Latin Music

Five Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Denver this weekend

Cinco de Mayo may not be a huge holiday in Mexico (contrary to popular belief, May 5 is not Independence Day in that country), but it's definitely a major party here in Denver. Here are five Cinco de Mayo celebrations guaranteed to turn your weekend into a major fiesta.

El Mariachi will put you in the mood for Cinco de Mayo -- at gunpoint

When Tejano director Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi came out in the early '90s, we'd never seen anything quite like it, though the idea of an edgy, comic Western certainly had precursors, including the piquant Cat Ballou. But El Mariachi, famously -- and remarkably -- made on a $7,000 budget, is muc ... More >>

Drive, and five other badass film heroes defined by their badass jackets

​Drive, the film by Nicolas Winding Refn starring Ryan Gosling as a getaway driver so smooth you start to think he has some form of learning disability, is a perfect cinematic representation of "cool." (Read our review of Drive) It oozes that shit, both in its underbelly of tone and theme, but ... More >>

DeVotchKa with Mariachi el Bronx at the Fillmore, 2/12/11

Photo: Jon SolomonDEVOTCHKA With Mariachi El Bronx | Gregory Alan Isakov 2.12.12 | Fillmore Auditorium On this night, Colorado native, Gregory Alan Isakov, played the roll of conquering hero -- stepping out onto the massive Fillmore Auditorium stage and looking pleased at the sea of people floodin ... More >>

Mile High Music Festival: Ozomatli on activism and working under the Bush administration

​ This is distinctly American music. Working with a lineup that's fluctuated between six and ten and has included members of Jurassic 5, Ozomatli has for some fifteen years been blending Latin rhythms and hip-hop influences for a sound that's as big as it is varied and multicultural. The U.S. ... More >>

Gourmet truck trend is rolling, but El Mariachi is grounded

Old-school taco trucks are the new trend.​Gourmet trucks are all the rage right now -- but sadly, El Mariachi is stuck in park. Although loncherias have a long, noble history in Denver, Jesse Morreale and Sean Yontz were the first to get on board the tricked-out truck concept, creating El Ma ... More >>

Is the number of Mexican Mormons growing?

Angie Zapata remembered in Ozomatli's anti-Proposition 8 song

Angie Zapata, the transgender Greeley teen who was murdered in July 2008, has been immortalized in song. She's an integral part of a verse of Los Angeles-based Latin band Ozomatli's anti-Proposition 8 song "Gay Vatos in Love." Here are the lyrics, courtesy of Ozomatli's MySpace page:

Q&A with Marc Collin of Nouvelle Vague

Caught Nouvelle Vague last night at the Bluebird and want to know more about the act? Your wish is our command. We recently caught up with Marc Collin and fired a few questions at him about the projects musical goals, the act's artistic approach to re-contextualizing songs and how the studio project ... More >>

Masters of Mambo

Brit's Picks for the Starz Denver Film Festival: Movies with Colorado connections

Joan Soriano is "The Duke of the Bachata."​Editor's note: This year's Starz Denver Film Festival, November 12-22, features more than 200 films. To help navigate this cinematic abundance of riches, we asked fest artistic director Brit Withey to highlight some worthy selections off the beaten sc ... More >>

A lesson in Latino dropout rates

Today's featured event: It's raining salsa this weekend in Denver

There's little out there that's sexier than salsa dancing, except maybe the delightfully lurid tango, which shares some Latin roots. And Denver, like any multi-ethnic city worth its #10 Scoville-rated habanero juice, is lucky enough to have a tight little salsa community that kicks up its heels to ... More >>

Get a job! Jesse Morreale's job fair

You drink at Mezcal -- why not work there? Jesse Morreale and his crew have close to a hundred positions to fill in their group of restaurants/bars --  Mezcal, Tambien, Rockbar, La Rumba, Sketch and a "new location," which we're guessing is that big front room at the First Avenue Hotel, right i ... More >>

Today's featured event: Celebrate Cinco with the CSO

In this town, one supposes a Tuesday night in the middle of the week can stretch only enough to contain a Cinco de Mayo warm-up, regardless of what the calendar says. The real action, from Federal Boulevard cruisers to the big event in Civic Center Park, will probably heat up over the weekend. But ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Cars and car bombs

See photos from a busy weekend in Denver, from the Auto Show to La Rumba's Friday-night Lip Gloss party, at westword.com/slideshow.

How to navigate those pesky mariachis

What's wrong with mariachi music at Mezcal?

Mezcal cabaret application decision due soon

After dueling meetings with business and neighborhood groups last week, Mezcal's application for a cabaret license went before a hearing officer with the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses on Monday. Supporters of the application -- which would allow owner Jesse Morreale to regularly feature ... More >>

Mezcal cabaret license hearing tonight

Mezcal (3230 East Colfax Avenue) restaurant celebrated its fifth anniversary a few weeks ago and brought in a mariachi band as part of the festivities. Owner Jesse Morreale has been bringing live entertainment to the club for the past few years, mainly on special occasions, as the city allows him to ... More >>

Top Ten Latin Music Albums of 2008

Over the next couple of weeks, Backbeat will feature some Top Ten lists from around the Village Voice Media chain. Click here for previous year-in-review coverage from Backbeat and VVM.Americans who still think of Latin music as mariachi bands and gyrating Ricky Martins and Shakiras might want to le ... More >>

Mezcal fifth anniversary party, day one

Mezcal kicked off its fifth anniversary celebration last night, a five-day affair full of five-buck deals through December 20: five-hour happy hours, five tacos for $5, five tamales for $5, tequila shots and coin-style margaritas for five bucks. (BTW, we'd pay five times that for a plate ... More >>

The Rocky Mountain News discovers Twitter

Puerto Rico

Grapefruit Margarita

Centro Latin Kitchen & Refreshment Palace

Showcase by the Snippet

Listen Up

Fast reviews of recent releases

Billy Martin & John Medeski

Sound Bites

Let's Do Some Crimes

Repo men on the slowest chase since O.J.

Day-by-Day Picks

From the week of October 6, 2005

Westword Music Showcase 2005

Bebel Gilberto

Tuesday, June 7, Denver Botanic Gardens, 720-865-3500.

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Drink of the Week

Don Julio Anejo

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

The Beatdown

Sights and sounds of the Westword Music Showcase

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Word Out

Chicano poetry seeks the truth

Just Imagine

Experimental theater tests playwrights' skills

Letters to the Editor

From the week of May 1, 2003

Best Gay Bar for Gay Men

Oxygen
La Rumba

Get Into the Groove

The seven members of Groove Collective are of one mind in their pursuit of a new kind of jazz.

Cuba Libre

Joe Schneider treats Boulder diners to island delights.

Border Crossing

Through its nods to tradition and embrace of innovation, Calexico emerges as a desert bloom.

The Rio Thing

Bossa Nova keeps the beat -- and makes hearts beat faster.

Westword Music '96 Awards Showcase

1 night, 5 bucks, 7 venues, 39 bands Sunday, September 22 6 P.M.-1A.M. in LoDo

PLAYLIST

THRILLS

PLAYING HURT

STANLEY JORDAN RETURNS AFTER RELEARNING HOW TO PLAY THE GUITAR.