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Quetzal Big Frente Zapatista BadgeBio

I am a Chicano Artivista born in Salinas, CA and raised in North East LA. My parents are social justice activists Consuelo Valdez and Roberto Flores. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1976 so that my parents could join the August 29th Movement. I attended Gates St. Elementary, El Sereno Jr High, Wilson Medical Magnet (Pre- Bravo) and Alhambra High. My love affair with playing music began when I was 13 and my brother came home from boarding school with an electric guitar. Holding the instrument in hands instantly transported me into multiple realms of possibilities. My first mentor was Ruben Reza, a local guitar virtuoso. In 1993, under the sanctuary of a powerful music scene out of a tiny Chicano owned cafe in Little Tokyo, I founded the East Los Angeles based rock group Quetzal. From the experiences generated through the band and community struggles, I have participated in multiple moments of radical transformation.

Zapatista Movement

In 1997, as a founding member of East LA based Big Frente Zapatista (BFZ) I co-organized the Encuentro Cultural Por La Humanidad y En Contra del Neoliberalismo, a 5 day retreat in Oventic a prominent Zapatista Community. Over one hundred artivists and community from Los Angeles and hundreds of Zapatistas participated in dialogue, art workshop and celebration around themes essential to thriving in our communities. This was the first time I witnessed a collective songwriting workshop facilitated by singer/songwriter and activist Rosa Marta Zarate. This had a tremendous impact on me as it modeled a way for me to use composition, a skill that I possessed, to engage community in a critical and creative conversation. Through 20 years of development and practice, Collective Songwriting has become a signature pedagogy of the band Quetzal.

Fandango Movement

In 1995, I met Lorenzo “Lencho” Martinez, a community master musician who introduced me to traditional Mexican music and most importantly, the instruments. I was particularly taken by the jarana, an eight stringed rhythm guitar from the son Jarocho tradition in Veracruz, MX. Shortly after, I met Russell Rodriguez a master musician from San Jose, CA who introduced me to El Movimiento Jaranero, a group of musicians from Veracruz who beginning in the 1970’s created a movement to recover and proliferate the Fandango, a participatory music and dance practice that was in danger of disappearing. In 2002, myself together with many Chican@ artivistas travelled to Veracruz to begin a translocal dialogue with El Movimiento Jaranero that involved sharing cultural and economic resources across communities and borders. From this dialogue emerged many recordings, performances, publications, workshops, community building efforts and importantly transplanted the Fandango to East Los Angeles as a local sustainable community practice. This was important as it provided a tangible method for me to be in community with music and in music with community. In 2008 I co-founded the Seattle Fandango Project, a transgenerational community that practices the Fandango and has connected to other local and translocal communities of practice. In 2013 I co-founded FandangObon, a yearly convening of the Southern California Fandango, Obon, and West African music and dance communities.

Tradtional Arts

As the Southern California Program Manager for the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) from 2012-2016 I spearheaded Activating Cultural Assets, a participatory cultural asset mapping project in Boyle Heights and the Eastern Coachella Valley. In collaboration with The California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities initiative, this project relies on local traditional arts and culture systems to create programming that impacts the health and vitality of a community. In 2014, I began managing and curating the Arts in Corrections (AIC) program for ACTA. By programming traditional artists from communities of practice, ACTA’s AIC program offers a unique mobility and connection which provides a pathway towards healing and rehabilitation. From 2014-2017 the AIC program went from servicing 3 to 16 prisons statewide.

Community Development

In 2016 I joined the East Los Angeles Community Corp as the Director of Arts and Culture. Focusing on changing the DNA of the organization, I operate with the belief that Art & Culture are inseparable and symbiotic resources that live at the essence of community vitality and transformation. Art & Culture provoke critical analysis of our communities cultural convening practices as sites for the facilitation of power and cooperation.

Production

My goal is to serve as a resource to musicians from my community and like communities in the articulation of their lived realities through music production. My production method is informed by deep hanging out with my mentors, John Avila, Greg Landau, Steve Berlin and Robert Carranza. I believe that the key to any successful production is strong and transparent relationships. I spend a considerable amount of time with artists I’m producing in order to create a trust that allows the interrogation of lyrics, arrangement, tempo and dynamics.

