Today we’d like to introduce you to Mario Menjivar.
Mario, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We are a Spanish Rock Band, from Miami FL. Latino blood runs through our veins as our lineup is made out of one Puerto Rican (Mariselis Rosa singer), two Venezuelans (Drayenko Marin drums and Nestor Rigaud guitars) and two Salvadorans (Federico Gonzalez guitars and vocals and Mario Menjivar bass and vocals).
We have been playing together for over a year now, in places in South Florida such as Coral Gables (Open Stage Club), Hollywood (Coquitos Bar), Margate (TQLA Station), Wynwood (1800-Lucky), Calle Ocho (OchoLive) and Homestead (at the Seminole Theatre). We are very thankful for the bar/venue owners and promoters, and everyone that has taken part of letting us play music as they are fostering collaboration for independent local artists that just want to be heard, and promoting a space for us and all the other Spanish Rock Bands in South Florida!
Our mission is to bring back the Spanish Rock scene in Miami, to play those songs that bring back those memories of youth, freedom, and that takes you back to simpler times, where you were less stressed and perhaps enjoyed the simplest things in life! We do music covers of the greatest Spanish Rock Bands like Soda Stereo, Enanitos Verdes, Hombres G, Caifanes, Fito Paez, Andres Calamaro, Fobia, Aterciopelados, Heroes del Silencio, Los Prisioneros, La Union, La Ley, Caramelos de Cianuro, Zapato 3, and many other bands. Our repertoire is extense and we tend to mix it a lot. We usually mix up songs (for example, well known English/American rock anthems with Spanish Rock songs, that way we give our audience something different).
We continue playing Spanish rock covers; but we are also writing our own material, our own songs for future recording. We have played two of our own songs “Anormal” and “Gris” at our latest shows, and have found great reception, which is an extraordinary fulfillment. We continue to make our songs, and hopefully, we’ll be recording them before the end of the year, and streaming them for everyone to hear.
Los Inmigrantes is much more than just a band, we are family. Fede and I met while we lived in El Salvador, in our teen years, and Dray and Nestor knew each other way before we even started the band. Now here we are, in Miami, doing what we love, what we all have in common, music. And although we all have our jobs and responsibilities, there is always time for having fun and making some noise.
We hope this Spanish Rock scene gets bigger and bigger, as there are many other bands in this genre. We have had the privilege to share stage with great bands like 3RG Miami, D’Mentes, Solsis, SurDeluxe, and solo artists like Jeremias Lawson, Yayo and Maria Carolina.
You can check out what we are up to on our social media (Instagram and Facebook @losinmigrantes305) and can subscribe to our YouTube channel (LosInmigrantes305).
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As any starting band, we have had some initial challenges like finding places where we can play this type of music genre, as well as getting the audience to come out for us. Open Stage Club was instrumental for us in providing the space to perform on a regular basis, which helped us build a crowd. We have had nights of low attendance as well as other nights of filling up the venues, but we never let that discourage us.
We’d love to hear more about your music.
What sets us apart from others is that we do Medleys, where we combine Spanish Rock music with English Rock, for example we do a 6 minute song with 5 well-known songs all mixed up into one, or we put a great guitar solo (like Stairway to Heaven mixing it with a well known Spanish Rock song); you might be listening to Zapato3 from Venezuela when suddenly there is a mix of Judas Priest/Iron Maiden riff into the song. I think this gives the audience something different. In the end, we have to accept, we are all influenced by that English/American Rock scene.
What were you like growing up?
We have all been interested in music ever since we were young. We all have different personalities, but music defines our way of life.
Contact Info:
- Address: Miami, FL
- Phone: 3057101221
- Email: mariomenjivarmora97@gmail.com
- Instagram: @losinmigrantes305
- Facebook: @losinmigrantes305
Image Credit:
@jesuistourist
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