On Saturday, June 12, Texans both in support of and against Arizona's tough new immigration law, SB 1070, voiced their opinions and concerns at the Capitol grounds [video link]. A rally in favor of the law was originally coordinated by a Facebook group called Texans For Arizona's New Immigration Law, while a counter-protest for those against the law and the group was organized by the Democratic Solidarity Committee.

Tempers flared and shouting matches ensued, but things remained relatively peaceful, as DPS officers were on hand to prevent physical confrontations. Several speakers took the podium, making their case for why Texas needs a similar law to that of Arizona's. In between speakers, a country music band provided the soundtrack for an afternoon of chants and taunts. Students came prepared with rallying cries such as "Immigrants are marching here; no papers, no fear," while "We're not racist. You're illegal" was the theme of the day for the pro-SB 1070 crowd.

Photos and video by Ajay Miranda. View more photos from this event on our Facebook page.

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Most of the Austin Vida staff was at Pachanga Latino Music Festival on Saturday, May 22, and when we weren't busy dancing our booties off we were taking notes and shooting photos, while observing the sights and sounds. The festival was great fun overall, as we were there from noon to almost midnight. But our only concern is that, for some reason, headliners Bomba Estéreo weren't allowed to play an encore after the crowd chanted madly for one. And across Fiesta Gardens at the Pavilion stage, where Roberto Pulido was scheduled to play until 10:30, the show was cut off at 10 on the dot.

Aside from that, we don't have many complaints. The artists were all very approachable and hung out to watch other band's sets from the crowd (something you definitely don't see at ACL). The enthusiasm from the fans and the musicians alike is what really made this year's Pachanga stand out. There seemed to be a genuine love of the game from the diehards and an exuberant curiosity by the casual fans and newcomers.

So with that, here are mini-recaps of the bands we saw and the photos we took. All photos by Mari Hernandez and Chantel Clopine.

HIERBA STAGE

The day started with San Antonio accordion-punk-rockers Piñata Protest ripping through an enthusiastic set in front of fans who traveled up from San An' to catch their hometown heroes. Fedora-sporting frontman Alvaro del Norte jokingly quipped, "This is the Hierba Stage. So you can smoke hierba." Shortly thereafter, they burst into a rapid-fire cover of "La Cucaracha" with del Norte showing off his trumpet skills. These guys are like if the Dropkick Murphys grew up in South Texas watching Cheech and Chong movies all day.

Next up on the Hierba Stage was the virtuoso hard rock of Cream-influenced trio Amplified Heat. At one point, our photographer Mari Hernandez affectionately said, "These guys need to stop showing off." It's true; you were either headbanging or staring in awe of their hyper-kinetic classic rock stylings. It got loud, too. "Sweaty beards and rock 'n' roll," is how our intern, Winston Rivas, described it.

Girl in a Coma was one of the other four bands representing San Antonio, and they had one of the biggest and most enthusiastic crowds of the day. This alt-rock trio rocked a lot of covers during their set, including Selena's “Si Una Vez.” From afar, you could've sworn it was the Tejano legend herself; their voices were that similar. But we really dug their seductive take on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by The Beatles. This is a versatile band, and one to keep an eye on.

Pacha Massive was the band our writer Eugenia Vela was most eager to catch—and they delivered. Their unique style and a multifaceted air of “cool” made them so approachable and relatable that everybody went nuts. The mix of raggae/electronica/funk was so perfectly tied together with vocalist Maya’s sensual voice and style, and they had fun dedicating their song “Pachangueando” to the festival, which they called the “Pacha Fest.” The airy, hazy and bluesy atmosphere they created was perfect, relaxing the crowd as the sun began to set, but inevitably exciting them enough to keep dancing into the night.

Bomba Estéreo closed out the dance party with the ultra-charismatic Liliana Saumet making us wonder why she isn't bigger than M.I.A. right now. After all, Saumet actually has talent as an emcee, singer and dancer—not to mention her larger-than-life stage presence, which is both sexy and street simultaneously. And for anyone who thought this was just a dance band, Bomba showed off their musicianship and experimental side with between-song psychedelic, electronic interludes before blowing up with crowd-pleasing scorchers like "Fuego." Saumet even invited nearly a dozen girls from the audience to get up on stage, at which point they danced during a 10-minute song. One of the girls looked so tempted to booty dance with bassist Simon Mejia while Saumet quickly spit psico-psico-psico-psico-psicodelica! For a second after the show was over, it looked like we were teased with an encore, but it never happened, leaving some in the crowd to boo. It was an awkward end to an otherwise fantastic day at the Hierba Stage.

