The first thing you should know about the band Los Mocosos, according to bassist/vocalist Happy Martinez, is that they are not influenced by any of the latest fads.
“We don’t have scratchers and rappers; we’re a little more like the O.G. dudes,” Martinez said. “That’s because we’re trying to be honest.”
OK, so the “little Latin rascals,” do not pretend to be what they are not. And what they really are presents an interesting sort of conundrum.
What do you call a band that combines Latin music with rhythm and blues, Cuban and Puerto Rican styles with funk, ska and salsa, or skalsa as the band prefers?
When all is told, Los Mocosos defy description, or comparison to any recent American musical groups, save bands such as Ozomatli. One thing is certain — both bands are adept at combining a new wave of Latin-flavored music, along with a heavy dose of cultural awareness.
“I think one of the key things is the fact that the majority of the guys in the group grew up in same neighborhood — we’re all native San Franciscans,” Martinez said. “We all grew up in a certain era; we’re all around 40, I’m 39. There tends to be strong foundation in what was popular when we were teenagers. Earth Wind and Fire, Tower of Power — things that were big coming out at the time.”
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The band played its first show in November of 1998, after Martinez called in a few friends to lay down a track on a compilation CD he was producing. The band slapped the Los Mocosos moniker to the track and the band’s first CD, Brown and Proud, was released that summer. Even then, the band had a platform from which to leap.
“Brown and Proud was about self esteem and feeling good about ourselves,” Martinez said. “We had a song called ‘Wetback’ which deals with the whole thing about illegal immigration, when all people here have had to come across water.”
Martinez said that not everyone was open to the band’s messages.
“Some people have branded us militant Chicanos,” Martinez said. “But I feel like these are songs that have something to do with a cultural and social conscience, which is important to me because I grew up around radical thinking.”
Growing up in the Bay Area, Martinez said he witnessed first hand many Chicano civil rights movements, including the United Farm Workers’ grape boycott spearheaded by CÇsar Ch†vez and actions by the Brown Berets. He also was party to the peace and love movement of the same era, which, though it didn’t involve Chicanos exclusively, embodied the freedom of expression that enthralled many a teenager at the time.
Martinez explains that with the American melting pot boiling over with generations of Latinos being born in the United States, the potential for groups such as Los Mocosos to be at the forefront of another cultural revolution is a real possibility.
“I feel that the Latino demographic or segment of the U.S has been one of the silent ones,” Martinez said. “Usually you hear of Latinos when it pertains to immigration, or when people say we’re taking their jobs or along with welfare. With music, Latinos are starting to hear their voice. It’s like a civil rights movement in a sense.”
Additionally, it was his formative years that convinced him to change his real name, which he would not divulge.
“I did it as a way of empowering myself — I couldn’t stand my god-given name — and I wanted to have a name that expressed how I really feel most of the time,” Martinez said. “It got to the point that I was just like changing a lot of things, friends and stuff. I own two lowriders and went to school in the Mission district. I was a cholo at heart but it’s been hard to escape this kind of hippie vibe.”
Los Mocosos have, in a short time, been lauded for their high-energy live show. Martinez said the band travels the familiar Latino-heavy cities such as Chicago, Austin and now Albuquerque, but hopes to hit unfamiliar markets. The six “mocosos,” Martinez, lead vocalist Manny Martinez, trombonist Victor Castro, saxophonist Gordon Ramos, keyboardist Steve Carter and drummer Sandino are likely to belt out “Soy Callejero,” “Mi Barrio Loco” and “El Gran Skalsero” from the band’s latest release, Shades of Brown along with traditional favorites, Martinez said.
He also has an interesting analogy to describe the world’s recent fascination with Latino culture.
“One of the reasons Latino culture is exploding and taking hold, it’s kind of like trees,” Martinez said. “Here in the Bay Area, we have eucalyptus trees that are native to Australia, and they’ve become a problem; they’re overgrowing the city. Cultural awareness and family togetherness — those things are important to Chicanos, and these sorts of ideals are something that are going to take hold in our culture here, because those are positive things.”
Los Mocosos play the Launchpad, 618 Central Ave, SW, tonight with local band Felonious Groove Foundation. Tickets are $8 and available at the door or through Ticketmaster, which can be reached at www.ticketmaster.com or 883-7800. This is a 21-and-over show.
