As part of our special reports this week from Mexico City and the Urban Culture Fashion Fest (see also “Mexico City Urban Culture Fashion Fest Illustrates Burgeoning Scene of New Designers Mixed with Top Bands, Skateboarding, Graffiti Artists + Urban Vinyl Scenes”), top bands from Mexico showcased the popularity of specific genres within youth culture.
While the festival was called Urban Culture Fashion Fest, what’s interesting to note is that top bands reflecting urban fashion styles among youth culture in Mexico are not “urban” with a similar meaning as in the U.S. but rather more punk, emo, Goth, and indie inspired than rap/hip-hop. Jiangsu Wongpec from Independent World, which produced the event confirmed this. “Youth culture here [in Mexico] is not as inspired by rap/hip-hop as they are emo. That’s what it’s all about here.”
Like a mini-Warped Tour, the music component of the Fest included an excellent line-up that changed quickly through the 3-day event. Top acts ranged from indie-inspired with U2 Edge-like guitar riffs from Chiquita Violenta, who also sang mostly in English; Anabautha, one of the top Gothic bands in Mexico, with a similar style of vinyl corset’s, chains, and heavy make-up; The Satin Dolls, which was another girl-fronted band (like Anabautha), that carried a Debbie Harry style with punk roots; Los Concorde who was highly anticipated since one of the musicians in this band came from another popular band in Mexico before starting this new version; and Six Million Dollar Weirdoes who were a favorite thanks to an energetic performance by the frontman in a silver suit who often jumped off stage into the crowd. Other musicians included Fenomeno Fuzz, Coichon, Los Weeds, Tristeza, andDJ Estelar.
In many ways, the musicians, while mostly singing in Spanish, did carry either a punk-pop or Gothic edge to them, which was emulated by fans in tight stovepipe denim, side-parted black hair, bandanas, and graphic T-shirts (paired with Converse sneaks). Part Emily Strange/Hot Topic, and indie combined, the music scene in Mexico is undergoing change which various new genres coming into their own. As noted for example, in our story about the Detour Festival last month and Kinky’s performance (and the irony of the lead singer and trumpet player announcing that they were “legal immigrant aliens playing at City Hall”), is that they play a combination of dance-floor music, Latin grooves, and guitar rock electronica, not to mention accordion. In addition, LAM or the Latin Alternative Music scene has become a commercial force that is now starting to pervade across North America with bands such as Mexico City’s Molotov, Monterrey’s Kinky, Tijuana’s Nortec Collective, even Columbia’s Juanes and Andrea Echeverri, and Chilean’s La Ley. Los Angeles (“La Capital”) even has a dedicated radio show on 103.1 to the scene. But while some people are aware of say, Molotov among an older group of rap listeners, this was not the scene at the Urban Culture Fashion Fest, which was younger, and definitely more emo-inspired.
When it comes to youth culture and music on the rise as represented from the Urban Culture Fashion Fest, there is an indication of where trends are headed next and how, like J-Pop and J-rock from Japan coming in and influencing young people in the U.S., so too are new sounds from a different sort of mash-up culture coming from south of the border.
