Lalo Cura

Intimate performances that take place behind the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen, Tiny Desk Concerts have become a part of everyday life in the NPR Music offices. If you've ever tried to concentrate on work while a trombone player tunes his instrument a few feet away, then you know what concentration is.

Seriously, though, the concerts are so much fun, and we were thrilled when NPR Music announced its first-ever Tiny Desk Concert Contest. The premise was that bands from all across the U.S. should send in videos of themselves performing behind a desk. The prize: a chance to perform at NPR Music's Tiny Desk, as well as at the Lagunitas "CouchTrippin' To Austin" show in March. And, while there could only be one winner, we received more than 7,000 performance videos for our consideration.

This week on Alt.Latino, we share some of our favorite Latin contestants in the competition. And don't forget that, even though this was a special event, we're always open to submissions — it's how we get some of our best music on this show. So keep sending it in!

And, if you haven't already, check out the winner of the contest: the soulful, mesmerizing Fantastic Negrito. You can also find many more standout entries on the Tiny Desk Contest Tumblr. - NPR

When Spanish rock band Lalo Cura lost the bid for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert contest two months ago, it didn’t look good. But that loss turned into publicity gold for the Goshen, Indiana group when they were picked up by another NPR show, Alt. Latino.
Just like Alt. Latino itself, Lalo Cura doesn’t play your traditional Latin music fare. It’s a pop rock band fused with elements of jazz, country, and other influences. Lalo Cura will play a free show at Bell’s Brewery Thursday, April 23rd at 9 p.m.

Lead singer Rafael Chavez says the band tries to make their sound accessible for an audience that might not always understand the lyrics.

I grew up in Mexico where you don't grow up knowing English, for instance. Yet you learn to like the music that comes from like the Unites States or England. It's because the music is the thing that catches your ear. You know, you don't necessarily understand what they're saying yet you kind of fall in love with the music. And then because you're so into the music, then you start doing some research yourself and try to find the meaning of the song. So that's like one of the experiences that I want to...that we want people from here, from the United States that speak English only, we want them to have that experience.
For the NPR Tiny Desk Concert contest, Lalo Cura submitted their song "Testimonios," which is based on the real life experiences of undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Chavez says when he started writing the song, it was about his own story. He immigrated more than 13 years ago and was working a late-night job while attending college.

"It's a tough thing, you know, like to come here and then not knowing the language, first of all. And then dealing with the fear of getting caught," he says. "I mean, sort of being treated like a criminal without doing anything wrong necessarily, aside from violating those specific rules that apply to people who come into the United States illegally."

As he kept writing, Chavez included others' stories in the song - a few lines are written from the perspective of a parent being separated from his or her children.

"To me, you know, I'm thinking of all of the friends that you make and people that you know that live the same way. And like, they still live in fear up until today. A lot of people don't have the same luck," says Chavez. - WMUK 102.1

BENTON HARBOR — The Goshen, Ind.-based Lalo Cura is a rock band with a twist.
Thanks to founder, guitarist and vocalist Rafael Chávez y Moreno, all the original songs he pens are sung and performed in Spanish. While Moreno, who was born in Mexico, says the concept may seem like an oddity to Midwest audiences, the reception to the music has been nothing but positive since the Goshen College graduate gathered a few musician friends together to help him with arrangements to a few songs in 2012.
Since then, Lalo Cura, which also includes Adam Carter (guitar, vocals), Sam Que (saxophone), Sonny Carreño (drums) and Adam Hart (bass), has released its debut album “La Mala Racha” (2012), shared the stage with national acts such as Los Lonely Boys and The Main Squeeze, and been featured on on NPR’s Alt.Latino radio show as one of their favorite Latin rock bands to submit a video for NPR’s Tiny Desk contest.
Moreno and band, which are fresh off recording their sophomore effort, performs Friday at The Livery.
Q You describe the band as simply being a Spanish rock band, but have you had to explain that to people who haven’t seen you? Do people think you are going to be bringing in Latin drums or mariachi music?
A We do get some of that, but what I always want people to expect is simple. We are a band that plays rock and roll, but we just happen to sing it in Spanish. That’s not to say we don’t have a sound. We play mostly original music, and people say we have some Santana influence with maybe some Beatle-esque sounds. I don’t know (laughing). The other thing about us is our instrumentation. It may be a little different. We have guitars, bass and drums, but we also have a saxophone player, which brings a different texture to the sound.
Q The band started in 2012. How did it come together?
A Goshen, Ind., is a very small town, but it also happens to have some really good musicians. I started writing some songs, and it wasn’t hard to find a few friends who were interested in the idea for the project. It was something different than what they had done before. I think they were intrigued about it being a Spanish-language band, so we learned the songs and started playing out and people seemed to like it. ... It was something different for the area, which is mainly Americana and bluegrass music. It added some different colors.
Q I imagine Goshen doesn’t have a huge Spanish-speaking population, so how have people reacted to the music?
A People don’t think it’s too strange to have a Spanish rock band. Ever since I moved here 15 years ago, the Hispanic population has grown. When I moved here, there was hardly anybody who was Hispanic. You would be happy to see someone in the store who looked like you. I now work for Goshen schools and in the high school the Hispanic population has reached almost half the population. I think that is because people here have been really open, and that only translates into the music.
Q You sent the song “Testimonios” to NPR. You were born in Mexico, and originally came to the U.S. with your parents as an undocumented immigrant. Is that where that song comes from – your own story?
A Yes, that song came from my own personal experience when I moved to the U.S. 15 years ago with my parents. The song talks about the struggle that people face not just getting here but being in a new society with a new language. It’s about being lost in the language, and lost in a society where everything is different. So it’s a lot of those issues that we experience in our journey. I think a lot of people find a little piece of them in that song. It’s a very personal subject that seems to touch other people’s lives.
Q I understand there’s a new album in the works. What can you tell me about it?
A We just finished it this spring, and are now working on financing the post-production part of it. We hope to have it out this fall. ... “Testimonios” is one of the songs featured on that album for sure. We also have a song that I like to describe as having a rockabilly sound with a combination of cumbia, which is a Latin style of music. We like playing that song. That’s a song we have been playing a lot. Then of course there are some plain old love songs. You go to any country and you’re going to find a good old love song. No matter what language, you always have to have those. - The Herald Palladium

Goshen band “Lalo Cura” is on its way to Monticello this Saturday to rock out at the bandstand with the White County community.

The live performance is part of the Monticello-Union Township Public Library’s Library Concert Series. The concert is free and open to the public and will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Constitution Plaza in Monticello.
Lalo Cura will perform its own original songs entirely in Spanish, but the band also draws inspiration from English-speaking artists.

“One of our main influences are the Beatles,” said lead guitarist and singer Rafael Chávez. “It’s just that our lyrics are in Spanish.”

For the complete story, read Friday's Herald Journal. - Herald Journal