Electronic beats with Latin rhythms boomed on one stage. Psychedelic funk with trilingual lyrics rocked on the other. The sound at the 2011 Pachanga Latino Music Festival was as eclectic as Austin and the audience as diverse as its Latin music. While Austin boasts an ever-present Latin music connection with deep roots, now, more than ever, the growing local Latin music scene has become a more visible and important branch of Austin’s overall music landscape.
Just a few hours from the Mexican border and only a short drive from the conjunto music hub of San Antonio, Austin’s Latin music scene, in past decades, was mainly associated with Tejano and Norteño music played at venues catering to Latino crowds.
But as Austin’s Latino population—which jumped from 23 percent of its total population in 1990 to 35 percent in 2010—continues to expand and become more diverse, the musical influences are diversifying as well. Today, Austin’s Latin music defies labels, with its genre-bending rhythms and fresh sounds that can be heard throughout the city.
With nearly 200 live music venues and about 1,900 musical acts, the city prides itself on being the Live Music Capital of the World. Austin music, according to a 2005 report, annually contributes more than $1 billion in economic activity, more than $25 million in city tax revenue, and more than 18,000 music-related jobs. Though it’s difficult to isolate the impact of Austin’s Latin music, it’s an important contributor to the vibrancy of the city’s economic landscape, and has strong backing from local music festivals.
There’s no doubt that the impact of Austin’s Latin music scene in the future will be even greater if demographic trends persist and musicians continue to diversify. In November 2005, the Austin City Council declared May to be Latino Music Month. Organizations such as the Austin Latino Music Association and the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau rallied behind the effort, which highlights Latin music performances as well as the Pachanga Latino Music Festival.
Now in its fourth year, Pachanga showcases the diversity of the local and international Latin sound to Austin music lovers. In addition to the traditional tejano and mariachi acts, the festival also features musicians who grew up listening to their parents’ classic cumbias but who were equally influenced by hip-hop or electronic music.
The musical fusion of cultures, rhythms and generations results in everything from hip-hop cumbia to funk to indie rock— sometimes in Spanish, English or Spanglish.
“These [Austin] Latin bands are innovative, so incredibly musically informed,” said Rose Reyes, director of music marketing for the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau. “So they are able to gain fans from all walks of life.”
In Austin, she said, most Latin music bands play in various kinds of venues throughout the city and are often incorporated into other local music festivals such as the Fun, Fun, Fun Fest, because others are seeing their overall musical appeal.
At South by Southwest (SXSW), Austin’s premier music festival, Latin music has a long tradition. And as Austin and SXSW grow, there will be more opportunities to incorporate a wide range of Latin music, said Alicia Zertuche, a SXSW music festival coordinator.
SXSW brings bands from all across Latin America as well as Spain and the Caribbean. For many Latin American bands, Zertuche said, SXSW marks their first time playing in the United States, and Austin is where many of these bands recognize they have a strong fan base in this country. When it’s time for these bands to tour internationally, they don’t forget about Austin.
“The majority of acts from Latin America [who play SXSW] come back and make Austin an integral stop in their U.S. tours,” Zertuche said.
Though the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB) promotes all of Austin’s music, they’ve helped nurture the growth of the local Latin music scene through various efforts.
Local Latin music CD compilations produced by ACVB feature hometown musicians such as indie folk-rock singer/songwriter Gina Chavez and the hip-hop collective Los Bad Apples.
Latino musicians are often presented at trade shows or sales meetings, and ACVB also has a presence at the annual Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York, known for presenting Latin alternative’s most cutting-edge music.
While other cities such as Memphis or Nashville also market their hometown sound at events throughout the country, Reyes has noticed Austin’s advantage.
“Other destinations promoting their Latino music scene? That’s not happening,” she said. “We saw something important happening in our scene and saw it was unique.”
As Austin’s Latin music scene makes a bigger footprint in the city’s overall music culture, there are still many challenges: a lack of infrastructure, a decline in Spanish-language radio stations, and a lack of resources for music organizations that provide support for Latino musicians.
However, Austin’s Latin music scene is becoming more intertwined with the city’s musical identity and is likely to help shape Austin’s future.
In the next five years, Reyes said, she foresees the Latin music scene continuing to grow and develop because of high-caliber local musicians and festivals like Pachanga.
“I think there’s really going to be a lot of eyes on Austin as a Latin music scene,” she said. “[Musicians and industry people] will want to move here because they want to be part of that scene.”