guerrero to the stage for a violin solo, accompanied by the cheers of the crowd.
As the evening was coming to a close, Ozomatli kicked its Latin rock and hip-hop fusion into even higher gear. Band members walked into the crowd, belting out a rendition of “Na Na, Hey Hey, Goodbye!” As they sang, they wandered the museum’s cavernous ground floor banging their drums and playing their wind instruments.
– Story + photos by Edwin Martinez
Recent Stories
