For years, the underground has been a place where musicians can develop their talents and fans find their favorite niche, when all that's mainstream has been long played out. As a token of our appreciation for those Latino artists who dare to be different and non-conforming in every way, we are profiling five up and coming LGBT (and allied) music artists.
Mala Maña:
Mala Maña is an all-female group from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The band formed in 2009, with the simple goal of bringing people together through music. Each member comes from a different country in Latin America, and the members embrace and incorporate their cultures into their music. When playing live, they'll combine everything from cumbia to spoken poetry accompanied by African rhythms. Not only do these girls break barriers with their music, but also with their self-identification, as most of the group identifies as bisexual. Mala Maña is an impressive unit of women who are unafraid to own their sexuality and their love for music. Here is a video of them performing on the popular series TED:
Edna Vazquez:
Edna Vazquez is a Mexican native, having been born in the state of Colima and raised in the state of Jalisco, the birth place of mariachi music. At the young age of 17, Edna decided to move to the United States with the intention of working in the music business. While Edna had plans to produce music, life had a different role for her because she soon began to perform herself. She has a powerful voice and is a true performer. Mariachi music is all about emotion, something Edna embodies completely. Here is Edna performing on the KEXP radio station:
Kumbia Queers:
Kumbia Queers are originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina and Mexico. The group members met while performing in the rock scene but soon after they met they tried playing cumbia music, something they had never played before. They soon began to gain more knowledge about the genre, and started playing shows under their new name. According to an interview with Latino USA, Kumbia Queers has expressed struggle with the rock community for their new sound, which often combines samples from popular heavy metal groups such as Black Sabbath with cumbia rhythms. Kumbia Queers have already played a number of festivals and are currently on their European tour, spreading their love for cumbia throughout the world. Here they are giving an interview and performing live:
Eyes Like Cyanide:
Eyes Like Cyanide are a heavy metal band based out of Brooklyn, NY. They formed in 2006 and have since maintained a consistent presence in the underground heavy metal scene in NYC. The band combines elements of technical metal with deathmetal to create a powerful and crushing sound. Eyes Like Cyanide also has two members who identify as lesbian (lead singer and guitarist). Lead singer Tracy Gonzalez takes full control when she takes the stage; her voice can compete with that of any other male heavy metal vocalist. Eyes Like Cyanide also incorporates latin rhythms into their percussion. Here is Eyes Like Cyanide performing "Writings On The Wall":
Loco Ninja:
Loco Ninja is an openly gay rapper from NYC. He has been public about his struggles and the rejection he's had to endure for being openly gay in the rap world. Loco Ninja's lyrics often talk about love and the strength each person must have in order to face their own troubles in life. For his part, he hopes to be a role model as well as a voice for the LGBT community in Hip Hop and Rap. Here is his music video for his song "I'm In Love" featuring Lumidee and Carmen Baretta: