A new Tucson music festival will celebrate diversity with tropical rhythms, native songs and Latin folklore. “Baila el Pueblo” is organized by community radio station KXCI.
From the ancestral cadence of the Tohono O’odham Nation’s Waila to the international artist Reyna Tropical’s fusion of Congolese, Peruvian, and Colombian rhythms, the festival promises a musical experience with a seal of cultural plurality.
The “Baila el Pueblo” Desert Musical Festival takes place Saturday, March 22, from 4-10 p.m., at MSA Annex, 267 South Avenida del Convento. Tickets are on sale at kxci.org.
Elva De La Torre, executive director of KXCI says it is the first time they have held this music festival, which will have two stages and seven musical bands.
She said the reason for bringing musicians and artists together was to “show the unity of our community.”
“It’s good to celebrate in difficult times,” she told Arizona Luminaria in a phone interview.
The festival will bring together the chords of the guitarist and composer Fabi Reyna, along with regional artists such as Los Esplifs, Native Creed, Hataałii, Nicosa, MizSkoden and Las Chollas Peligrosas.
Some of these bands fuse Latin American folklore with American influences such as jazz, hip hop and punk. Others raise their voices with songs of empowerment that defend human rights and social justice.
Others rescue rhythms born from the survival struggles of Black and Indigenous communities. And among them, music that envelops the public in an intoxicating collection of hymns inspired by the ghost towns of the Navajo Nation.
De La Torre said that for KXCI it is of utmost importance to celebrate Latino, Indigenous and LGTBQ+ representation through the “Baila el Pueblo” Desert Musical Festival.
“We are always elevating these types of artists and we have a lot of history in supporting local artists,” she said. “We have a program called Locals Only, every Monday we have local artists where we highlight their music.”
In addition, she added, attendees will be able to visit the stands of local artisans, such as the Mitotera Gallery, which supports the micro-artisan market. There will also be food and drink stalls.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said in her Instagram, “Musical events like ‘Baila el Pueblo’ Desert Music Festival hosted by @kxcitucson are an important part of our creative economy and are celebrated in our SOMOS UNO! Cultural Heritage Strategy.”
The Somos Uno initiative was started last year by the city of Tucson to help protect and preserve local arts and culture, according to the website of the project.
Its objective is to “lay the foundations for future projects in history, heritage, art and culture, promoting creative participation programs.”
De La Torre said that if the “Baila el Pueblo” musical festival concludes successfully they will seek to hold it annually and increase the number of concert days and activities.
“We want to do the festival in two days, to make it bigger,” De La Torre said.
She said the invitation to the regional festival is open across borders and to surrounding cities.
“Hopefully people from Phoenix and Mexico will come. We are inviting the people of Hermosillo, from Guaymas to Ciudad Obregón, all of Sonora,” she said.
Translated by Beatriz Limón
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