4 Mexican Punk Rock bands para que usted pueda escuchar! (for you to hear!)

by Dave Sharp on Oct 07^th, 2010

I’ve always loved punk music, all eras of the ever-changing and developing genre. And being a teenager filled with angst and trouble with girls, the music usually spoke to me, especially bands like Blink-182. I’m also an Arizona native, which has exposed me to the growing Hispanic culture in America. My parents always told me whenever I’d go through some tough times, “Oh Matty, what you’re going through is perfectly normal, every teenager goes through this.” So when my brother introduced me to the idea of looking at some Mexican punk bands, it immediately piqued my interest. If all teenagers go through the same things, what music does a Hispanic kid, especially one of Mexican descent, relate to? Who is their Blink-182? So I did some research and started listening.

Disclaimer: I don’t speak Spanish, so bear with me; lyrical understanding couldn’t play much of a role in my research.

Don

Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

myspace.com/donband

I skim through their Myspace page and one thing catches my eye: a video cover of Blink-182’s “Dammit”! Mouth on the floor like a pre-teen girl stricken with Bieber-fever, I immediately click on the play button. The recording is pretty low quality of a live show, but you can definitely tell that they cared about playing that song. After indulging the fangirl side of me, I got around to playing their recorded music. Songs like “La Distancia no es Obstaculo”, “Pfff…” and “Resiste” remind me of a mix between Blink-182, older MxPx, and some elements of A Day To Remember. I got a vibe from all of their songs that they were just out of their garage band days with only one show listed for a while and with their songs filled with the fun of a newly emerging band. On top of that, they just seem like a band I’d like to hang out with.

Finde

Mexico

myspace.com/finde

Whereas Don’s Myspace page was plain and contained nothing extravagant, Finde’s page looked very professional. They even had a Twitter account. Their sound was a more mainstream alternative/punk feel, as opposed to the DIY sense you get from Don. While listening to this second band, I started to get the feeling that music from this different country mirrored the way music worked in America. And I guess I should have expected this, but I had no idea it would be as similar and I thought there would be such a cultural difference, that the way music is made would be radically different; but instead, it was like I was listening to bands from the US, but just in Spanish.

Le Butcherettes

Jalisco, Mexico

myspace.com/lebutcherettes

This band doesn’t exactly fit the same pattern. Le Butcherettes Mexico but they sing in English and, unlike the other bands, have a tour thatoutreaches Mexico and the US. The band of only two members is pretty established, especially with front woman Teri Gender Bender who likes to intimidate audiences with her strong-willed persona. The band fights against typical gender roles with a classic punk attitude, even if their music doesn’t always match up with the genre. I’m always up for a good revolution, and it’s refreshing to know that bands from other cultures feel the same way.

Lost Aculpulco

Mexico City, Mexico

myspace.com/lostacapulko

The final band I explore is a surf/garage/punk band out of Mexico City, Lost Acapulco. I’ve always enjoyed the raw energy of punk, but sometimes I just like the fun beats of a laid back surf punk band. This is another one of those bands that would just be cool to hang out with. For an active band of 14 years, I love how they haven’t lost their sense of humor or desire to create the music they love, and it’s apparent in everything they do, whether it be their songs or just the way they describe themselves in their profile. I enjoyed Lost Acapulco, and even though I can’t understand what they say, I don’t really need to, because the music and the attitude is the same.

And then it hits me. In my attempt to find the differences in music based on culture, I’ve discovered the similarities that it has to what we expose ourselves to musically as Americans. And I know this is really cliché, but it’s obvious that music is universal. Everyone experiences pain, loss, love, reward and happiness, and all people express their experiences through music. Instead of classifying music based on the culture it’s bred from or the language it’s recited in, we need to realize that music IS the language and culture. In a shrinking world, music can be the one connection we share with people we have almost nothing in common with.

-Matt Sharp