Music Break: Revisit Juana Molina and La Mecánica Popular in Concert
Originally Aired: Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Juana Molina's seventh album, "Wed 21," was released in 2013.
Overview
Watch an encore video stream of one of our favorite concerts, mashing up performances from two musical acts who reimagine Latin roots sounds in extraordinary ways, plus a behind-the-scenes chat with members of one of the most diverse and exciting theater troupes in New York City.
Revisit this thrilling night of music recorded live on our stage in 2014 featuring Juana Molina, one of the most talented Argentinian singer-composers of her generation, and La Mecánica Popular, an NYC-based band melds the heavy Afro-Caribbean grooves of salsa dura with the mind-warping textures of psychedelic rock. With a look at Labyrinth Theater Company, founded in 1992 by a small group of actors pushing their artistic limits to tell new, more inclusive stories that expand the boundaries of mainstream theater. Presented by Latino USA and Soundcheck.
Watch a video stream on this page at 1pm ET.
Juana Molina stands out as one of the most talented Argentinian singer-composers of her generation. Raised in a family of tango musicians, Molina first made her name as an actress, starring in a quirky and popular sketch comedy show titled “Juana y Sus Hermanas.” Since 1996 she has released six albums as a musician to great acclaim in South America, the US and Europe – most recently 2013’s Wed 21. Her music skirts many lines: both experimental and pop, electronic and acoustic, contemporary, yet rooted in Argentinean folk music.
Credit: Photo courtesy of the artists
La Mecánica Popular puts a twist on a classic Latin sound: salsa. Led by Peruvian singer and pianist Efraín Rozas, the NYC-based band melds the heavy Afro-Caribbean grooves of salsa dura with the mind-warping textures of psychedelic rock. They replace the classic horn section with fuzzed out guitars and angular synthesizers, ultimately using the idea of “psychedelic salsa” as a meditation on the relationship between the body and the mind in representations of Latin culture. The group’s self-titled debut album is currently out on the Brooklyn-based label Names You Can Trust.
Labyrinth Theater Company was founded in 1992 by a small group of actors who wanted to push their artistic limits and tell new, more inclusive stories that expanded the boundaries of mainstream theater. In doing so, they created a tightly knit, uninhibited and impassioned ensemble that created incendiary and vital new works for the stage that redefined the landscape of New York City theater.