          Pacha Massive at Pachanga FestPhoto by Chantel Clopine                                                                              Pacha Massive at Pachanga FestPhoto by Chantel Clopine

PATIO STAGE

The Patio Stage is always the sleeper stage with the best unexpected treats. Everyone knows about the big international headliners at the Hierba and the Tejano stars at the Pavilion, but it's the Patio's indie vibe that makes it the most accessible to newcomers and rewarding to those who thought they were in the know.

Brian Lopez kicked off the afternoon with his haunting big-band-style approach to indie singer/songwriter performance. He had a cellist, violinist, pianist and upright bassist to back his Jeff Buckley-esque warble. Lopez, an Arizona native, sang songs in English and Spanish about love and heartbreak. It was a chilling performance at times, and the quietest audience all day. While one of our female writers lamented that he wasn't as cute in person as his photos suggest (cheap shot, but still), we were all blown away by his talent on stage. We hope he returns to Austin soon.

Next, Brownout maintained its Latin funk supremacy, playing all the hits and a couple of new songs. They're starting to use more vocals, which is cool. Guitarist Adrian Quesada doesn't get to flex his vocal muscles in the group's other project, Grupo Fantasma, so it's nice to see the dude can really sing. The band went on at about 3:30, and the first thing we noticed was the large crowd. We didn't see that many people show up that early for Pachanga last year. In 2009, it took until the sun started setting to get that many people out.

Most people stuck around for Los Angeles-based Chilean singer/songwriter Pilar Diaz. Those who didn't should be kicking themselves. With a ukulele and a unique voice, Diaz enthralled the crowd of newbies. How she hits some of those notes, we have no clue. Go girl. We have to admit, there's some really interesting music coming out of L.A. right now.

Our writer Eugenia Vela called the next act, David Garza, "the quintessential likable dude—nice, funny, wins the crowd with his conversational rock." This was almost an allstar set, with Maneja Beto's guitarist joining as well as Michael Ramos of Charanga Cakewalk. Most people who excitedly filled the stage were clearly already familiar with his music, and everybody danced and swayed or nodded along to his whole set. Garza joked around with the audience, and confirmed that “the accordion is the official instrument of beer.”

Hacienda closed the Patio stage with their nostalgic '60s pop-rock. From the tiny town of Boerne, these brothers and a cousin play some of the tightest and grooviest old-school rock 'n' roll around. A friend of ours who isn't really into Latin music but was at Pachanga anyway commented on how these guys are better than almost every other "garage rock" band he's seen in town. These dudes are quintessentially Texan, however, even naming their album Big Red and Barbacoa. Doesn't get more Tejano than that.

                                                                                                                                   

PAVILION STAGE / NIÑOS ROCK TENT

We jokingly wondered if the very first act of the day was annoyed that they were missing the Saturday morning cartoons. Victoria, Texas' 24-7 includes four very talented boys—three of them in their early teens, and the solid and talented drummer was about 11. They proved to be quite grown up with a bluesy funk style reminiscent of Los Lonely Boys. Looking at these boys (and their female guest vocalist with a voice of true soul) perform on the Pavilion Stage certainly took me back to an eighth-grade party in which the band got all the girls, except this band actually does have potential. Their set included a little bit country, a little bit Santana with a twist, and an instrumental “Low Rider,” which gives me hope in thinking not all boys are listening to Nickelback these days. 24-7 guitarrist Nikko Vallejo is a great talent, a pleasure to watch.

Before catching the Pavilion's next act, we stopped by the Niños Rock Tent for a drumming workshop. The tent came alive with tables full of blow-up saxophones, tiny accordions and guitars, which tattooed moms so proudly handed to their adorable kids. As some children sat down to learn “how to get a beat” on drums, others, like blonde little Pearl, took initiative and joined Alex Vallejo on stage. Baby rock stars of the future got inked: Painted stars, butterflies and musical notes covered their eager faces as they clapped along with their parents and found a rhythm all their own.

Eugenia caught Vitera's set next at the Pavilion. Being that she's a Monterrey hipster, she had this to say: "I’m not the greatest fan of pop-rock, least of all pop-rock en español. But these guys are a pretty perfect version of what they are. Heavily reminded me of Moderatto, a sort of Kiss-meets-Timbiriche of today." You can't deny his violin skills, either.

