Latin music has been characterized for having tropical, cheerful and “easy-to-dance-to” rhythms, but that doesn’t mean that is the only kind of Latin music. Rock in Spanish has been expanding with new young bands willing to give it all, which is apparent just by looking at the Latin Grammys nominations. Two of those bands are Los Mesoneros (“The Waiters” in English) and Viniloversus, both originating from Venezuela.
Extracurricular music
Los Mesoneros is a quintet of young fellows with only one mission: to take rock to every place they play. Founded by Luis Jiménez (guitar and lead singer), Andrés Belloso (bass), Juan Sucre (lead guitar and background voices), Ignacio Sucre (drums) and Carlos Sardi (keyboards), all 21 years old, have achieved the dream of many Hispanic bands of being nominated for the Latin Grammys.
Even more, they did it four times (only outdueled by Juan Luis Guerra and Jesse & Joy), nominated for best rock song, best rock album, best new band y best recording package for their first production Indeleble (Indelible). Even despite their young age, the members of Los Mesoneros have already played with bands like Zoé, El Canto del Loco, Simple Plan and Hombres G.
On top of the bands accomplishments, all the members of the band are college students.
“It is extremely hard, and even more difficult now that we are busier since they informed us of the nomination. It’s difficult, but you can still do it, with the help from friends and teachers that understand our absences, it is possible it can be achieved, although it is still difficult,” lead singer Luis Jiménez said.
Indeleble, the first album and also the name of the single nominated for best rock song was published in the band’s website for listeners to download it for free.
“In Venezuela and in Latin America there are not a lot of record labels and it is hard to distribute your work; for this reason we used the Internet to our advantage, so that anyone can have access to the music. We also preferred to give it free instead of people illegally downloading it, since it is better if we ourselves are the ones who offer it,” Jiménez said.
Viniloversus
Viniloversus has a wealth of experience in the music industry and returns to the Latin Grammys with another nomination. Rodrigo Gonsalves (singer and guitar) started the band with Adrian Salas (bass), Juan Belisario (bass) and Orlando “Mangan” Martinez (drums). This rock group has been nominated for two categories in this year Latin Grammys for best rock album and best recording package for its production Cambié de Nombre (I Changed my Name in English). They have also shared the stage with bands like Franz Ferdinand, Nine Inch Nails, Babasónicos and Zoé.
This album is a mix between hard rock and songs and lyrics with messages that comment on the realities facing the country. The song “Ares” has been a sensation in Venezuela ever since in the music video was publicized, with the band taping itself doing a graphic expression against the violence on the walls of the Presidential Palace.
“Ares has always been a peace anthem for us, we also make up part of the organization Paz con Todos, and it is not a secret that there is a lot of violence going on right now in Venezuela, so we wanted to make all those people with a finger behind the trigger think,” Martinez said. “We did the graffiti on governmental entities because we think that they are the ones that have the power and are the ones in charge of making sure the people don’t shoot.”
One of the nominations is for the recording package and design of the album cover.
“There are 16 different covers, designed by Miguel Velazquez, a Venezuelan designer,” Martinez said. “We are thankful for the art of this production, but we think this nomination is for him. We are extremely happy and excited.”
The two bands
In the end, both bands are young and it is possible to notice a new tendency in resurgence in Venezuela and Latin America’s rock. Also it is more common to see how bands get together to support each other at the moment of making concerts or creating songs. For example, Luis Jimenez appears in “Implosion” in Cambié de Nombre, showing how they get together to help each other.
This shows that Latin people and Hispanics not only listen to or play merengue, salsa or bachata, but can also play rock, and this writing piece is dedicated to that genre and all the bands that represent this style of music.
For more information about the bands visit losmesoneros.com and viniloversus.com, follow them on twitter at @LOSMESONEROS and @VINILOVERSUS. And watch the full interviews with Luis Jimenez and Orlando “Mangan” Martinez online at www.technicianonline.com/features/bienvenidos.
