72 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JUNE 20, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
All-female mariachi band Flor de Toloache to perform at Afro-Latino Fest NYC
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e New York-based all-female mariachi
Celebrate the grand opening of the LIC Flea & Food’s seventh season on June 29
BY THE QUEENS COURIER STAFF
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Have fun at the LIC Flea & Food during its
grand opening weekend on June 29 and 30.
While you sip on a cold brew from the
Beer & Wine Garden, savor delicious eats
such as delicious Japanese souffl é pancakes
from Soft bite Souffl é or Argentinian
sausages from Chori and Chimi. For a
sweet bite, grab a decadent beignet from
Chef Jimmy Th omas.
As always, the LIC Flea has plenty of
unique vendors selling all kinds of unique
goods you won’t fi nd anywhere else. 13
Th ings I Love is inspired by Peru and will
have an array of totes and home items at
her booth. You can also shop at Earth &
Water, which off ers sustainable, and all
natural skincare company that is inspired
by the ancient practice of Ayurveda or at
Bodhi Leaf Designs for their vegan, natural
soaps and skincare products.
Looking for some custom designed tees
and prints? Jules Frost Designs off ers a
collection of one-of-a-kind t-shirts and
prints of her original hand-drawn designs
are whimsical and fun.
Don’t forget to make plans to visit the
LIC Flea on July 4th for a staycation at
the Flea. Shop, eat and grab a beer with
us to celebrate Independence Day. RSVP
at www.licfl ea.com/special-events to enter
to win Flea Bucks.
Located at 5-25 46th Ave. in Long Island
City at the corner of Fift h Street and 46th
Avenue. For more information and to
learn about the monthly special events,
visit www.LICFlea.com.
band Flor de Toloache delight in defying
expectations.
Known for their inventive cover
arrangements, the group recently released
a new album “Indestructible” takes it a
step further, in one instance transposing
’90s pop punk – No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak”
– into a poignant folk ballad.
“We translate it to Spanish. I don’t think
anybody has done this particular cover
like this,” said Mireya Ramos, the band’s
frontwoman. “Most of us are ’80s babies.
So we grew up with this band.”
Th e cover exemplifi es the group’s
approach toward fusion, which unapologetically
blends music from across different
cultures and genres and applying
them a framework of traditional mariachi
instrumentation and compositional
fl ourishes.
Ramos said that she started the band
because aft er playing mariachi in New
York City for six years, she started wanting
to add her personality and experience
into the context of mariachi music. She
wanted to write her own songs, not just
play the standards.
“I eventually wanted to just do more of
my arrangements and my compositions.
It was hard because I had to do it with a
band wasn’t mine. And then secondly, it
was all men. It was very male dominated.
And they weren’t open to that,” she said.
Th at’s when she partnered with Shae
Fiol, who had been making solo neosoul
and R&B music in the hip hop scene.
When the two discovered how well their
voices blended, they started out a mariachi
band the traditional way: learning
the classics and playing quinceañeras and
weddings. Ramos said that for a two-year
period they also even played in the subway
for a long with the Music Under New
York program.
Once the band began to rise and generate
media coverage. Th e originality of
their approach to mariachi started to open
up doors for them as they started to tour
heavily across the country.
“We’ve done a lot of venues that no
other mariachi bands have done. And
because of that too, we have a booking
agent who has routed our touring very
well – and we do a lot of festivals, not just
Latin festivals, but world music festivals,
bluegrass festivals even,” Ramos said.
Toloache’s approach makes mariachi
accessible to contemporary listeners, who
grew up like Ramos in a pan-cultural
environment. Recently group toured with
Black Key’s frontman Dan Auerbach for
a year aft er appearing on his solo album.
Ramos said that the process of recording
their latest album helped the band
grow in new directions. “Indestructible”
was produced by grammy magnet Rafa
Sadina, features the likes of John Legend,
Alex Cuba, Las Migas and Miguel, and
involved more studio time, where the
band was play with new ideas out as the
recordings unfolded.
Ramos said she’s excited to bring the
new songs to New York this summer.
Toloache will perform in July 12 at the
Afro Latino Festival at Albee Square in
Brooklyn and that same night with Gabby
Moreno as part of the Latin Alternative
Music Conference at Prospect Park.
Tickets are available for the Afro Latino
Festival at afrolatinofestnyc.com. Th e
LAMC showcase is free.
Photos courtesy of Festival Media
Photo courtesy of Flor de Toloache
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