Bajo La Luna hopes music brings healing magic to L.A.
Bajo La Luna, an experimental Latin music project, will launch its first concert series at the Ford Theatre in Hollywood on Aug. 31. The inaugural event hopes to honor music as a healing ritual for social change — lead by contemporary folk musicians Silvia Pérez Cruz, La Muchacha and Luz Elena Mendoza of Y La Bamba, who will be performing with a bolero-focused ensemble as Y La Madrigal.
The program will also include a sound healing ritual facilitated by the Pasadena mother-daughter duo Botanica Melo and feature art installations by border-artist Tanya Aguiñiga.
Organized by the L.A. Phil, in tandem with El Marchante (a project dedicated to the dissemination of Latin indie music) and event production collective Tumba La Casa, Bajo La Luna aims to create a much-needed moment of reprieve from the immigration raids that struck fear across Los Angeles earlier this summer.
' L.A. is so magical because it's a place made up of so many other cultures,' says Phoebe Smolin, founder of Tumba La Casa. 'I am pained by seeing my city [in terror].'
Various celebratory events across Southern California have been canceled or postponed due to community fears over massive U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps, including at Levitt Pavilion's summer concert series at MacArthur Park, which resumed programming a week late.
It strikes Smolin that now, more than ever, is a crucial time for the community to lean on the nurturing elements of music.
'We need everything we can to come together and create spaces that feel safe,' says Smolin. ' I hope that people are left with a sense of safety and inspiration and connection more than anything.'
The evening is set to feature folk-flamenco extraordinaire Silvia Pérez Cruz, a Latin Grammy-nominated Spanish singer-songwriter, who has previously worked with Jorge Drexler, Silvana Estrada, Residente and more.
La Muchacha, the Colombian singer best known for her riveting protest melodies, will also appear on stage. Her hypnotic chants and embolden lyrics, which have often brushed up against Colombia's politics, have played a crucial role in shaping the sonic landscape of activism in the country.
Making a unique debut is Y La Madrigal, an offshoot project by the experimental Portland, Ore.-based indie act Y La Bamba, led by Mexican American singer Luz Elena Mendoza, whose mariachi-folk essence breathes life into every lyric. The innovative group will feature an eight-person choir, specially crafted for Bajo La Luna.
Bajo La Luna begins at 7:30 p.m., and ticket prices start at $35.
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