La Banda Skalavera

La Banda Skalavera is a Latin ska band from Southern California, and is formed with a variety of musicians with much talent. The members of the ska group include George Mercado on guitar and vocals, Rene Montenegro on bass, Arturo Zamora on drums, Jose “Chichi” Zamora on percussion, Benjamin Ah Sue on trombone, Filiberto Quintero aka (Fili) on Baritone sax, George San Martin on tenor sax.

Each member of the band comes from different musical styles such as cumbia, ska, reggae, punk, salsa, banda, and norteño. The Latin group was formed by vocalist George in South Central Los Angeles in 1998. George gathered the musicians from Riverside, San Diego, and even Palm Springs.

The Latin ska group likes to play and sing about personal life experiences in South Los Angeles. Vocalist George Mercado and the band love to bring these experiences to life through their music and share them with the people of their city. There are many accents in the band’s music that clearly depicts the latin southern California culture. The lyrics are deep, emotional, fun and even points out social injustices. The horn line are essential and a powerful part of the what makes up the LBS sound. 

In 2009, LBS were recognized by MTV VMA for Best Breakout Artist. This recognition opened up some opportunities for the band, which led to touring in Europe where now they have a big fan base.