An apparel company raid in Tempe, Arizona earlier this year by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (or Arpayaso we like to call him!) has another immigrant family on the brink of separation. "We don't want our mom to be in jail. We want our mom to come back. Please, help us," 17 year-old Diana Blanco said in sign language during a press conference. Her grandparents are also detained and face a repugnant county attorney whose racist policies push for felony charges and deportations.

Los Angeles-based Chicano folk-fusion band Las Cafeteras first learned about the family's case during a stop in Phoenix along the way to the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas. They had performed at an event for Puente, a local immigrant rights group, when the idea came from an organizer to link the band to the Blancos.

La Santa Cecilia's music video for its latest single "El Hielo (ICE)" premieres today, but this writer got a sneak peek two weekends ago! With Chris Newman of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) present in Anaheim for an event in celebration of jornalero Jose Ucelo, he took the occasion to screen the video before an audience of activists.

The Los Angeles-based Latin Grammy-nominated Latin Alternative band powerfully illustrated the anxieties of living in fear of deportation in the effort directed by Sleep Dealer's Alex Rivera. By the music video's end, the undocumented cast members featured in it were highlighted, including the band's very own requinto and accordion player Pepe Carlos.

In the annals of Lenten celebrations ala Carnaval and Mardi Gras, few match the desmadre that is the pachanga that happens during Easter weekend and the week that follows in Jerez, Zacatecas, the ancestral home of our Mexican-in-Chief and tens of thousands of other Mexican-Americans in Orange County and Southern California. But understanding the current fear that people have of traveling to México, the ingenious promoters of La Noria Entertainment-- who have made a fortune by catering to the Mexican-American horse-loving niche market of charrería and jaripeos-- decided to take a gamble and is bringing Jerez to Southern California in an event that will take place on Saturday, March 30th at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena heralded as "Sábado de Glorio 2013- Fiesta Zacatecana en USA" featuring at least 7 bandas directly from Jerez, including La Número Uno Banda Jerez, whose energy pumps up the crowd á la Rage and La Chacaloza, whose lyrics rival those of 2 Live Crew.

Truthfully, it's bizarre to think that these bands, alongside La Auténtica de Jerez Zacatecas, and El Nono y su Banda Reina de Jerez-- which are amongst the town's most popular-- will play in Pico Rivera on Saturday instead of headlining their own stage along Jerez's main street as they have in years past. Sure, here there will also be horses and cowboy boots, cervezas and tamborazos, and many prospects to hook up with a fellow SoCal Jerezano, but will it be the same? 

It's hard to believe, but when the Rock en Español  and Latin Alternative-themed "Siempre es Hoy" photography exhibition opens this Saturday in SanTana, it will be the first ever event of its kind in Southern California. Presented by the locals of SolArt Radio and La Banda Elastica, the exhibit, which will be held at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Arts, documents the movement of the genres worldwide all through the lens of a camera.

See Also:
*New Anaheim-based Podcast Aimed at Rockeros Debuts!
*Hometown Heroes Enjambre FINALLY Return to LA this Weekend
*Las Cafeteras Play For Those Who Work Hard to Survive

Colombian musician, Juanes, accompanied by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, took the stage with the children of YOLA (Youth Orchestra LA) at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday. The concert was a gesture that showed his advocacy for music education as a resource for empowerment and advancement. The man born Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez continues to prove that aside from being a pop/rock heart throb, he's also a mastermind in bridging the gap between languages and cultures, poverty and politics, love and despair in an enigmatic way that is both subtle and riveting.

One of the most definitive moments of the concerts was the beginning; although the musical arrangement was beautiful, and Juanes' forever-young face was projected as on jumbotrons singing passionately, his voice was nowhere to be heard. Immediately the crowd began to panic and yell, not so much in anger, rather in anxiety of the thought of missing a single song. Flustered cries of "No, oh my God, I can't hear him!" and "No te oigo papí chulo!" percolated from the ladies in the crowd. Soon after, he signaled timeout and stopped his band. As he patiently waited for a replacement microphone to be set up, he made a heart with his hands and that was more than enough to ease the crowd and make the women go crazy. 

With the live mic ready to go, like a true professional, he announced, "Alright, let's start this over" (yes, in English). He proceeded with a passionate rendition of "Fíjate Bien," a tune that talks about the estimated 80,000 land mines in his native Colombia-- residual from the drug war-- that have tragically disfigured and killed many children who unknowingly step on them when playing or walking to school.