Like on most Sundays, Olvera Street was full with young and old families going to church, tourists enjoying the sights, old timers sitting on the benches around the “kiosko” reminiscing of their home town “plazas” in their beloved Mexico, but this past Sunday, there were also a few hundred more visitors who were there to celebrate La Santa Cecilia’s Grammy nomination along with their friends and Grammy winners, Gaby Moreno, Quetzal and members of Ozomatli in what was aptly called a “Tardeada”
Assisted only by her guitar, “Best New Artist”, at the 2013 Latin Grammys, Gaby Moreno opened up the show and gave a memorable performance showcasing the songs from her latest album, “Postales”. Songs like “Ave Que Emigra”, “No Estoy Tan Mal” and “Valle de Magnolias” were just some of the highlights of her performance, but without a doubt, the highest point was when the members of La Santa Cecilia, including singer, Marisoul, joined Gaby on the Latin American classic “Quizas, Quizas, Quizas” and as the audience joined in singing along, it became one of those moments that give you goose bumps.
L.A. music scene veterans, Quetzal, took the stage next and gave a riveting performance that had everyone dancing from beginning to end. Lead singer Martha Gonzalez led the band through a set that was passionate and energetic and left the audience asking for more.
As the sun set down behind the buildings over downtown L.A., the audience went crazy as their hometown heroes, La Santa Cecilia, took the stage and the band thanked their friends and fans for joining them in this celebration of music and community and then proceeded to give an inspiring and passionate performance.
La Santa Cecilia delighted the crowd with songs like “Nuestra Señora La Reina De Los Angeles” “Monedita”, a cover of The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever”, “La Negra” among other crowd favorites.
Just when it couldn’t get any better, the surprises began to appear; Gaby Moreno returned the favor from earlier in the evening and joined Marisoul on “Losing Game”. Later on, Raul Pacheco and Ulisess Bella from L.A. music icons, Ozomatli joined La Santa Cecilia on “30 Dias” and “Falling”.
Other highlights of La Santa Cecilia’s performance was the emotional rendition of Jose Alfredo Jimenez’ “En El Ultimo Trago” in which the audience joined in and sang along with great pride of this Mexican classic. The audience also showed their eclectic musical taste as they also joined in on “Tainted Love”, a song that became an iconic hit of 80’s music.
To end this wonderful “tardeada”, Gaby Moreno came back on stage to finish up the show with a heartfelt rendition of “Hielo (ICE)”, which was more than appropriate at this venue known for its close ties with the immigrant population of Los Angeles.
Video – courtesy of Bob Ramirez
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