The LA/NY feud will be decided once and for all this Thursday, February 20 when Las Cafeteras and Chicha Libre battle for the honor of their respective seaboards at Europa in Brooklyn. AND we’ve got a pair of tickets to give away, so you have the chance to witness this historic battle. Just email us at with the subject “Las Cafeteras vs. Chicha Libre” and your name to enter the contest.
Las Cafeteras, representing Los Angeles, were formed at a free Son Jarocho class in El Sereno, and have combined that Afro-Mexican folk style of Veracruz (which we covered in a recent Hip Deep Program) with zapateado dancing, unconventional instruments like the donkey jaw-bone, and a message in support of autonomous political communities. Here’s their video for “La Bamba Rebelde”:
Chicha Libre, hailing from Brooklyn, specialize in the psychedelic branch of Peruvian cumbia that grew out of the jungles in the Amazon. They have been known to play cumbia covers of Erik Satie, and their cuatro player, Olivier Conan, is also the co-owner of Barbès, the record label and bar that is presenting the concert. Check out their “Indian Summer” video:
DJ Sultan Balkanero of the Mexican group La Internacional Sonora Balkanera will be spinning records that run the gamut from Balkan beat to the norteño-electro mashup known as nortec. The show starts at 9PM and doors open at 8. No matter which coast wins, our contest winner will be in for a night of great tunes!
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