East Los Angeles band Quetzal combines rock, traditional son jarocho, salsa, R&B, and more to express political, social, and personal struggles on their album Imaginaries. "Todo lo que tengo" (All That I Have) is a love song that acknowledges the role of the individual in a successful union.
Inspired by traditional son jarocho music of Veracruz, Mexico, and spiked with urban rhythms, rock and R&B, East LA Chicano group Quetzal will release 'Imaginaries', its 5th album and 1st for Smithsonian Folkways, on Feb. 28, 2012. Quetzal, a GRAMMY winning ensemble, called "provocative, heartfelt and strikingly original" by the LA Times and founded by guitarist Quetzal Flores, rose from the ashes of uprisings in LA in 1992 as a vehicle for social commentary and activism.
'Imaginaries' begins with the dark but lively "2+0+1+2=Five," about a barren landscape ruined by environmental abuse; set in 5/4 time, the composition is punctuated by lush strings, organs and eerie vocals. It sets the tone for a fiery, innovative, percussive and bilingual album that fuses many touchstones of the East LA plurality―including the title track, a taut mix of rock and R&B, and the Veracruz-informed "Tragafuegos."