Portfolio

This is a collection of my work. Click to view more about each project or you can also filter by the type of work you're looking for.

  • Checo Alonso – Lluvia de Cuerdas

    Checo Alonso – Lluvia de Cuerdas

    Performance

    Ethnomusicologist, educator, and recording artist, Sergio “Checo” Alonso is a native of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley.

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  • Upground – Stay Cool

    Upground – Stay Cool

    Composition, Production

    Release Date: Sep 16, 2014 Label: Peer Music Services provided: Composition Engineer Production

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  • Son De Madera – Son De Mi Tierra

    Son De Madera – Son De Mi Tierra

    Production

    Son de Mi Tierra burgeons with creativity and reverence for both the old and the new as it draws from rural roots to produce fresh interpretations of this popular Mexican regional music.

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  • Shadow Jaguar – The Secret War

    Shadow Jaguar – The Secret War

    Production

    Indie Rock: punky to funky, sprinkled with tender introspective moments.

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  • Bambu .​.​.​exact change​.​.​. Reloaded

    Bambu .​.​.​exact change​.​.​. Reloaded

    Performance, Production

    This album bridges Bambu’s very playful style with his hard-edge political/social commentary. The album features Zion I, Illmind and a collection of super-producers.

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  • Charanga Cakewalk – Chicano Zen

    Charanga Cakewalk – Chicano Zen

    Performance, Production

    Charanga Cakewalk and Michael Ramos follow up their critically acclaimed debut album LOTERIA DE LA CUMBIA LOUNGE with the new and exciting sounds of CHICANO ZEN.

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  • Lisa Flores – The Making of a Trophy Grrrl!

    Lisa Flores – The Making of a Trophy Grrrl!

    Performance

    Chicana activist-songstress delivers her second kick-ass CD. Feminist Rock at it’s best- Los Angeles Times

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  • Quetzal – Imaginaries

    Quetzal – Imaginaries

    Composition, Performance, Production

    Imaginaries combines shades of East L.A.’s soundscape, traditional son jarocho of Veracruz, salsa, R&B, to express the political/social struggle for self-determination & self-representation

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  • The Crumbles Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

    The Crumbles Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

    Composition, Production

    THE CRUMBLES Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was composed by Quetzal Flores.

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  • Justice for My Sister Motion Picture Score

    Justice for My Sister Motion Picture Score

    Composition

    A feature length documentary, Justice for my Sister examines the issue of femicide – essentially hate crimes against women – by taking an intimate look at one family’s loss.

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  • Variedades: The Ballad of Ricardo Flores Magón

    Variedades: The Ballad of Ricardo Flores Magón

    Musical Direction

    A night of music, theater and dance providing a window into a little-known but epic chapter in L.A.’s history, the life and times of Mexican anarchist Ricardo Flores Magón.

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  • Entre Mujeres – Women Making Music Across Borders

    Entre Mujeres – Women Making Music Across Borders

    Musical Direction, Production

    Entre Mujeres is a translocal music composition project between Chicanas/Latinas & Jarochas/ Mexican female musicians.

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  • Susana Baca – Afrodiaspora

    Susana Baca – Afrodiaspora

    Performance

    Susana gives voice to her life-long immersion in the music of the African Diaspora, a travelog that spans centuries and continents through the voice of one of the world’s most celebrated singers.

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  • Maya Jupiter – Maya Jupiter

    Maya Jupiter – Maya Jupiter

    Composition, Production

    In December 2010, Jupiter released her second album, Maya Jupiter, with Aloe Blacc assisting on recording and Quetzal Flores and Martha Gonzalez (both are members of Quetzal) co-producing. Services provided: Production Composition Musical Direction

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  • Laura Rebolloso – Meany Hall Concert University of Washington Presentation Curripití

    Laura Rebolloso – Meany Hall Concert University of Washington Presentation Curripití

    Musical Direction

    University of Washington 2010, Laura Rebolloso (jarana and voice), Juan Pérez (bass), Martha Gonzalez (cajón and voice), Quetzal Flores (jarana), Alex Chadsey (piano). Recopilación Dr. Antonio García de León.

