Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

María y José on violence and love

Tijuana ruidosón prophet María y José shakes up San Diego

Tijuana/Monterrey musician Tony Gallardo II aka Maria y Jose will make his first appearance in San Diego at U-31
Tijuana/Monterrey musician Tony Gallardo II aka Maria y Jose will make his first appearance in San Diego at U-31

More of an attitude than a proper genre, a close-knit collective of Tijuana musicians put a significant blip on the international music radar starting in 2009 under the umbrella tag ruidosón.

The sound takes hints from styles as disparate as cumbia, krautrock, electro-folk, and hip hop, to name a few, but the unifying posture is a critical retort to corruption, violence, religion, and politics.

While Tijuana has been painted over as “revitalized” and “vibrant” by countless observers, ruidosón posits that a dark side still very much exists in Tijuana and throughout Mexico — a stance that was driven home last month when 43 students disappeared and another 6 were killed by police near Iguala, Guerrero.

Five years into the game, María y José aka Tony Gallardo II (one of ruidosón’s instigators and co-founder of Mexican/Venezuelan netlabel, Cocobass) will be performing for the first time in San Diego on Thursday, November 6 along with DJ Saul Q and Viejo Lowbo at U-31.

Entry is free with RSVP.

Sponsored
Sponsored

María y José’s most recent tune, “Plata o Plomo,” is a wonky, bass-heavy, inverse narcocorrido (ballad about drug-trafficking life) of sorts that riffs on the cartel threat of “silver or lead,” which is to say, “take money or a bullet.”

Pending his debut in San Diego, where he grew up in part, Gallardo talks with the Reader about Tijuana’s art & music scene and what ruidosón means today.

Chad Deal: Many of the ruidosón founders moved away to DF or other cities in the south. Recently, many seem to be returning to Tijuana. Where did you go, and what brought you back?

Tony Gallardo II: I'm living in Monterrey right now, but I'll be going back and forth to TJ because I'm having lots of US shows and it's easier for me to travel from SD to all these places. I hope to come back again one day and live full time, but not until my son grows up. I’ve played NY, Chicago, and LA, and maybe I'll be playing a Southwestern tour next year, but we're still trying to figure that out.

CD: What did you come to appreciate about Tijuana after leaving?

TG: Something is really happening, not just with the ruidosón guys, but as whole “scene.” Everybody is leaving jealousy behind and that's the first step to have union in every scene. I had the opportunity to attend the Bring Your Own Beamer project [an open-invitation projection art exhibition that took place in over 35 cities around the world] and it was awesome.

CD: How is it significant for you to be playing in SD as María y José for the first time?

TG: For me it's very important because I used to live there and it was part of me growing up. I'm so excited I finally can play and show the San Diegans what I'm made of.

CD: Do you see ruidosón as a product of the border region, equally influenced by what’s going on in SD and TJ, or is it a distinctly TJ sound?

TG: San Diego definitely had an impact on our music, you know, listening to hip hop on 90.3 or rock music on another station. I like to think of myself as a multi-cultural guy, a border guy. I am a proud Tijuanense, but I don't consider myself just Mexa.

CD: What has your latest material been looking at thematically?

TG: Violence and love. I'm writing some other stuff too. I want my lyrics to be thought of as a movie script, not just a song.

CD: What's in the future for you and ruidosón?

TG: María y José is always changing and is never going to bore people because I experiment a lot and it never sounds the same (but has my mark on it). A new LP is in the works but I don’t want to release it until I got a label backing it. Ruidosón is always creating new stuff. Everyone in the movement is so brilliant, so I think we are still gonna be pumping your parties up for quite some time.

CD: TJ is a much chiller place than when María y José began. In the absence of narco-violence in the streets, what are some of the dark sides that ruidosón stills calls out?

TG: We can talk about racial violence in the US (I have lots of friends who are involved in these topics and like to know what's going up everytime this happens). Violence in México, it's not just about Tijuana, it's about both countries.

You can check out more ruidosón on Saturday, November 1 at the Old Mexicoach Station between 6th and 7th on Revolucion, Tijuana.

Brain Dead Fun Time Haunted Maze is the first event of its scale to be held at the historic site in about a decade, as the building was recently reactivated by tech accelerator and co-working space HUB STN.

The interactive haunted house will be created by artists from Southern California and Baja to facilitate “a trans-border collective exorcism of state-sanctioned oppression.”

Tijuana musicians: Santos, Mr. Void, Dani Shivers, Hexorcismos, Espectro Caudillo, and more.

Los Angeles musicians: Little Debbie, French Vanilla, jenny, Strangers, Reyna the Ripper, and more.