For Songwriting 101 at the kid's tent, toddlers and fedora-clad daddies sat down with David Garza and Michael Ramos. The gist of what they learned? “For songwriting, you gotta have good music” and “you gotta have something you can tap your foot along to,” according to Garza, their teacher of the day. The kids shook along with their canary yellow maracas, using their own personal drums (their laps), joining in on “Wooly Bully” and “Twist and Shout” and paying close attention to Garza’s oh-so-wise lessons, which we can all take a cue from: “Music was the first language.”

Next was the Grammy-nominated Tortilla Factory, a big band that holds a style all their own. With a mix of Spanish and English lyrics, it’s a kind of old-school Latin rhythm that Pachanga attendees simply loved. With classic balads, their own rendition of “Stand By Me” and an electrifying Celia Cruz-esque flare, they truly got it right in asking, “Where else can one play country, salsa and Tejano and get away with it? Just Austin—keep it weird!”

Y La Orkesta was definitely one of the day’s favorites—from Tucson, Arizona, they were abound with an energy, passion and spice that got everyone dancing. Their cleverly arranged performances and obvious chemistry is definitely what most fits to the definition of “pachanga!” There has never been a better time to mambo—when the frontman is howling to the beat, and with Brian Lopez on guitar, if you heard this band and didn’t feel a sudden jolt of energy and urge to dance... well, then there’s something wrong with you.

Next up was Willie Alvarado. I think a lot of kids have at least once sat down and watched their parents slow dance, cheek to cheek, to a beautiful balad that takes them back to a time only they know of. Alvarado perfectly embodied this, with his tranquil and romantic voice that people sat down to enjoy and admire. His personal version of “Bésame Mucho” was definitely a favorite—we’d never seen so many ladies-of-a-certain-age swoon.

From San Antonio, the all-female mariachi group Mariachi Las Alteñas was what brought the broadest smile to Eugenia's face at Pachanga. She said, "Just last week was my sister’s graduation, and horrified, she told me she’d forgotten how embarrasing it was to be serenaded by mariachi. But I know if she’d seen Las Alteñas, she’d be smiling, too." With their gorgeous outfits of bright gold and red, the Mariachi was a wave of familiarity, right down to the charming scream of, “Ay papacito!” The Pavilion Stage was packed for the girls, who dazzled everybody with their beautiful voices and performed one of our all-time favorites, “Amor de mis Amores.” No better song to dance to!

We were most anxious to catch the salsa piano legend Larry Harlow sit in with Austin's hometown salsa/cumbia heroes, Grupo Fantasma. After playing a good half hour of new material, Fantasma was joined by Harlow for renditions of classics like "La Cartera." There were a few technical difficulties at first, as we couldn't quite here his piano. But that was taken care of quickly. The crowd was so busy dancing they didn't notice. Harlow summed up the night perfectly when he shouted happily into his mic, “Austin Es Musica.”

                                                                                                                                                                               

For decades, Latinos have added sabor to music produced in the U.S. and not just in genres like Tejano or salsa and merengue.

A new exhibit called “American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music” at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum showcases just how much Latinos have influenced American genres like blues, jazz, rock, punk, hip-hop and more over the years. The bilingual and highly interactive exhibit was originally curated by the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Wash., and will be on display at the Bob Bullock Museum until May 9.

The exhibit is divided into five sections, each reflecting cities that made major contributions to the Latino music community. Jasen Emmons, director of curatorial affairs for the Experience Music Project, said the idea for the exhibit was initially produced by several professors at the University of Washington with expertise on how Latinos have influenced American music.

“We decided to frame it a little more tightly and looked at music post-World War II and focused on the five major centers for Latino music in the U.S.,” he said, naming San Antonio, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City and Miami as those key cities.

Emmons said the challenge with the American Sabor exhibit was finding enough artifacts to showcase. He said it took about eight months to find the various show posters, musical instruments and outfits on display in the exhibit.

“We had to look for small-level collectors and basically started over in each city trying to make contacts to find some of this stuff,” he said. “What happened was people connected us to others who suggested they might have something we could use.”

Timothy Dillon, the director of marketing for the Bob Bullock Museum, said they wanted to add more of a regional focus since the exhibit featured a Texas city.

“The smallest portion of the exhibit was the one on San Antonio,” he said. “So we called up several people to ask if they would loan artifacts.”

