Adrian Quesada's Psychedelic Journey: How the Black Pumas Co-Founder Delved Into Latin America's Romantic Past

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5 days ago

In music and art, the search for identity is fundamental. Perhaps that's why Adrian Quesada has achieved such a deep connection with Latin American romantic ballads, an eccentric musical style that the prolific Grammy-nominated songwriter, musician and producer discovered during his teenage years in his hometown of Laredo, a border city between Texas and Mexico. There, he grew up in a Mexican family speaking both English and Spanish.
Now, almost 30 years later, the co-founder of the soul, jazz and funk duo Black Pumas revisits songs from acts like Los Pasteles Verdes, Los Ángeles Negros and Joseles in his new album Boleros Psicodélicos II, released Friday (June 27). His goal: to preserve the timeless essence of this musical genre and contribute to modernizing its sound by fusing it with hip-hop and electrifying guitars to connect with a younger audience.
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'My idea in creating all this was to find a way to have one foot in the roots, in the past, and another foot in the future. That was the concept: to go between two worlds,' Quesada tells Billboard Español. 'So I don't think I'm inventing anything. For me, these are songs inspired by another era.'
In this new production — a sequel to Boleros Psicodélicos from 2022 — Quesada wanted to combine psychedelia with emotion. To do so, he brought together multi-generational artists from the Latin alternative music scene, such as California indie star Cuco, Swedish-Ecuadorian duo Hermanos Gutiérrez, Colombian ensemble Monsieur Periné, and lo-fi troubadour from Chihuahua Ed Maverick. Joining them are Mireya Ramos from Flor de Toloache, Puerto Rican artist iLe, and pop singer-songwriter Angélica Garcia, all of whom participated in the first album.
But unlike Boleros Psicodélicos, which was recorded remotely during the pandemic, this second volume gave Quesada the chance to invite his collaborators to his studio in Austin and reimagine songs like 'Hoy que Llueve' by Los Pasteles Verdes and 'Te Vas y Yo Te Dejo' by Joseles.
'I wanted to make this album a more intimate experience, an exchange of ideas, while being in the same room full of energy with the people who participated,' the artist explains. 'And another thing is that on this new album, I worked with another producer, Alex Goose, and he comes from the hip-hop world —a musical genre that didn't invent anything but reinvented everything.'
Opening the set is 'Ojos Secos,' a heartfelt vintage track performed as a duet with Cuco, blending smooth melodies with contemporary atmospheres. It's followed by 'Bravo,' a classic from Cuban artist Olga Guillot's repertoire that iLe recommended and recorded for this project; 'No Juego,' a dramatic trip-hop ballad performed by Angélica Garcia; and 'Cuatro Vidas,' popularized in the 1960s by American singer Eydie Gorme and the trio Los Panchos, among others.
With Mexican artist Ed Maverick, Quesada recorded 'Afuera,' an atmospheric ballad with subtle touches of hip-hop, folk, and psychedelic guitars — a seductive and hypnotizing combination.
'This collaboration was the perfect opportunity for me to delve into a territory I wanted to explore: psychedelia and contemporary music,' Maverick tells Billboard Español. 'The upcoming music I have is very much in this style, so it fit like a glove.'
'Afuera' also served as a way to celebrate the Mexican roots of both musicians, at a turbulent time amidst new anti-immigration policies introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
'I can't help but be Mexican,' Maverick says. 'I think for a long time, many young people tried to reject that. It seemed like it wasn't cool to be Latin American or Spanish-speaking with our roots, but now I'm very happy that there's this current resistance, anti-colonial, and music is part of that resilience.'
Released through ATO Records, all 12 tracks in Boleros Psicodélicos II are performed in Spanish, which becomes a political and social statement at a moment when Latin music finds itself at a crucial crossroads, with increasingly strict immigration policies threatening its continued explosive growth in the U.S.
'I am the artist I am now because I come from a world of two countries, two languages,' Quesada notes. 'Diversity is what they're trying to eliminate in the United States. And if it's a way to — being American, to make an album in Spanish is important to me, for my roots.'
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