5 dollars at the door.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tyler Farr, Blue Water Film Festival, Mustache Bash

Events March 21-March 23, 2024
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Stinkfoot Orchestra conjures Zappa at Winstons

His music is a blend of technical excellence and not-so-subtle humor
Tijuana/Monterrey musician Tony Gallardo II aka Maria y Jose will make his first appearance in San Diego at U-31
Tijuana/Monterrey musician Tony Gallardo II aka Maria y Jose will make his first appearance in San Diego at U-31

More of an attitude than a proper genre, a close-knit collective of Tijuana musicians put a significant blip on the international music radar starting in 2009 under the umbrella tag ruidosón.

The sound takes hints from styles as disparate as cumbia, krautrock, electro-folk, and hip hop, to name a few, but the unifying posture is a critical retort to corruption, violence, religion, and politics.

While Tijuana has been painted over as “revitalized” and “vibrant” by countless observers, ruidosón posits that a dark side still very much exists in Tijuana and throughout Mexico — a stance that was driven home last month when 43 students disappeared and another 6 were killed by police near Iguala, Guerrero.

Five years into the game, María y José aka Tony Gallardo II (one of ruidosón’s instigators and co-founder of Mexican/Venezuelan netlabel, Cocobass) will be performing for the first time in San Diego on Thursday, November 6 along with DJ Saul Q and Viejo Lowbo at U-31.

Entry is free with RSVP.

Sponsored
Sponsored

María y José’s most recent tune, “Plata o Plomo,” is a wonky, bass-heavy, inverse narcocorrido (ballad about drug-trafficking life) of sorts that riffs on the cartel threat of “silver or lead,” which is to say, “take money or a bullet.”

Pending his debut in San Diego, where he grew up in part, Gallardo talks with the Reader about Tijuana’s art & music scene and what ruidosón means today.

Chad Deal: Many of the ruidosón founders moved away to DF or other cities in the south. Recently, many seem to be returning to Tijuana. Where did you go, and what brought you back?

Tony Gallardo II: I'm living in Monterrey right now, but I'll be going back and forth to TJ because I'm having lots of US shows and it's easier for me to travel from SD to all these places. I hope to come back again one day and live full time, but not until my son grows up. I’ve played NY, Chicago, and LA, and maybe I'll be playing a Southwestern tour next year, but we're still trying to figure that out.

CD: What did you come to appreciate about Tijuana after leaving?

TG: Something is really happening, not just with the ruidosón guys, but as whole “scene.” Everybody is leaving jealousy behind and that's the first step to have union in every scene. I had the opportunity to attend the Bring Your Own Beamer project [an open-invitation projection art exhibition that took place in over 35 cities around the world] and it was awesome.

CD: How is it significant for you to be playing in SD as María y José for the first time?

TG: For me it's very important because I used to live there and it was part of me growing up. I'm so excited I finally can play and show the San Diegans what I'm made of.

CD: Do you see ruidosón as a product of the border region, equally influenced by what’s going on in SD and TJ, or is it a distinctly TJ sound?

TG: San Diego definitely had an impact on our music, you know, listening to hip hop on 90.3 or rock music on another station. I like to think of myself as a multi-cultural guy, a border guy. I am a proud Tijuanense, but I don't consider myself just Mexa.

CD: What has your latest material been looking at thematically?

TG: Violence and love. I'm writing some other stuff too. I want my lyrics to be thought of as a movie script, not just a song.

CD: What's in the future for you and ruidosón?

TG: María y José is always changing and is never going to bore people because I experiment a lot and it never sounds the same (but has my mark on it). A new LP is in the works but I don’t want to release it until I got a label backing it. Ruidosón is always creating new stuff. Everyone in the movement is so brilliant, so I think we are still gonna be pumping your parties up for quite some time.

CD: TJ is a much chiller place than when María y José began. In the absence of narco-violence in the streets, what are some of the dark sides that ruidosón stills calls out?

TG: We can talk about racial violence in the US (I have lots of friends who are involved in these topics and like to know what's going up everytime this happens). Violence in México, it's not just about Tijuana, it's about both countries.

You can check out more ruidosón on Saturday, November 1 at the Old Mexicoach Station between 6th and 7th on Revolucion, Tijuana.

Brain Dead Fun Time Haunted Maze is the first event of its scale to be held at the historic site in about a decade, as the building was recently reactivated by tech accelerator and co-working space HUB STN.

The interactive haunted house will be created by artists from Southern California and Baja to facilitate “a trans-border collective exorcism of state-sanctioned oppression.”

Tijuana musicians: Santos, Mr. Void, Dani Shivers, Hexorcismos, Espectro Caudillo, and more.

Los Angeles musicians: Little Debbie, French Vanilla, jenny, Strangers, Reyna the Ripper, and more.

5 dollars at the door.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

India Hawthorne is common in coastal gardens, Citrus trees are in full bloom

The vernal equinox is on March 19
Next Article

The Digital Currency Wave Hits the Shores of San Diego

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.