And they did so successfully. They acquired additional artifacts like an accordion from legendary player Flaco Jimenez, who is one part of the supergroup Texas Tornados, and from up-and-coming artists like Piñata Protest and the all-female alt-rock band Girl in a Coma. Pictured left is the bajo sexto owned by Doug Sahm of Tornados/Sir Douglas Quintet fame.

More than anything, walking through the exhibit is like seeing snippets of history. A timeline on the San Francisco portion of the exhibit illustrated how milestones in music like Santana's performance at Woodstock coincided with Civil Rights activities.

Not only is the exhibit educational and visually appealing—it envelopes you in music. Sound booths are set up throughout the exhibit where visitors can watch videos, play music and interact with games and instruments. The center of the exhibit even features a dance floor.

“Kids always gravitate toward the dance floor and pick up the instruments,” Dillon said. “You can always hear a lot of sounds coming from this area.”

Admission to the exhibit is included with a regular museum fee, which is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, military and college students, and $4 for ages 5 to 18. Admission is free for those under 4. The museum is open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.

MUST SEE

• Harmony electric guitar owned by Ritchie Valens, who is pictured left, and the Mexican-inspired vest he wore on American Bandstand in 1958

• Celia Cruz, the “Queen of Salsa,” and her gorgeous gown in the New York section

• The East Los Angeles music sound booth. It gives a musical timeline of music from East L.A. starting with pachuco-inspired jazz to punk to modern rock from the likes of Rage Against the Machine

Find out about upcoming American Sabor events for family and for adults.

New York-based, Austin-bred concert promoter Todd Patrick (known to the business as Todd P) has been to enough South by Southwests.

They were sorta cool at first. Then the mission lost purpose and an idealist occurrence yielded to a neon industry conference defined by traffic, followers, lazy performances, etc. Todd P hijacked momentum where possible, programming perpetual thorn-in-the-side day parties with righteous vigor. Eventually, his underground Ms. Bea's parties during SXSW drew building names (Ponytail, Titus Andronicus, Vivian Girls in '09) and became a counterculture calendar staple. But with SXSW getting uptight and becoming increasingly vigilant toward circumstantial competitors—The Austin Chronicle allegedly naming names to APD via detailed lists, for instance—Todd P set his sights south.

On Saturday, Todd P's long-in-the-works outdoor festival, MtyMx, plants its flag in one of Mexico's largest, safest and most developed cities, Monterrey. Planned with Mexican promoters Yo Garage, the fest is strategically nestled around a dead space for American music tours; the industry converges for SXSW, and in the immediate aftermath bands are stuck in Texas and surrounding states, competing for Monday night patrons in Little Rock or Lafayette. The selling point for fans is that MtyMx takes emerging American indie rock, pairs with native talent and offers an affordable, scenic, set-staggered three-day festival.

Austin Vida corresponded with Todd P via email about the festival's fruition, prejudiced Americans, Monterrey's indie rock scene and why Andrew W.K. is on the bill.

Editor's note: This interview was conducted prior to reports of increased violence along northern border between realigning Gulf-region drug cartels. Todd P remains convinced safe passage to Monterrey, through Nuevo Laredo, is a given and no plans of festival cancellation are on the table. "There's nothing new going on. It's safer there than it is in Texas. News is exaggerated," he says.

How did the collaboration with Yo Garage come to fruition?

Todd P: I met Ricardo and Leila from Yo Garage last year when I drove down to Monterrey after SXSW. We had barely met before, but they graciously put my friends and I up for several days and showed us their city. They run a great DIY indie space down there call El Garage, which served as our home base for the vacation. We started talking about collaboration almost immediately.

Tell me about the festival venue.

Todd P: Autocinema Las Torres is a drive-in movie theater on the side of a small foothill mountain at the beginning of the Sierra Madre Orientales. It looks out to new gleaming highrises one direction; in another direction you can see a shantytown climbing up another small mountain, and towering over all is La Silla, the signature mountain of Monterrey. The space is about the size of 10 football fields.

It’s clear from timing and talent and shuttling fans out of Austin that there’s an attempt to dig into SXSW breed of music fans that show up downtown with no credentials or motives other than to see free blog bait. What made you fall out of love with doing events during SXSW?

Todd P: I've only ever cared about involvement in SXSW to the point that it represented such an otherwise impossible gathering of bands in one place, all willing to play for basically free. It occurred to me that the gathering of bands in one place is something that's true just after that fest ends as much as it's true while it's happening. All those bands have to drive somewhere the next day, so why not gather the best of the bunch and have them drive to Monterrey for something special? It beats playing in Lubbock on a Sunday night!