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  • Monte Carlo 76 – Marisela

    Monte Carlo 76 – Marisela

    Production

    Monte Carlo 76′s second release, Marisela, merges the sweet sounds of West Coast soul with the vivid stories of barrio life. Marisela’s songs are so intimate, you will feel like you are riding shotgun with the band through the streets of East L.A.

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  • B-Side Players – Fire in the Youth

    B-Side Players – Fire in the Youth

    Composition, Production

    The B-Side Players make music without borders or boundaries. On Fire In The Youth, they continue exploring the multifaceted grooves of Latin America and the Caribbean.

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  • Quetzal – Die Cowboy Die

    Quetzal – Die Cowboy Die

    Composition, Performance, Production

    This is the fourth CD by Quetzal. “Die Cowboy Die” is a lot less folkloric, a lot more urban.

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  • Son de Madera – Las Orchestas del Día

    Son de Madera – Las Orchestas del Día

    Production

    Las Orquestas Del Día (“The Orchestras of the Day”), liberates a history rich with tradition and welcomes a new generation of cross-border cultures with a fresh, earthy sound.

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  • Zach de La Rocha in South L.A. to Defend South Central Farm

    Zach de La Rocha in South L.A. to Defend South Central Farm

    Musical Direction, Performance

    Zach de la Rocha, Members of Ozomatli, Quetzal and others join 350 Families in South L.A. to Defend Community Farm

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  • Zach de la Rocha & Son de Madera

    Zach de la Rocha & Son de Madera

    Musical Direction

    First Fridays at The Natural History Museum: with Zack de la Rocha (Rage against the Machine), Son De Madera and Quetzal.

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  • Willy DeVille – Crow Jane Alley

    Willy DeVille – Crow Jane Alley

    Performance

    Crow Jane Alley is an album by Willy DeVille. It was recorded in 2004 in Los Angeles. For this album, DeVille was joined by members of the Chicano rock band Quetzal, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, and Peruvian Afro-Cuban jazz drummer Alex Acuña, among other prominent musicians.

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  • Stand Up for Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story

    Stand Up for Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story

    Composition

    Stand Up for Justice is a 30-minute drama, which explores the enduring values of friendship and loyalty between Ralph, a 16-year-old student at Belmont High School and his Japanese American Nisei friends.

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  • VA – Spain in My Heart: Songs of the Spanish Civil War

    VA – Spain in My Heart: Songs of the Spanish Civil War

    Composition, Performance

    Songs from the Spanish Civil War are presented in this collection in newly recorded versions, along with original material inspired by the short-lived Spanish Republic.

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  • Quetzal – Worksongs

    Quetzal – Worksongs

    Composition, Performance

    Worksongs draws inspiration from many different styles: rock, soul, jazz, Mexican folk, Afro-Cuban salsa and cumbia.

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  • VA – A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd

    VA – A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd

    Performance

    A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd is a 2 CD compilation of 31 Pink Floyd obscurities and classics performed by 29 different bands most from the Los Angeles area.

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  • Quetzal – Sing the Real

    Quetzal – Sing the Real

    Composition, Performance

    Sing the Real is ripe with Mexican roots and Afro-Caribbean music merged with rock, folk, and jazz influences. Given the diverse backgrounds of the members such variety comes naturally.

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  • Tener o Ser (MEXAMERICA)

    Tener o Ser (MEXAMERICA)

    Composition, Performance

    Collaoration between Quetzal and Claudia Morfin (from Tijuana based Nona Delichas) for the compilation CD “MEXAMERICA” (Aztlan Records, 2001), co-produced by John Avila of Oingo Boingo.

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  • Quetzal – Quetzal

    Quetzal – Quetzal

    Composition, Performance

    Quetzal’s self-titled debut CD, produced by the former Oingo Boingo bassist John Avila, was heralded as the “Sound of a new millennium” by critics and fans alike.

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Contact

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