Albums of March: Y La Bamba Analyzes Mujeres

Playing BRIC Arts Media House on April 11, Y La Bamba is ow on their fifth album, Mujeres, and the Portland based band has settled into their role as music philosophers. Led by my secret life guru, Luz Elena Mendoza approaches this record like a woman being reborn in how she sees her own femininity.

What does it mean to be a woman or feminine? This is a hard question to answer because we are human beings, and, ultimately, every label society casts upon us will be affected by our inner layers. Mujeres is Luz Elena’s journey into realizing that she is a strong, crazy, poetic, passionate, and intelligent woman because that is who she is as a person. This might not seem revolutionary to you, BUT I ask you when was the last time you did not define yourself according to your gender, race, class, religion, or even you education? When was the last time you told somebody, first and foremost, who you were on the inside?

For all that every human being complains about society’s imposition of labels, rare are those that define themselves beyond them. It would be really nice to live in a world where more people introduced themselves like, “Hi! I’m Luz! I am a kind, compassionate being raised by a family that believed loyalty and laughter are necessities in relationships.” There is something spiritually transparent to that, and Luz Elena wants to know why she and many other women, especially Latinx, do not have that. Thus, she journeys through songs such as, “My Death,” “Santa Sal,” and “Dieciseis,” and interchanges spoken verses with singing to conclude to discover her humanity is to discover her community.

If I could describe Y La Bamba’s sound it would be garage rock dreams. Their melodies buzz like a pack of eternal youths straining their guitars and roaring their verses until life gives them what they want. Yet, Mujeres is Y La Bamba’s mature conclusion that you can provide for you. Life does not give you want because your journey is to discover that, ultimately, you want you. Thankfully, Luz Elena syrups emotions like dulce de leche; allowing you to sink into the beauty of such truth .For More Information On Y La Bamba Click Here.