The band members of Las Cafeteras say they are storytellers first, musicians second. The combination of both made them impactful teachers for students and community members on their first visit to Omaha March 29-31, 2022.
Based in Los Angeles, they remix roots music and tell modern-day stories of Latino and immigrant lives. They use traditional Son Jarocho instruments like the jarana, requinto, quijada (donkey jawbone) and tarima (a wooden platform), sing in English, Spanish, and Spanglish, and meld styles, from rock to hip-hop to rancheras. They use music as a vehicle to build bridges among different cultures and communities, and create “a world where many worlds fit.”
During their stay in Omaha, they led a workshop for O-pa staff members and two workshops as part of O-pa’s Voices AMPLIFIED! series: “A People’s History of Music in the United States” at Benson Theater (looking at U.S. history through the lens of musical movements and how music has been used as a tool to dismantle oppression) and “Racism: Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That!” at Creighton University.