My take on Monterrey is that it’s Mexico’s answer to Dallas: full of technocrats, lots of big tech industry, Americanized and full of places like Chili’s, home to the most expensive private university in Mexico, full of wealth, a stronghold for Mexico’s center-right ruling party, the PAN. What attracted you to city besides fact it’s, you know, safe?

Todd P: Location, location, location... and the fact that a lot of those middle-class educated folks that Monterrey has to offer are indie rock fans. Also, Garage definitely the most forwardo-thinking club in Mexico, so we had the perfect partner on the ground.

As a follow-up, given the make up of Monterrey’s 20-somethings (specifically the kind that can afford recreational music festivals), what sort of local turn out do you expect?

Todd P: We're expecting between 1,000 and 2,000 people per day, with about 80 percent of that being Mexican fans.

What’s the Monterrey music scene like?

Todd P: It's diverse and booming. There are a lot of new bands and a lot of different kinds of parties happening every weekend. It's tight-knit,but there're always new generations of scenesters with every new school year at all the universities.

There’s a meaty chunk of Mexican bands. Who put you onto them? Are they legitimate draws in Mexico? Who are you looking forward to seeing the most?

Todd P: Ricardo and Leila curated the Mexican and other Spanish language bands. I'm personally excited to see Los Llamarada, Ratas Del Vaticano, Los Planetas and Alexico.

Andrew W.K. sticks out on the bill. He’s great, but clearly a departure from trendy names like Neon Indian and Das Racist. How did his inclusion come up? Is W.K. big south of the border?

Todd P: Andrew WK is just an all-around great guy who was kind enough to respond to our emails and trust us that travelling to Mexico to play in field on a 75-band bill was a good idea. I'm psyched he's involved; he's a perfect example of visual and performance art mixed with rock performance. His whole career is conceptual art, in my opinion. He's as much a uniquely famous personality South of the border as he is up here.

What has the public relations battle in convincing upwardly mobile white people to travel to Mexico been like?

Todd P: It's been easier than we expected, though not without detractors. We expected only a trickle of interest from the States, but it's been a steady stream. Even the predicable naysayers have been in the minority. I'm actually pleased those folks came out of the woodwork and revealed their ignorance. I think it's been a wake up call for more thoughtful, knowledgeable U.S. folks who didn't know just how pigheaded some of those ugly Americans can be, even when they come from the relatively educated, cultured class that listens to indie rock music. The idea behind this festival is to challenge conventional wisdoms about the border and about Mexico. It doesn't hurt to see those caricatures out of display, in all their ugliness. I'm just happy to see my countymen having this conversation about the border.

Austin's Carnaval Brasiliero was full of naked boobies—excuse us for noticing.

The yearly Brazilian festival took place at the Palmer Events Center on a cold night, but that didn't put a damper on skimpy outfits. Sequins and feathers were the rule, not the exception at this event where men and women showed off their costuming skill. We saw a body-painted tigress, covered from head to toe in orange and black stripes; a bronze man with a shimmering tree sprouting from his head as he held up a similarly polished apple and said he was the forbidden tree; and a very tall Kermit-the-frog headdress, all within the first 20 minutes of arriving.

The organizers of this year's fest did a great job pulling together performances by dancers and musicians. A drum circle in the center of the Palmer turned out to be a parade-style exhibition of dancers, musicians,  and skeleton and alien puppets, all outfitted in what looked like tributes to the Dallas Cowboys and homages to outer space at once. "I'd like to see the festival take on more of a Texas Hispanic flair," said one attendee. "The aliens are kind of nondescript and work with all cultures." The crowd and performers were diverse in culture and age group, and one very pregnant dancer reminded us that the celebration was not just a voyeur/exhibitionist extravaganza, but a space in which to let loose and enjoy life.

We heard steel drums throughout the event, but the energetic singer who took the stage with a 10-piece band could hardly be heard at all. Still, Brazilian revelers sang along to "Cidade Maravilhosa" as a conga line formed in the crowd and capoeira circles formed nearby.

How could this party have been any better? The crowd mixed well, the bartenders mixed well, and the air was thick with good vibes. Adding a parade that leads to the Palmer might make it more fun, but dancing down the street in a bikini in 30-degree weather may not work out so well.

Photos by Chantel Clopine.

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