Armando Ortega said the first time he played the Zimbabwean gourds he felt odd.
That was more than 16 years ago. Now Ortega is a member of Wagogo, a local band that has been together since 1993.
Wagogo will play at OFFCenter Community Arts Studio on Friday at 6:15 p.m.
Ortega said his first introduction to African music was eye-opening.
"I was in Mexico City, and I came back and there was a poster for a reggae band," Ortega said. "I went to that, and that guy, he just moved me because I hadn't ever really heard reggae before."
Wagogo plays a mixture of Zimbabwean music and rock 'n' roll with a twist of reggae.
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Ortega plays the mbira, guitar and sings many of the songs in Shona, the language of Zimbabwe. Ernesto Crespin plays the drums and percussion, and Alyson Steinman plays bass and vocals. Also on the guitar and vocals is Teles Sanchez.
Sachez said African music was new to Albuquerque when he first heard it.
"I think the first time I ever heard African music aside from some random song on KUNM was being introduced to 'The Indestructible Beat' by Soweto," Sanchez said.
Steinman said she became a fan of African music when she heard it in Albuquerque and when she saw how popular it was elsewhere.
"There are some Zimbabwe music festivals, and for three years in a row we went up the Northwest coast because they were always in Seattle and Portland," Steinman said. "So we would organize dates on the way and drive all the way up. We played South by Southwest a bunch of years ago and we have gone to Colorado quite a bit."
Ortega said the reason he liked African music was because the lyrics were thoughtful.
"It really opened up a lot of people," Ortega said. "It's food, and people need food in their life, spiritually. In Africa, music accompanies everything you do."
Crespin said the scene for Zimbabwean music helped the band create a fan base and a connection within the band.
"It introduced me to the whole African thing. I had no idea how to play, what it sounded like, or anything," Crespin said. "It became spiritual for the band, I think, and then we finally got into the scene."
Sanchez said Zimbabwean music is more scarce in Albuquerque than it used to be.
"The music scene changed. It used to be that every bar or every venue was hopping with something," Sanchez said. "Then someone decided to buy a karaoke machine in Albuquerque, and that is the kind of thing that sticks here."
The band more often plays personal ceremonies and parties, Sanchez said.
"We have children or parents who see us, and they call us for a wedding or something," Sanchez said. "It is like branches of a tree. We're all teachers, so we also end up playing for kids a lot."
Ortega said the show on Friday is part of a program the OFFCenter Community Arts Studio puts on called First Friday Coffeehouse.
Wagogo
Friday, 6:15 p.m.
OFFCenter Community Arts Studio
808 Park Ave.
Donations appreciated
