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Voices From The Mexican Underground: Bocanegra And Baby Nelson & The Philistines From Guadalajara

Meet Alonso Mangosta Esquinca, singer for two of Guadalajara's most exciting bands.

A compelling addition to Festival Nrmal this year was the black stage, which was designated for punk, hardcore, metal and noise acts. There I watched the screamo band Bocanegra (translation: Blackmouth) from Guadalajara shift between raw moments of tension and release, exercising sophisticated restraint. Driving the sonic narrative were the frenzied drumming of Johan Navarro and glimmering guitar playing of Chabe Martínez, while bassist Erick Betancourt and vocalist Alonso Mangosta Esquinca provided necessary shape and embellishment.

Annoncering

Bocanegra is a reinvention of the group's former band Human Plague. "The themes were very specific and obvious, and we felt constricted both lyrically and musically," Esquinca said, when we talked after their set. "Human Plague was about misanthropy and human shit. When we started this project, I was fed up with humanity and political issues, so I decided I was just going to sing about my life." The lyrics in Bocanegra's songs concern Esquinca's personal experiences, specifically with women and relationships. "The thing about singing about politics is you're preaching to people who already know it. There's no point in talking about politics when everybody has the same idea about it," Esquinca said.

Their self-titled debut album came out this past January. "We have pretty different tastes when it comes to music, but I think we all look up to Crass. I think we all agree on Converge, too,” Esquinca said. “Personally, I really admire Billy Childish. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Wire. It might not be music, but Kurt Vonnegut’s and Paul Auster’s work really inspire me."

Guadalajara, located in southwest Mexico, is the second most populated city in the country. The home of mariachi and other Mexican traditions, it has less of a western influence than Monterrey, Mexico City and Tijuana. Guadalajara's independent music scene is likewise experiencing something of a rebirth, according to Esquinca. "I think Guadalajara has a decent music scene, maybe not comparable to the one in Mexico City, but good. There are lots of old and new bands who regularly play. Recently there’s been a considerable increase in bands and shows. It’s common now to go to a house party and have bands playing. There are also some new cool spaces to play, like Salon Purpura. It has a pretty decent sound system and backline, and the staff is really into supporting the scene." Still, it can be hard to find good places to play. Sometimes Bocanegra will play at dive bars, as they won't charge a fee and will even split profits from the drinks they sell with the band. Esquinca and his bandmates organize shows at houses and other spaces, too. They're also part of a DIY label/distro based in Guadalajara called Survival Instinct Records.

Annoncering

"There are people from every scene at our shows. It wasn't like that before. It used to be all punk kids," Betancourt said. "Lately there are hipsters. Everybody goes," Esquinca said. "There are better, more interesting bands, and the shows now tend to mix bands of different styles, which didn’t happen as much before." There also appears to be a resurgence of interest in extreme and heavy music, according to Esquinca. "It’s funny, I guess going to shows is 'cool' again. I remember a couple years ago I’d invite some people to shows and they'd say dumb shit like, 'Oh really, a punk show? What am I, 15?' Those same people are now always going to shows or asking me when the next show will be."

Festival Nrmal was the first festival Bocanegra played. "We've played a few times on a stage, but nothing of this size and with so many bands. It's a new experience," Navarro said. They were especially excited about seeing DIIV and Trash Talk play. "The whole experience was very meaningful. I had a great time and met a lot of cool people. It’s definitely something I’ll never forget," Esquinca said. "Something particularly meaningful perhaps was hanging out with Daniel Higgs, who I’ve admired for a while now. Dude’s chill as hell. We had a bunch of really nice conversations."

Esquinca has another band called Baby Nelson & The Philistine, which also played at Festival Nrmal. The band's recent self-released Pacto de Sangre EP (translation: Blood Pact) is well-crafted handful of blissed-out garage-punk songs, straightforward yet deep-feeling. Baby Nelson & The Philistines started about a year ago, around the same time as Bocanegra. "I think both projects work great together. Being so different from one another, I can express a broader array of things," Esquinca said. "In Bocanegra, I’m mostly in charge of writing lyrics. Honestly, I have little to do with the mu­­­­sic per se. In Baby Nelson & The Philistines, I’m in charge of the music as well as the lyrics, which is cool. The band is named after my dog, who’s kind of my muse."

Annoncering

Follow Ali Carter on Twitter - @alikaycarter

For more Voices From The Mexican Underground articles check out:

Voices Form the Mexican Underground: San Pedro El Cortez From Tijuana

Voices From The Mexican Underground: Festival NRMAL, Part One

Voices From The Mexican Underground: Part 2