Las Cafeteras – Bilingual Sounds Session
4 song performance + Interview with Byron Gonzalez
Bilingual Sounds continues to amplify the rich musical mosaic of Southern California, presented by The SoCal Sound, and this time we welcome East L.A.’s beloved and boundary-breaking band, Las Cafeteras. They bring their signature energy, cultura, and genre-defying spirit to our studio for an exclusive live set and interview with Byron Gonzalez – a session that truly captures the essence of what Bilingual Sounds is all about!
A Bilingual Celebration of Culture and Rhythm
Bilingual Sounds broadcasts from and to the heart of Southern California, with the mission to uplifting voices that bridge cultures, languages, and communities of this diverse landscape. Las Cafeteras exemplify this mission. They were born from community activism and forged from the cultural intersections of Latin, Chicano, and global roots.
During the interview, Denise Carlos explains, “There's less comfort that is playing, but I feel like it's something for each of our, like the essence that we all hold. And we're like, well, it's not just a jarocho not just a cumbia, it's not just a ballad like album. It's something for everyone. And it reflects all of us and for us, we're like, we're just kind of being like, this is who we are and who we are. As like the folks that are in between, you know, we don't fit here. We don't fit there like we are living in the in between. And sometimes as I love song comes through by and sometimes you're going to like it's an homage to el barrio Right. And sometimes you're talking about your mom's, journey of immigration and like, that's what it's like to be for myself, like to be a Chicana, to be from southeast L.A.”
Four Songs – Full Band
Las Cafeteras performed live in The SoCal Sound studio performance room, all seven members!
• Cumbia de mi Barrio
• Luna Lovers
• Caravana
•Oaxaca Love Song 2
Highlights From The Conversation
In between performances, Hector and Denise had a chat with Byron Gonzalez, opening up about their journey from community organizers to culture-shaping musicians.
• On identity and “Nepantla” – The title of their new album A Night in Nepantla refers to the in-between space of identity – the not-quite-Mexican, not-quite-American reality many Chicanos navigate. As Denise explains “You know, sometimes I just want to play a love song, you know, I'm a kid, a Mexican’s to like, you know, and sometimes you're going to party and sometimes you're going to protest. And that's just kind of like, what? What is it to be us.”
• On accessibility through music – Hector explains by just messing with the chords slightly, you can take a 400 year old song and make it wildly popular, as he explains “…connect, continue telling the story. Yeah. And then for us, we're singing songs like La Bamba. But a lot of lyrics were about Vera Cruz. And so we would write, we write lyrics and be like to talk about here”
• Storytelling – Las Cafeteras have grown as songwriters by embracing metaphors, poetry, and empathy. Whether they’re writing about love, immigration, or addiction, their songs are embedded with meaning and crafted with care.
• Roots in the community – Las Cafeteres got their start performing at marches and protests, rewriting traditional songs to match the tone of current climates. That same activist spirit still fuels their performances today.
What’s Next:
Las Cafeteras continue to tour, currently out on a small tour with dates in Oregon, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico. The album A Night in Nepantla is out now and available everywhere you find music.
All SoCal Sound & Bilingual Sounds Session, interviews, and performances are filmed and edited by Matt Blake, recorded and mixed by Tristan Dolce.
