The punk and hardcore music scene has stayed active for decades in Los Angeles County. Photo by Lily Cabrera.
On a recent night at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach, the hardcore and punk music scene raged. High-energy youth draped Mexican flags over their shoulders, anti-ICE chants roared throughout the air, and the crowd was filled with young Latinos. The band performing was “Generación Suicida,” a Latino punk band from South Central Los Angeles.
In a genre that has long been associated with suburban white men, Latinos have quietly been the ones shaping the scene for some time now and inspiring the next generation.
Alex’s Bar has become a hub for Latino punk in Long Beach, regularly hosting bands like Generación Suicida, Manic Hispanic and Voodoo Glow Skulls.
For decades now, Latinos have been a driving force within punk and hardcore music. From 1970s East L.A., with bands like The Zeros and The Plugz, to 90s Chicago, where bands like Los Crudos sang about immigrant rights and police brutality in Spanish .
Joshua Hurtado, an aspiring Latino punk musician from Culver City, still reflects on those who trailblazed a path for Latinos like him today.
“Growing up, I was raised on bands like Black Flag, Sex Pistols, The Addicts … but being Latino and Filipino, I never saw anyone looking like me until I dove deeper,” Hurtado said. “I found bands like Los Crudos yelling Spanish, thought it was so cool.”
Hurtado takes great pride in the fact that Latinos have such a big legacy in punk. He also credits The Zeros for putting Latino punk on the map. Hurtado said the Latino influence skyrocketed in the late 70s when the Zeros went on tour with The Clash.
Lily Cabrera, a Latina venue worker from Hawthorne, watched the music scene from behind the bar at Alex’s.
She has worked at venues all across Los Angeles, including the Garden Amphitheater, 1720, Teragram Ballroom, Whiskey a Go Go, and the Wiltern. Many of these venues host punk or hardcore shows. Being Latina herself, she has enjoyed seeing the blossoming of the Latino music scene.
“I love being a part of the pits and the energy, it is so much fun and honestly therapeutic,” Cabrera said. “If I can’t be a part of the crowd, I love watching it from behind the bar or around the venue. And seeing so many other Latino people enjoy it as well, makes me feel seen.”
Hebert Del Rio is a Latino venue worker from Culver City. “I know L.A. has a big Latino population, but to see so many people like me loving the same music is so cool. Clearly it speaks to us,” he said. “Nowadays, I feel like Latinos have a lot going against us with ICE and just straight-up racism.”
Del Rio said he feels a lot of pride in his culture when he visits places with heavy latino influence.
Today, the tradition of Latinos in punk and hardcore music has evolved and is carried on through bands like Xibalba, Barrio Slam, Forced Order, and Big Ass Truck IE.
Barrio Slam is an all-Latino hardcore band from Pomona that has made efforts to embrace their culture. Xibalba, another Pomona-based Latino band named after the underworld in Mayan mythology, has been a heavily followed hardcore band in SoCal for almost two decades.
Big Ass Truck IE is a new band sprouting from the Inland Empire with their Latino lead singer, Abel Abraca. Abraca consistently expresses anti-ICE sentiment at Big Ass Truck shows and actively speaks on Latine representation.
The history of Latino punk and hardcore is still expanding. Whether in a backyard show in Boyle Heights or a dive bar in San Bernardino, these mosh pits refuse to be put down, and the people refuse to lower the volume.