SPOTLIGHT : ROCKING IN TONGUES : Clubs Are Adopting the Offspring of Dance Beats and Spanish Language--Rock Pop Espanol

By ROSE APODACA JONES

Oct. 6, 1994 12 AM PT

Share via
- Email
- Facebook
- X
- LinkedIn
- Threads
- Reddit
- WhatsApp

</i>

Midnight rolls around and sounds of a baby crying pierce the dance number pumping out of the sound system at Metropolis. The recorded wailing serves as more than a signal of the 12 o’clock hour to the hundreds of sweaty patrons on the floor of the Irvine club--it’s a reminder of the birth of rock pop Espanol into the mainstream.

Rock pop Espanol is claiming a night or two at clubs throughout the Southland, where promoters are anxious to cash in on its popularity among trendy young Latinos, and their non-Latino friends who’ve gotten hooked on the vibe.

In Orange County, Latino clubs J.C. Fandango in Anaheim and Orchids in Orange have been packing fans in; El Paraiso in Anaheim will join them this Sunday when it debuts a similar program of Latin-flavored rock and pop music.

But the single best illustration of how hot this craze is, say observers, is the decision last month by Metropolis owners to turn that mainstream, upscale club’s coveted Friday night spot over to a rock pop Espanol format.

Rock pop Espanol is an umbrella term that encompasses rock and pop, as well as house, techno, disco, reggae, ska and alternative. The common denominator is that any singing is in Spanish. If some songs sound suspiciously familiar, it’s because there’s a tendency to pattern tunes after English-language rock and pop hits.

“In the Spanish market, there hasn’t been a separation of the various categories of rock and pop like there is with (English-language) rock, which has hard rock, classic rock, alternative rock and many others,” said Carlos Ramos, the lead singer of Bravo, a Los Angeles-based rock pop Espanol band that played Metropolis on a recent Friday. “We have Spanish rock pop and that’s it.”

While there have long been pop and rock songs sung in Spanish, the all-encompassing category didn’t attract much mainstream attention until earlier this year. The Shark Club in Los Angeles introduced a Sunday rock pop Espanol night called La Cama (the bed) and Spanish-language radio station KLVE (107.5 FM) started playing less salsa and easy-listening music and added more rock and pop. (La Cama promoters brought their super-trendy brand of rock pop Espanol Fridays to Orchids when the club opened in the middle of last month.)

A following quickly developed among young Latinos who had grown up on KROQ and never bought into the cowboy grind of banda. Club deejays still included blocks of KROQ hits, from Erasure to Nirvana. But the predominance of rock pop Espanol excited crowds most. Here was music they could not only dance to, but sing along with, too.

“Because this music is in our own language, we feel it better,” explained Edith Tellez, 21, of Westminster. Tellez, stylishly put together in black lace, short boots and model-perfect makeup at Orchids recently, added that she and her friends have stopped going to “English clubs” since the advent of the rock pop Espanol nights in Orange County and Los Angeles. A new acquaintance of Tellez, Jose Castrillo of Anaheim, has also changed his clubbing habits. Slickly decked in Dr. Marten boots, calf-length trousers, a flannel shirt around his waist, a nose ring and a goatee and long, wavy hair, the 22-year-old said in Spanish that it’s all about “el ambiente .” It’s the ambience, he said, that appeals to him, along with the Spanish lyrics.

Indeed, it’s el ambiente like no other. Club patrons cheer wildly when their favorite songs come on. The entire dance floor might bounce together, arms in the air, or garnish the chorus of a song with palmas (hands clapping). The celebratory atmosphere is infectious and just about everyone--non-Latino patrons included--participates in the New Year’s Eve-like revelry.

Javier Castellanos, the general manager of his family-owned supper club, J. C. Fandango, calls it “the most enthusiastic crowd I’ve ever seen. The ladies start yelling and screaming so the guys start too.” The Anaheim club was the first to bring the concept to Orange County in April with the help of promoters Los Cinco Muskateros. The Sunday fete proved so successful, with a consistent draw of 600 to 700 weekly, that early last month the club added a Friday gig, called La Luna.

For Metropolis owners Gregg and John Hanour, the Friday installation of Baby Rock--their name for the rock pop Espanol format--has resulted in an evening that’s a breed apart from other nights.

“It stands out in the collective expression of how (club-goers) feel about the music,” said Gregg Hanour. “It’s not a night of posturing as much as just partying. There’s more of a realness to it than what you typically see at clubs. These guys aren’t afraid to show their excitement for the music.”

Include Rich Grbavac, 22, of Huntington Beach among the more expressive revelers. He and three friends--only one Latina among them--whooped it up at Metropolis recently like it was their last day on Earth.

“I love this!” he yelled over some bouncy number.

Grbavac, who spent last year attending school in Spain, said the scene made him nostalgic for the nights he’d spent in Madrid clubs. “There’s no hostility here; everyone’s just friendly,” he managed to get in before whirling off.

And there’s less of a language barrier than you might think. Most patrons are bilingual, so non-Latinos need not feel intimidated. Plus, Spanish-speakers don’t have to worry about communicating with the staff at a place like Metropolis, where extra personnel have been hired who can speak Spanish.

With a growing young Latino market willing to fork out up to $10 to get in, it’s no surprise that almost weekly there’s word of another club offering a night of rock pop Espanol. Already, there’s talk of competition between club promoters and owners anxious to cash in on the craze. But the real winners so far seem to be the patrons, as well as musical artists from North and Latin America who have been working more than ever before. Making the rounds have been Mexico’s Mana, Cai Fanes and La Lupita as well as Argentina’s Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Los Tres Vampiros and El Africano.

Cafe Tacuba from Mexico, which played J.C. Fandango to a packed house this summer, has since attracted enough fans to do a concert at the Universal Amphitheater this month.

Bravo lead singer Ramos said his band is hitting the studio again after a two-year hiatus. A couple of years ago, the group made the charts in Latin America for 14 weeks and played in front of crowds of 40,000 in Colombia and neighboring countries, he says. Now he’s looking for the rock pop Espanol movement to bring similar success on this side of the border.

Ramos, 25, hopes to fuel the cause with the premiere (Saturday at 7 p.m. on KWHY, Channel 22) of what he says is the first program dedicated solely to rock pop Espanol. “WC” (yes, the international term for water closet, or bathroom) will feature interviews with local and famous bands, videos and news on the scene. Ramos is host and executive producer of the hourlong show.

The rock pop Espanol scene, says J.C. Fandango’s Castellanos, “is growing really kind of fast. It’s saturated already with the clubs and it’s going to peak soon.” But he says it won’t be going the way of, say, lambada because of its accessible appeal.

“This is still a mainstream experience,” said Metropolis’ Hanour. “It’s just in Spanish.”

Hot Spots

* El Paraiso

420 S. Brookhurst St., Anaheim

(714) 533-1071

Sundays

18 and older

* J.C. Fandango

1086 N. State College Blvd.,

Anaheim

(714) 758-1057

La Luna on Fridays on Sundays