Spanish serenades filled the air of Malcolm X Plaza Thursday afternoon as a prelude to the final show of San Francisco State University’s Rhythms Music Festival.
The outdoor concert featured performances from Los Tranquilos and Edgar Alejandro, both playing music inspired by the sounds of 20th century Mexican culture. With two distinct sounds between them, the performers gave students an entertaining soundtrack while they walked through campus and stopped by campus organization tables that were set up near the stage.
Tatianna Ramos, who oversees Associated Students Productions, organized the free show. Over the eight years in her role, she noticed a trend with Rhythms Music Festival putting on more hip-hop performances and wanted to add more variety this year.
“I wanted to bring a different type of element to this specific show,” Ramos said. “Given the political climate that we’re in, I thought it was very appropriate.”
Los Tranquilos, a “romanticas” and funk-inspired band from Nipomo took the stage first in their 1970s-inspired loosely buttoned suits and started playing with a groovy, rock ‘n’ roll sound. Frontman Manny Martinez sported a retro pompadour and sunglasses as he sang, played the keys and wailed on his electric guitar.
“I grew up listening to a lot of my parents’ records from the ‘70s and ‘80s from all over Latin America,” Martinez said.
Martinez’s bandmates included his younger brother JJ Martinez, childhood friend Cameron Porter and friend Richie Guereca.
“All brothers in music,” Martinez said.
Ramos met Los Tranquilos last year at Bimbo’s 365 Club while they were on tour and felt they would be perfect to perform during this year’s festival.
“I fell in love with their sound,” Ramos said. “I saw the interaction they had with that crowd at the time. It was really fun, I enjoyed myself.”
By the second song, a crowd of over 30 people, including a few workers from Taqueria Girasol, gathered at the plaza to listen and dance.
The music drew in students Gur Sandhu and Prabal Dhillon.
“I came in late, but I really like the music,” Sandhu said. “I even showed it to my boyfriend online.”
The pair of friends stopped by the Depot table after the performance to pick up free tickets to Saturday night’s Rhythms Music Festival concert, even though they were not familiar with the performers planned for the night.
After a short break, Alejandro took to the stage, surrounded by his band dressed in charro outfits. Alejandro primarily sang and played an acoustic guitar while his backing band included a keyboard, guitarrón and two horns. His voice bellowed through the Quad while his band played grupera tunes to help him deliver his ballads.
Monica Mejia, a communication studies student, came out to specifically see Alejandro.
“I’ve been obsessed with him for a while, so seeing him perform was really nice,” Mejia said. “He represents our culture really well.”
Alejandro spoke to the crowd between songs and gave them a small window into his personal life, including how that show was his first performance “100% sober” and how telenovelas inspired his songwriting. The music was noticeably different than the first performance, being entirely acoustic as compared to Los Tranquilos’s electric sound.
“I don’t think a lot of younger artists follow this type of music,” Mejia said, “It’s a bold choice and I love it.”
Ramos’ inclusion of the bands was also to gauge students’ interest for next year’s festival.
“Next year’s our big 15th anniversary,” Ramos said, “I wanted this year to be our kickstarter into getting folks prepared for next year as far as diversity.”The
Rhythms Music Festival will have its main performance on Saturday at 8 p.m. in SFSU’s Student Life Events Center, also known as the Annex. The concert will be opened by J Noa and headlined by Daya. It will also feature the winners of the Battle of the Bands and the DJ Competition.
