El Encuentro del Canto Popular, San Francisco’s renowned Latin Music Festival, will have its own stage at Carnaval this year, on Harrison St. and 23rd St. and will showcase various artists. The Encuentro stage happens Saturday May 26, the parade takes place Sunday May 27.

Encuentro’s eclectic lineup guarantees that there will be something for everyone. The artists in order of performance are Banda Remelexo; Los Materos; Bolivian Andean rock group Gabriel P.A.S.; followed by none other than SF’s own MamaCoAtl; Rennea Josefina next; and Fuga’s Frontera rock, is sure to get the crowds moving. Finally, for excellent traditional Colombian musicianship, look no further than to Alúna.

Some of the artists that will perform are breaking new musical ground with distinct repertoires, that combine various styles and genres of Latin music. Among these groundbreaking artists are the group Fuga, whose name means Escape. Not only have they coined the term Frontera Rock, they represent an entire culture, namely a border youth culture.

“Our music is a direct outgrowth from living in border towns and the cultural complexities that this entails,” said band member Hugo Salgado.  This collage of the border’s various cultural perspectives is reflected via a fusion of the Mexican traditional genre of Son Jarocho, Rock and Cumbía. Their lyrics reflect the struggles of dealing with the intensified cultural contrasts that are visible in U.S. border towns. These artists also walk their talk, each of the band members is involved in community work. However, their music is not solely social critique.  Their Cumbia infused upbeat songs virtually guarantee dancing feet.

Fuga’s new album, “Primero De Mayo” (May First) is currently being produced by Grammy award winning producer Greg Landau. Their Encuentro performance will be the kick off to their Frontera Tour ‘Border Tour’ June 15 to June 30 spanning L.A., Tijuana, Phoenix, El Paso, and Austin.


Another band to look out for is Gabriel P.A.S., their music is an innovative style of Andean Bolivian music and the internationally popular genre of Spanish rock. Gabriel who is the composer, founder and lyricist explained “People often forget about associating the cultural heritage of the Andes with Bolivia and seem to solely associate the Andes with Peru. But 90 percent of the musical heritage of the Andes comes from the Bolivian Andes.” 

P.A.S. is an acronym for “Puertas al Sol” ‘Doors to the Sun’, and Pas also means peace in Spanish.  The Andean wind instruments, such as the quena and zampoña, together with the revolutionary sound of Spanish rock make for a unique and irresistible listening experience.


MamaCoAtl an artist/activist, or better yet, an Artivista as she calls it, will perform her funky repertoire from her album Border Crossing Diosa, with her no-holds-barred style. Her passionate and soulful voice along with her unique musical style is among other things, a unique and skillful combination of various genres.  She has even created her own genres, among these are "Jazzimientos", bilingual Spoken Word with a noticeable Blues influence, which only enhances her fusion of Funk and traditional Mexican Ranchera. Her enigmatic performances deliver nothing less, than an auditory and aesthetic delight.   


Aluna, a group of musicians dedicated to preserving traditional Colombian music, will close the stage performing pieces of their forthcoming CD. Virgilio, the band’s founder, pointed out that each of the band members has studied for at least a year in Colombia under masters of Colombian traditional music.  He said, “This is important to in order to accurately preserve the music outside of Colombia.”

There you have it, and that’s just the beginning.  In order to listen to cutting-edge innovators in Latin Music you have to go no further than the Encuentro’s stage at Carnaval! ♦


Performances on the Encuentro Carnaval stage take place Sat., May 26 from 10am to 6pm, on the corner of Harrison and 23rd Streets.

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