In these ways their performance back ground, music pedagogy and transnational music movement experience is embedded in their holistic approach to music.
Flores is the Director of Cultural Vitality for the East LA Community Corporation and Program Manager for the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) resourcing local traditional cultural practices in the fight against displacement in East Los Angeles. Remaining active within the community, various members of the band (Flores, Enomoto, Perez, Lopez, Greer) have been implementing the collective songwriting method and traditional music pedagogy in correctional facilities, schools, prisons, detention centers and college classrooms throughout California, Arizona and Washington.Īs an educator Gonzalez has won numerous teaching awards and recently culminated a three year Artist in Residence at the ASU Gammage. In addition to performing, members of Quetzal participate in a much larger web of musical, cultural, and political engagement throughout the state and have been instrumental in catalyzing the transnational dialogue between communities in the U.S and Jarocho communities in Veracruz, Mexico. Today the proactive strategy of Quetzal and other artivists is to be regenerative and resourceful in the face of adversity. Most notably the moral philosophy of the Mayan Zapatista insurrection in Mexico spurred a hope and powerful synergy across the city as various communities utilized expressive cultures and public art as platforms from which to voice their resistance. The 1992 Los Angeles uprising along with social movement efforts against Proposition 187 campaign (that denied medical and public services to undocumented immigrants and public education to undocumented children) were prominent catalysts. Quetzal emerges out of a contentious moment in Los Angeles history. Most recently and as a testament to the body of music and community work Quetzal has accomplished on and off the stage, in the summer of 2017 Gonzalez’s tarima (stomp box) and zapateado dance shoes were acquired by the National Museum of American History and are now on permanent display.
The relevance of Quetzal’s music and lyrics have been noted in a range of publications, from dissertations to scholarly books. This feat coupled with their Grammy Award winning album on Smithsonian Folkways label “Imaginaries” (2013) marks the importance of their past and ongoing work. Popular Music” sponsored by the Smithsonian Institute, featured Quetzal as leaders and innovators of Chicano music. Recognized by notable institutions such as the Library of Congress and The Kennedy Center, the traveling exhibit “American Sabor: Latinos in U.S.
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