We are pulling into Denver, CO on our first night of the Carnaval: The Tour. There is no feeling quite like building something from the ground up. We are creating a vehicle to elevate our stories and our voices, to celebrate and embrace the beauty in our people and our folklore.
Today, as we begin this tour, joined by Alex Cuba and later Las Cafeteras. we stand in defiance of the notion that our stories should not be heard. We are a part of the History of this country and an integral part of the fabric of American Music. When you hear Jelly Roll Morton describe how there is no Jazz without the Latin influence,, you realize how integral we have been and how easily those stories can be forgotten.
On May 11th, congressman Keith Ellis was wearing a Las Cafeteras shirt that said "Yo No Creo en Fronteras" which translates to "I don t believe in borders," and our POTUS called him out frustrated by the message being conveyed. Carnaval exists to erase the borders in our minds that keep us from seeing and treating each other as equals.
Tonight we join our friend, Latin Grammy Winner, Juno Winner and Grammy Nominated artist Alex Cuba in Boulder, Colorado and embark upon what will be a transformative summer for us. Would you join us on the journey?
Carnaval started as a one day event in Kansas City, it was a solution actually, our friends Ozomatli wanted to pick up a show in our home town, and we wanted to create a special event to let students from our music camp perform––a few brainstorms later and violá, Making Movies Carnaval was born.
The tour ends with the blowout fest in Kansas City joined by Latin Grammy Winners and Mariachi Flor De Toloache, a group that Dan Aurbach (Black Keys) hand picked to join his super-group the Arcs. Our city has stepped up to support this event with gracious sponsorships from the city itself and other wonderful organizations (see below for the complete list) so that EVERY DOLLAR FROM TICKETS SOLD goes directly to fund our youth music education program Art As Mentorship. This funding will allow us to create a young songwriters program for inner city kids and help them elevate their voice. We NEED to let their stories be heard––I cannot wait to experience their growth.
For this tour we will use our Instagram to try and share our experiences, follow us there, tell your friends, pick up your tickets, and please come say hello at the shows!
It s time to celebrate our folk,
